Lost in thought on my way to town this morning. Most mornings, I get in the car, say my morning prayers, and flip on the radio to quiet the drone that are my racing thoughts. Some mornings I don’t flip on the radio and actually listen to the thoughts. I keep a notebook in the car for these mornings, because the thoughts are really worth noting and I’ll forget them all by the time I enter the parking garage.
Notes from this morning included “wisteria”, “trumpet vine”, “english ivy”, “evening primrose”.
One evening last week, I coerced my daughter to join me at the middle school for the annual Greenfest. One of the new events at Greenfest was a perennial exchange. I was so excited – I went straight home from work, dug up two of my favorite perennial specimens, and lugged them off to the Greenfest. B does not share my enthusiasm for gardening, which really saddens my heart. But she was equally excited about the food displays. 
At the perennial table, I traded my stemless evening primrose (oenothera triloba) for a fern. This is one flower I can hardly wait for each summer, as the kids love watching the buds bloom each evening. Just at dusk, they race outside, trying to guess how many flowers will bloom tonight. And if they are lucky, they get there just in time for the show. You can actually watch them open!
And I donated my Love-in-a-Mist (nigela damascena), which is actually an annual, but it self-sows, so I made it work.
They will probably not like it after a couple of years when they can’t figure out how in the world it shows up everywhere – even in the cracks of the walkway! But it’s such a pretty blue flower, I forgive it for its aggressive nature and pull the ones that just don’t belong.
Back to my list – my list of aggressive plants that I have tried despite the voice of experience. When I first bought my wisteria and shared the news with Alice (my favorite gardening friend), her reaction was “oh my”. What? Well, just make sure it has some good support. It can bring down a small house. Of course, I’m training it up the stairs of my deck, along the rail. Hopefully, the rails are strong enough to hold it.
I’ve also been told of how difficult it is to grow wisteria in my part of the world. Maybe that’s another reason for Alice’s concern. I know I came close to enjoying the plant in bloom this year, but the weather just did not cooperate.
Trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans) – the first time I saw it was at the beach house in North Carolina.
The flowers were gorgeous, orange and long. The seed pods are enormous, and should probably have told me something about the plant. I have tried 3 times (unsuccessfully) to start these vines on my fence, but the ground must be too moist. I have since read horror stories of having to bring in a backhoe to dig out the roots of this extremely invasive plant. (I did check on it yesterday, and it does appear that the vine may have taken root, finally. Now the question that remains to be answered – did I make a mistake here?)
I’ve told my English Ivy story, and Alice actually warned me about that one too.
She gave me my first sample of evening primrose (not the stemless variety) and told me I’d have to keep it at bay, as it could take over the entire garden. She was right on all counts.
I really have to applaud the new principal at our middle school. He is really encouraging the students to be good stewards to the environment. He spearheaded this Greenfest a few years ago, and the program continues to grow each year. He brings in local nurseries, a bee keeper, an etymologist, a Penn State Master Gardener, and has demonstrations that each class puts together – similar to a science fair.
The perennials that were donated will be planted in the courtyard (which for 25 years has had nothing but grass growing in it).
garden4therapy 
I love the idea of a perennial exchange 🙂
LikeLike
“Cool Hand Luke” is one of few movies my better half got me hooked on (most of the time, he suffers through my idea of a movie. So you had me at the title line. I can relate to the wisteria and trumpet vine. I made the mistake of planting Campsis over a large pergola we built on the back of our first home. Don’t try that one at home. But we have some growing up the trees along the fence row; we rip out a goodly amount in the spring to keep it in check, and I can enjoy the carmine-red blooms guilt-free all summer. I’ve never had love-in-a-mist become invasive…but that could have to do with some benign neglect I’ve inflicted on past gardens.
LikeLike
I don’t know if I used invasive properly, but the reseeding I’ve had with it is incredible. I’m forever pulling new growth out of the lawn, in the cracks of the driveway, in places I certainly never planted it! I’ve learned to pull it back before the seedpods explode! And the Hub loves a good Paul Newman flick, so we watch (a little too) regularly!!
LikeLike
Oh, it’s definitely invasive and almost impossible to get rid of. I’ve seen horror stories of on Dave’s Garden – if left unchecked, it can force its way under siding and grow inside the walls. (A lot like wisteria in that regard.) And those seed pods fell all over our porch and furniture. Planting it to cover the pergola was not my best garden design idea, for sure. But in fairness to this vine, it’s pretty much true for any vine I might have chosen. They’re all going to drop leaves, seeds, flower petals, etc. I learned a hard lesson from that experience 🙂
LikeLike