morning glories

It's a funny name. In Britain it means waking up with an erection. Don't blame me, it does. Because of that curious reality my balcony railing is covered with colorful morning boners to the delight of neighbors who are drawn to their balconies to see them. They tell me. They see them more than I, the flowers face outward like trumpets. The vines are considered something of a nuisance when they appear sometimes by surprise out of nowhere apparently and take over but these were somewhat difficult to get started on account of me not knowing anything, starting too early, non-drainage during flood, planting in wrong places for them, planting with others that overshadow them early, organic dirt with bugs. About six or eight packages of seeds were planted, germinated, grew and failed in series. Mostly red for hummingbirds, but also blue striped. They're supposed to be blue. They're growing where they shouldn't be attempted. Their place is all wrong, too windy, insufficient sunlight hours, too harsh when it shines directly on them, otherwise too shadowed throughout the day. Their blooming pattern is altered because of that. They may drop seeds that fall into places and take hold and not show up for one or two years, then boom, quickly reseed there and take over within a few years they can have a whole fence or wall of a neglected corner.

The red ones are disappointingly tiny. The vines are still filling out and loading up with these delicate buds. A few vines haven't bloomed yet.

They're glorious beyond morning due to their morning-protected, afternoon-abused situation of sunlight deprivation/harshness and wind.

The only thing they've got going for them is a loyal Babylonian water slave. He gives them a teaspoon of food with every five gallons and starts each day with a full five gallons carried back and forth in a cart and refills it for waiting often using the second, or a half, which starts the next day with a half that is refilled and used with the extra kept right there waiting. The first sign of water or heat stress and boom the whole lot is watered.

Now is probably the time to harvest these things.

Colorful caladium foliage and morning glories grow fully and begin blooming taking over when and where regular annuals petunias and the rest begin fading. The whole thing is transforming, dying, disappearing while still shooting up and blooming and not just growing.

I don't know yet, it probably all ends abruptly with one single storm.