here is a picture I took today of it on our porch.
The roof is clear polycarbonate.
Everyone thought I had gone crazy when I said I was putting a clear roof over our porch in the hot Texas heat, but I knew what I was doing! lol...
It is the shadiest spot in the entire garden!
-T
That is oh so beautiful! I am very impressed.
Marc
Thank you Marc.
You can barely see it in the picture but on either side of the fan there are two chains hanging down...that is a porch swing. ...One of my very favorite places to sit.
We really did get made fun of, over choosing clear. In fact, downright criticized, but it was worth having to put up with all that, in the end.
-T
"He who laughs last, laughs best."
That is magnificant Seed Picker!!!!!!!!!! : ) Can ya bring it to my house now? LOL How many vines do you have growing there. Is it one or did you put a couple on each side? I bet it is one pretty place to sit and relax. Ahhhhhhhhh.. what a nice dream lookign at that pic.
Thanks for sharing it!
I'm moving to your house.. it's just gorgeous.. what a fantastic porch you got there. I love it.
edited for spelling...
This message was edited Apr 8, 2005 4:42 PM
How gorgeous! do you think it will vine all the way up to BC? I have a recollection that I lost one of these about 10 years ago. I'll have to try again after seeing yours, if I can find it. Great pic, thanks.
imway2 dumb-You said it, brother!
starlight1153-that is only two vines of grandiflora in the middle, with two vines of coccinea on either end...total of four vines. The grandiflora are much older and the coccinea are only a few years old...I think the grandiflora are about 3, or 4? yrs old...
Gourdy!-you are welcome ANY time! REALLY! We've got an extra bedroom upstairs! Anytime you are near, you better give me a shout! And, next time I go visit the desert(Palm Springs) I may just have to rent a car and go garden shopping with you at all the cool nurseries you have over there! BTW, did you get my last email??
Sunrize-I ALWAYS have extras of this(hoping I'm not shooting myself in the foot for announcing this publicly, but ...) I'd be happy to send you a start for sase...I just cannot stand to clip it and throw one single piece away. I HAVE to stick them! Drives my hubby crazy... lol...
-T
OH my!! Beautiful! I have one in my pot.. root are so thick and look like Wisteria's root, u know what i am talking about. lol.. I dont know where to plant it since we live in our new house a year. The yard need lots of work. That's why I am not ready to plant everything in the ground yet.
Minischnuz-trust me! I know what you are talking about! I grow way more in the greenhouse each year than I could possibly plant and dig, and even then I have to have the PERFECT spot before I commit to digging...
I have pots everywhere, but don't have any good excuse like you do! lol...I've lived here 12 years! There is no hope for me, I'm afraid...lol...
I've always complained that it is hard to fill in every inch of our 1/2 acre, but once I finish filling it all up, I'll probably complain I need more room! LOL!!!
I am curious are they hard to rid of ? or hard to kill like wisteria? lol.
Have you grown it successfully outside, Taylor?
mine comes back every year but doesn't start blooming until late summer
Bet I could do it too, if it was well mulched! Does yours die back to the ground, Donna?
Very pretty Taylor! Mine has buds but no blooms yet. Your pic makes me antsy for mine to bloom! Hopefully my alba will bloom this year too.
And your clear roof idea is GENIUS!
That's it!! I'm moving to either California or Texas!!!
Beautiful!!!
I'm taking a picture of Taylor's out to show my vine what it is supposed to be doing now! It's green and covering the wall it's on but no flowers. Beautiful porch Seedpicker.
I love that picture! I would soon have a major crick in my neck from sitting in the swing and looking at those lovely blooms. When you chose the clear roof, did you have that vine in mind? I wonder how it does in the heat of your summer. Is it a continuous bloomer?
Beautiful plants. We planted two of these on our A-frame Pergola and they have never stopped blooming and are now up to the 9 foot level. They should reach the top in another month. Ours are the Vareigated type and the color is slightly lighter than yours. They were the only two plants we could find. We also have Pink Lady Thumbs growing all over, and Rockroses. Also a lot of Star of Yalta MGs. Sometimes I wish we had less area. We have extended a good distance out now.
trois
Oh, I would love to have some, they are so beautiful. Never seen them in person. even several seeds would make me happy.
I'd be very happy with one little cutting. Maybe you will bring one to me at the Texoma Roundup?
