The morning glory. One of the simplest plants to grow, and of course it’s one of those that gives me some trouble. Not that it can’t be done, but every now and then there is an off year and they just don’t produce or grow the way I know they can. This year is not one of those years, as many (too many) have re-seeded themselves. (I actually haven’t planted a new batch of seeds in about five years.) I’m partial to the old-fashioned common blue variety (which is one of the elusive ones that has yet to show its face in the garden), but I’ll take these smaller, and more vibrantly-hued hybrids, as a reasonable substitute.
These plants seem to enjoy a simpler, unamended soil – in richer ones they make more leaf growth than flower power – and perhaps that is the reason for their hit-and-miss nature in my own garden. I remember coming upon a large expanse of morning glories covering a chain link fence in Chicago many years ago – and they seemed to be growing out of cracks in the sidewalk and a small patch of dry barren earth. Some things like a challenge, and perform all the better for it.
