The Short Answer (TSA)
But I was
in for a surprise. The picture on the
package - that looked like a morning glory - wasn’t. To my surprise, I found myself buying a pack of
moon flower seeds. Instead of the
morning, was I going to get the “glories of the night”?!
My mistake
was a natural one. Known to their
friends by their comfortable name, “moon flowers,” they are formally called Ipomoea alba. These beautiful flowering vines were
originally native to Mexico and Argentina.
Why
moon flower?
Because
this variety of what is, admittedly, called Morning
Glory doesn’t bloom in the morning.
Instead, the moon flower blooms in the dark of night. And, incidentally, these white, round flowers
resemble a full moon.
When I read
the pack, I quickly realized that moon flowers would be a welcome addition to my
garden. Far from some vampiric hybrid
with a dangerous nature, the moon flower is a morning glory that blooms really,
really early in the morning. Well,
actually, they bloom long before it’s morning -- appearing after sundown and
remaining until touched by the first rays of the rising sun. (Although, on overcast days, they can last
into the daylight hours.)
The flowers
can be 3 to 6 inches wide and do for the evening what the traditional morning
glory does for the early morning hours -- create a striking visual display of blossoms. Now, thinking of the heat of the summer, I’m looking for an all-day-long
glory, but have yet to find one.
M Grossmann of Hazelwood,
Missouri & Belleville, Illinois
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