Minischnuz-I really don't know if they are hard to get rid of, or not, because I've never tried to get rid of one. I suppose If I had to, it would be a real task, as these are large and many years old. The roots are probably like little tree roots! But, I would never say they are like wisteria. Wisteria spreads by runners AND by seeds, and T. grandiflora doesn't spread by runners, and I've never had a seed germinate in the surrounding area where they fall...
Imway2dumb-Yes, John, I've grown it outside. I have a white-flowered one outside on a martin house pole and a varietgated one on the fence. It took the white one a few years to bloom(which I think is because it was getting too much shade from a nearby tree), but both not only come back, but come back BIGGER each year. You are only a half zone different than me, and I don't use mulch. If you mulched I'd assume it would behave the exact same way for you.
DonnaB-Yes, Fall is their normal bloom time. That is when my variegated one and alba one will bloom. But, these are blooming now because they just haven't stopped since they started back in November. We wrap this porch in two layers of greenhouse plastic each winter, turn on the gas heater that is outside by the wall, and it becomes our "greenhouse". That is why they are blooming right now. If they'd been exposed to outdoor temperatures, they only just now be waking up, like my others... But, instead, they will soon be finishing up...
PudgymudpiesThank you, Donna! I am really pleased with it being clear...I've always kinda marched to the beat of a different drum, than everyone else, anyway, so I suppose it just kinda suits me to do something "different", lol...
luvsgrtdanes-don't worry! We ALL get zone envy from time to time! lol...I know I do...
Calalilythank you! I think yours is just waiting for the first hints of cool weather. It is perfectly on schedule.
LGW-no, they primarily start blooming in fall and bloom until frost, or in my case until it gets too hot in summer...
Trois- Are the Pink Lady Thumb, Rockroses, & Star of Yelta from the seeds I gave you?? My lemon made it through the winter and didn't even lose a leaf! The thornless lime died to the ground, but is now coming back up. I sure hope to get the satsuma orange seeds (you gave me) germinated...I'll have my own little citrus grove, like you! lol...
Lizh-you can send me a postage sase if you'd like. I have extras...
-Taylor
Blue Sky is very beautiful here in Miami as it grows and blooms year round. Unfortunately, it is REALLY tenacious and a super fast grower here. I am constantly whacking it back. It has completely covered a 30 foot traveler's tree, part of my patio roof, 20 feet out on 6 foot fence (I have to maintain an opening in order to get my gate open), and grabs hold of the fronds of a 35 foot royal palm which is 10 feet away from the traveler's tree. It looks great but hey!
Catslarson-I do think the two zone difference makes a big difference! I believe it could be a monster in your zone
-T
Yes, those are from the seeds you gave me. My Satsumas are in full bloom now and I find myself standing there a long time for the really good smell. Really great. And it looks like another good crop this year. I hope your Satsuma seeds all germinate. With mulch, you should have no problem with winter temps.
Trois-Yes, that is why I mentioned the lemons and lime. They pleasantlly surprised me, so I should have absolutely NO problem with a satsuma, since they are rated hardier than the lemon and lime, anyway.
They've not germinated, yet, but still hopeful. If they don't germinate, I think I'll just go online and find a small tree! lol...
I really want one in the garden.
I'm sure the fragrance of your mature satsuma, is just breathtaking!!
-T
They are my favorite plant. The Persimon is nice but has no bloom smell and a lot less fruit. They are delicious though. I guess I look forward to the first ripe Persimon while drooling a bit.
Awesome porch!!! I love your outdoor living space, and that you convert it to a greenhouse in the wintertime... well, that's just phenomenal. Bet it sounds lovely during a gentle rain.
*sighing dreamily*
Oh yeah, pretty vines, too! ;)
Donna
That is one gorgeous vine. I know I'd love sitting there.
Trois-yes, you've got me wanting to eat a mandarin...now!, lol...
Tuttifrutti-funny you'd say that because that is actually when I really do spend most of my time sitting there! When it is nice weather I'm usually watering or digging...rainy days are the only days I can afford to take a minute to sit there and take a break...
Brugie-Thank you!
I guess I go for the "enchanted forest" look...same with the interior...the porch traps a lot of butterflies(unforutnately) that cannot seem to find their way out, since they just keep flying "up" and not "out". I have a wall in our informal eating area painted with vines. I've slowly tacked all the butterflies on the wall with pins to make them look as if they were fluttering around. Much easier than trying to paint them! And, they last forever...
