Mina lobiata

I have wanted and tried to grow this vine from seed so many times I can't even count the attempts. They have always failed, and I had given up. But then I saw it at Annie's annuals this year, and bought it thinking I would probably kill it somehow- like I've killed it so many times in the past, but while I did kill a number of other plants, this one totally thrived. 

I'm so happy to see it blooming!

Also called exotic love vine, firecracker vine and Spanish flag vine, it seems to like to be a bit moist I have it in a container that does not have drainage holes in it. A lot of the other plants in these containers died quickly but this one seemed to thrive in this environment. 

More Cape Honeysuckle

Happy Happy plant!

Cape Honeysuckle

The Cape Honey suckle is starting to bloom, I think this is a month or two earlier than last year. Yesterday, as I was sitting on the swing in the backyard reading a book, I heard the unmistakable sound of hummingbird wings flapping, I turned and saw one drinking out of a bloom, and then the little bird went to the unopened blooms an nudged them a bit to see if they would open.

Then it flew around to the front side of the swing and hovered for a while in front of me, I wonder if it was weighing it's options of trying to see if the red on my shirt was edible.

Hops

I thought I lost the Hops vine I bought last year, but I just noticed that it has sprouted back up! I'm very happy to see that I don't need to buy another plant to try this again.

A Guide on Growing Hops: http://www.americanbrewmaster.com/growing_hops.htm 

If this vine grows and does well this year, I may get this book, and see about brewing my own beer from my own crops...

Morning Glory

I almost killed the Morning Glories that I stuggled so hard to grow...

I put them outside in their little peat pots, and forgot to water them! The leaves shriveled up and turned brown. Luckily, the blooms were already setting, and that plant put all it's energy into producing those.

I've transplanted them into a pot, where I hope they will recover, and continue to bloom.

Seed Update #2

It's about time to transplant some of these guys.

Morning Glory 5 of 11 sprouted
Cerinthe - 6 of 12 sprouted
Poppy - approx 50 seedlings
Watermelon - 3 of 5 sprouted
Nasturtium - 2 of 6 sprouted
Phlox - 2 of 6 sprouted
Lavender - 0 of 6 sprouted
Chives - 2 of 6 survived
Thyme - approx 40 seedlings

Out of all of these, I think I am most happy about the morning glory. I have tried and failed so many time to grow these from seed, and finally I have a taste of success!

Climbing Penstemon

I bought this plant either from Annies Annuals, or from another nursery carrying Annie's Annuals plants a couple years ago. It had a hard time last year, but this winter, it has had a growth spurt and is looking like it's going to do pretty well.

This Climbing Pentstemon (Keckiella Cordifolia) is a California Native and a hummingbird attractor. It's supposed to bloom May-July. I'm thinking it might be interesting to plant it somewhere with the Cape Honeysuckle, which has been blooming in November/December, to provide a mostly-year round hummingbird feeding area...

Here's some more info on it from the Las Pilitas Nursery: http://www.laspilitas.com/nature-of-california/plants/keckiella-cordifolia

Cape Honeysuckle

Here it is December, and the Cape Honeysuckle I bought this year is blooming! It's doing pretty well, but needs to be repotted since it's still in the 1 gallon container I bought it in, and it needed to be watered every day.