About my garden

Monday 1 October 2018

Cups and saucers In a Vase on Monday

Here is a success story. For several years my Mum has given me a seedling of Cobea scandens. I duly plant it but have never got one to flower. This year I planted it In The Right Place and Watered It. 
It was next to my sweet peas and they got the water emptied from our duck pond (paddling pool) once or twice a week (with extra nutrients!).



It grew to a beautiful and very large vine. It must be 12' long and makes a bit of feature in what is a very flat garden. You can see my brassicas caged in behind and what is left of this row of sweet peas waiting to be cleared. 

I was very excited to get the first flower in August and from then on it has produced many blooms. They last a few days each, opening in green then darkening to purple before the centre falls out. They will open from a bud too. 
The stems are not very long and the flowers grow along the vine so if you cut a longer length of stem you would also cut the developing flowers. 






I added some of the vine to this vase, sacrificing any flowers it might produce but I would think it's days are numbered anyway. I like the twirling tendrils. Also tucked in is some Phacelia foliage to test out how it stands up in a vase. Very well, is the answer. 



I had to go back and take an extra picture when I saw the light coming through like this.

I was away early last week and heard reports of frost. The dahlias are still going, however, so hopefully they'll last a few more weeks as some of them have only just got into their stride. We are getting chilly mornings and evenings with warm days. Let's hope that continues and we can get our autumn tasks done. The weeds are making up for time lost during the summer heat. 

Call over to Cathy at Rambling in the Garden to see what joys people have found to put In a Vase on Monday. 



19 comments:

  1. Had never heard of this vine Alison. Glad you found a place to make it happy this year. Makes a beautiful vase.

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    1. Sometimes it's worth it to keep trying. As long as you don't keep planting the same thing in the same place.

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  2. What a beautiful vine! It looks absolutely stunning in your vase. I'm going to have to read up on it and see if it can be grown around here!

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    1. It is lovely. The flowers only last a few days but once they started they kept coming.

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  3. A wonderful vine that I haven't grown in years. The blooms and vines look wonderful in your arrangement. Fingers crossed that the frost holds off for you!

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    1. Thank you. The forecast looks ok for the next week or two.

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  4. Oh I am so pleased to hear about your cobaea and thrilled that you got it to flower! I have grown it from seed this year and had one in the greenhouse and the others outside. The inside one is dying off and the others are growing rampantly but no flowers yet so I think I shall be unlucky, which is a shame. Yours look so sweet in a vase so thank you for sacrificing further buds! Such a pretty flower :)

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    1. That's very kind when yours are not flowering. I wonder why not. Keep trying I suppose! I think they are perennial but unlikely to survive here.

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  5. How pretty! I saw one in a garden I visited once, in a half open greenhouse, and it was enormous.... had no idea of the name though! So glad it flowered for you. Hope the frosts stay at bay. We have had a couple of light frosts already.

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    1. That sounds lovely. I think we've had a little frost and winds which did damage too.

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  6. Fabulous photographs of your special plant...the way you have arranged, then posed it is delightful.

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  7. It's lovely! I've seen this vine growing in my local botanic garden but I've never tried growing it myself. Although it's native to our neighbor Mexico, it needs more water than most of my plants get. Still, I'm tempted!

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    1. I think perhaps, the fact that I watered it regularly is the key to the flowering! Have a go.

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  8. Oh you must be delighted that you have succeeded with the cobaea Alison. Both the purple and white varieties are beauties. Maybe the extra nutrients did the trick. I've only ever succeeded once with it and then didn't see any flowers until October.

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    1. I am delighted. It has been a real feature.

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  9. Hi Alison, congratulations on your success with the cobea. It's lovely and your mother must be delighted too. Now that winter is drawing ever nearer I think you do right to cut some for your vase - at the very least you now have a photo to remind you of your success! xx

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  10. So glad you had a success with this plant - gorgeous!

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