Ever watch the BBC? Linda Barker did a GREAT enchanted forest eating are once with butterflies on the curtains, a Candle-ier over the table, and tiny twinkle lights strung through a real curly barked tree form she mounted to the corner, and it stretched over the dining table...talk about dreamy!
Your flower roof looks great. I love the effect with the ceiling fan. It looks like a lovely place to relax.
That's beautiful taylor, Mine's growing in the greenhouse, this is a hardy vine isn't it? I know the batiscombii isn't, . You really are into the vines ain't ya? LOL
I love them too,
kathy_ann
Hey, Queenie! That vine is drop dead gorgeous! I'm coming to sit on your porch this summer or bust!
(For everyone who doesn't know "Queenie", Taylor was just given a new name by me as the Vine Queen. LOL!)
Kay
Taylor, that is GORGEOUS! I hope you made fun of all those nay-sayers right back! LOL You knew what you were talking about indeed!!!!! :-)
-Julie
Niiiiceeee! Work -T
Really Nice!
Firsthyme
What is the botanical name for your
gorgeous vine? Thank you.
Thunbergia Grandiflora is the botanical name, I think. I've had two of them and they never bloom in the summer, which is when I want all my blooms. Am I don't something wrong? I didn't fertilize much because one was in the ground (second year). The first year, I had one in a pot and it grew and grew, fertilized regularly, and no blooms. I figured that I wasn't supposed to do that, but the second one didn't bloom either.
Plant_fiend-actually, there are three ceiling fans... they just don't all show up in this picture. The porch is 50 ft. wide(long) and so we needed several to keep the air moving.
It certainly does get hot here in Texas from July through September, and the ceiling fans do help, but that was not what prompted us to get them. It was more for my precious little seedlings needing good air circulation while this porch is a greenhouse in winter, lol...
Hi Kathy!-yes, I AM into vines! lol...and yes, it is hardy. My others outside come back bigger and better each year. These are in the greenhouse, too, depending upon how you look at it...it is a greenhouse in winter, and when we rip the plastic off in Spring, becomes our porch, again. My battsicombei always comes back. I do put a little mulch on it, but I'd think yours should come back, too? I don't water the battiscombei in winter at all...just what the rain gives...
Hi Kay!-didn't you mention you had family down here? Let me know! I'll get the tea set out and bake a cake! Bring your swimsuit, too!
Julie- Actually, I've not really had that chance..."those" neighbors don't even talk to us, anymore...they turned a certain shade of green, lol...It was "keep up with the Jones' " for a couple of years, and now it has pretty much just ended up in silence...My own family however DID have something to say after the sharp criticism...simply: "HHmm..", lol...Oh well, no one will actually ADMIT it, but I'm glad "you all"(it is a TX thing to say y'all) like it and will actually SAY SO! lol... Actually, they say ya'll in Oklahoma, too, don't they, Julie?
FirsthymeThank you very much!
Taramark Yes, like Brugie said, it is Thunbergia grandiflora. Some spell it thuMbergia, but I feel thunbergia is more correct...It may not be a perennial in your zone, but they are easy enough to propagate from cuttings, that it would be the same difference as as winter sowing seeds for Spring.
BrugieNO! You are not doing ANYthing wrong! Mine are only blooming because they were wrapped in greenhouse plastic and the heat was turned on. They started in November, and because they didn't experience any frost, or even any cold, they are still blooming. They will stop when the heat picks up, and not bloom again, until Fall. Fall is their normal time. The others(my alba and variegata) are only just now waking up from the ground, and certainly look NOTHING like these, that were protected and heated...The other two outside are just little sprouts right now! lol...
-T
Whew!! So I guess this vine isn't a good one for summer blooms in Iowa. My, I could have fiddled with that one for a long time. Thanks for the explanation. I sure did like the way I thought she would look for me. LOL! Now, I'm back to snail vines. I didn't have much luck with them either.
My snails bloom their heads off once they get going all summer long, but seem to take a while to "wake up" from the ground... they seem to wait until it is really good and warm...mine are just starting to peek up from the ground.
Yes, for extened color, the snail is the better choice. If you told me I could only have one or the other, I'd pick the snail...but still the T. grand is still one of my favorites, it is just that the snail is my very favorite...
-T
