Friday, August 31, 2007

Heavenly Blue

Summer is complete - the Heavenly Blue morning glory is starting to bloom. This is the first one. It's so high up on the trellis that I had to stand on my tiptoes to get this picture. I think this is the quintessential morning glory. I know there's purple, pink, white, red, bi-colored, and even chocolate, but to me this China blue color is the essence of morning glories, much as fire-engine red is to geraniums. I'm a happy gardener.
At work today, the Neophyte Gardener mentioned that Lowe's has all their garden furniture at 75% off (she's no neophyte at finding bargains). That makes this $99.00, 3-person cushioned swing/lounge just $25.00. But I don't want it for three people, no sirree. This baby converts to a flat bed. I can just imagine lying on this comfy cushion idly swinging back and forth while I contemplate weeding or perhaps mowing.
I don't want the cover, or the frame. I just need the swing part to hang from the hooks already installed at the end of my patio. That means I need some chain, and maybe another hook since I think this swing is wider than the old wooden one. Which fell apart after I neglected to put it away for the winter (20 years in a row). And just how do I install a new hook into that beam in the roof? And I'm going to have to find a new spot for the gas barbecue. This is beginning to sound like a lot of work. But wait! It's Labor Day weekend so this is the perfect activity. Happy Labor Day chores to all of you!

22 comments:

Carol Michel said...

That morning glory looks like it is illuminated from the inside, very celestial. Outstanding!

And I'm glad that you haven't called off your trip to Lowes just because if you buy the swing you will have to put in new hook, which could involve ladders, drills, and who knows what all. Keep telling yourself "it will be worth it".

Carol at May Dreams Gardens

Annie in Austin said...

Hi LostRoses,

I've looked at that swing once in awhile at Lowe's and could not have passed up the sale! Your idea of remodeling the swing may be work, but the end result will be so much more fun than just sticking it in the yard somewhere.

Blue morning glory is the flower for those born in the month of September - your photo would make a lovely birthday card!

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Connie said...

I share your sentiments about Heavenly Blue morning glories...my first one just bloomed for me this week, too, well behind the other morning glories, but so worth the wait for those lovely pure blue blooms!

Charley "Apple" Grabowski said...

My morning glories weren't blooming when we left for vacation. Hopefully I'll have a bloom or two when I get home! Our Lowe's doesn't seem to have the same deals that your's does! I may have to make John stop if we see any on the way home tomorrow. It will be great for you to have the swing to relax on after all the hard work of hanging it. :)

LostRoses said...

Carol, it does look like there's a glow light in there, doesn't it? I haven't planted these in years and I'm so glad I did finally get around to it.

I'm geared up to get that swing hung, one way or the other. Oh, a ladder? Hmmm, mine's pretty rickety.

Annie, I priced wooden swings earlier in the summer and didn't want to pay $100 so for this price it's worth a try. And I'm sure I'd never use it out in the yard.

I didn't know morning glories were a birth-month flower. I'd better check my birthday calendar for September to see who I can send it to!

Connie, another Heavenly Blue lover! All the other morning glories I have are volunteers and they're always some shade of deep purple which does nothing for me! And they've been blooming for at least 6 weeks. These are worth the wait!

Oh, Apple, I hope you come home to some heavenly morning glories! That will be a nice welcome.

I don't know why my Lowe's has such good sales. There are several other Lowe's within a 20 mile radius; maybe they're all competing with each other. But you'd better stop and check yours!

chuck b. said...

When I was a child, my grandparents had a porch swing, that was kind of a couch, with a seat that sort of swang on itself. Well, that's a terrible description, but long bench swings of any kind make me think of my grandmother's swing. I barely remember ever swinging on it, but I have vivid memories of the swing itself. She still had it somewhere on her property much later in my life, and I remember swinging on it then and liking it. I also remember that it was very, very heavy.


Apropos of nothing.

Bob said...

Glad you got the swing. Anything like that is a of by me. I love to set on the deck and enjoy the view.
It does seem like we gardeners spend our labor day laboring. Would love to see how the swing works out.
Happy labor day to you and yours, BOB

Dirty Fingernails said...

I love blue flowers too.. Esp. paired with red and white.. That swing looks lovely.. Let us know how it feels to relax in it..

Andrea's Garden said...

I love the morning glory and have exactly the same one. I spent today in the garden doing some cleanup and cutting back because one of my "old" friends from the U.S. is visiting over here and she will stop by my house on Friday. I could not have passed up the swing bargain. Good price!

Mary said...

If I had a glider like that, I'd never get the weeding done. It's too cozy and comfy. Hang that lovely seat and enjoy!

Your morning glory took my breath away. Another plant on my list...

Your posts crack me up. I love pure honesty.

LostRoses said...

chuck, funny how things like that stay lodged in our memories, isn't it? I know the type of swing you mean and I'm sure they were as heavy as a sleeper sofa. I was thinking about sleeping on this one all night but then I thought about spiders running over me and changed my mind.

Hi Bob, I think sitting and enjoying the garden is as important as laboring in the garden, maybe more important! Now I have a totally different perspective to enjoy it from.

Dirtyfingernails, blue is always coveted in my garden! The swing feels heavenly and I'll get a picture of it tomorrow to post.

Andrea, I'm glad you're enjoying Heavenly Blue also and just in time for your friend's visit. I'm always more concerned about how the garden looks when company comes rather than the house! We have our priorities, don't we?

Mary, since I spend so much time sitting and looking at the garden instead of working in it, that swing seemed a natural for me! I think you definitely would love a Heavenly Blue morning glory.

As for honesty, you're the original "tell it like it is" blogger! Oh, maybe there should be an award for that? LOL

CountryGirl said...

I love your posts! Your blooms are wonderful and you always make me smile. You have a wonderful humor to your writing. If you can't "idly" enjoy your garden once in awhile, what's the point of having a garden? I bet it doesn't take you long to get the swing up but don't forget to take it in this year!

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

I've always loved garden swings, particularly the ones that you can lie down on and look at the clear blue sky or morning glory, as the case may be, in utter contentment.

Giddy said...

Hi, Just getting back to reading all my favorite blogs and I have lots to catch up to. Here's a website helping to overwinter the Mandevilla vine - www.plant-care.com/mandevilla

Rusty in Miami said...

That is a great picture for that morning glory flower. I agree with you the blue is also my favorite

LostRoses said...

Countrygirl, thanks for your nice comments! I bet I'll take the swing in this year only because it's new and I'll feel guilty if I don't. Next year? We'll see!

Yolanda, that's so true! This morning I was lazing there looking up at the beautiful morning glories when a Red-shafted Flicker flew overhead. I saw his salmon-colored wing linings perfectly! An added bonus.

Giddy, thanks for that link! I never would have thought to fertilize the Mandevilla before I cut it back and brought it inside. I'd better get busy.

Rusty, I'm not sure why I love blue in the garden so much but I think it has to do with so much green as a backdrop. It just makes the blue so, well...heavenly!

Phillip Oliver said...

Great photo! I love the Heavenly Blue morning glory but it tends to try and take over my garden. I've got to where I reluctantly pull them up when I find them popping up.

Diana LaMarre said...

20 years in a row....LOL...you kill me, Lostroses!

The blue MG is my fav, too. I didn't plant any this year. I did notice about a two-foot vine growing in the garden by the deck. It must have overwintered. No bloom yet, but I hope it's a blue one.

Did you get that swing up?

Tira said...

What a perfect looking Heavenly Blue morning glory!

KC MO Garden Guy said...

Love the morning glory. I planted it a couple of years ago and it was beautiful but his year went with something else. I am kicking my self now.

Love the swing ideal. I want one be don't know where I will put it. Let us see pictures of how it turned out.

Mary said...

Came back to adore that Morning Glory. It looks like there is a light inside...

LostRoses said...

Phillip, I've never had a Heavenly Blue self-sow. When they come back the next year, they're a muddy blue, almost purple. And they grow with a vengeance! Like in your garden, they tend to take over and I'm always yanking them.

Well, Zoey, you know how time gets away from you! I hope your vine turns out Heavenly Blues for you.

Nicole, not bad for the first bloom, is it?

Cliff, I'm always doing that! I see something on someone else's blog and wonder why I neglected to plant it. Maybe we ought to review our posts before planting next spring!

Mary, it really does look lit from within, doesn't it?