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Friday 6 June 2008

A Moment of Passion

While we lived in Holland and had a wonderful private court yard garden (tiny, but oh so private) .. the one plant husband raved over was the Passion Flower vine that draped the brick sun wall. It was an amazing plant and our first introduction to something so ornate and beautiful it was hard to believe it was truly a live plant. Exotic .. oh yes ! Yet it survived the winters there (even one of the coldest on record .. it must have been us Canucks that brought a true winter with us ?) ..
Finally after some convincing, husband talked me into taking a vine home from one of our garden centers this year .. I kept telling him (and I'm still telling him .. it will NOT survive our winter and I can't bring it into the house .. the "girls' will play havoc with it ... he says, maybe if it is snug up to the house on the deck it might just make it ? How can you tell him no ? .. it is like telling an innocent child there is NO Santa Claus .. so .. I say "maybe" .. I mean I have to give him hope don't I ?
Meanwhile we get to enjoy a summer season of this enchanting vine, with its first flower that bloomed today !









13 comments:

Melissa said...

Beautiful! Well save some of the seeds to put out next spring if it dies. Usually they are very easy to grow, but who knows, it just might make it! You could always pot up a runner for the winter too.

Aunt Debbi/kurts mom said...

You are growing it in a container. Mine is a 20 foot monster. At least in the container you can try to overwinter it in the garage.

Gail said...

Do you have a garage? You all need to make friends with a greenhouse owner so husbands beautiful plant survives! It is lovely...wait till it sets fruit!

Gail

Unknown said...

Oh, yay for passionflowers....good for you! I've never tried one, Joy, but you're enspiring me to do so.

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Jodi .. you would have been amazed at the one we had in Holland .. husband always wanted me to try one here .. so this is "his" plant of choice ! LOL

Gail .. that is the sticking point .. no garage .. but we have friends that do .. yet I'm thinking maybe seeds from the fruit ?

Debbie .. the Dutch one was a monster too ! .. we had never seen anything like it .. I'm jealous of yours now ! haha

Melissa .. now that is another option too .. that way I control the fact no insects from outdoors .. and I might have the right space for it on top of the kitchen hutch .. another great idea ! Thanks !

Anonymous said...

Really exotic aren't they!
I gather the roots can be protected if not the whole plant.
Ideas are - putting a flat piece of polystyrene over the roots with a narrow notch cut out to the centre,to take the stem (then filling in the notch with the piece you've cut out).
Slitting up the side of a soft plastic plant pot and removing some of the bottom to take the stem. Put it in place upside down. Use string etc to hold pot back together. Could also hold fleece inside for extra protection)

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi EG .. can you come over and show me how to do that ? LOL
I have seen a few materials that might be able to insulate the whole pot .. I'll try for a few seeds, a few cuttings and protect the mother plant as much as possible for the winter .. my winter project already ? LOL
Thanks for the info : )

Viooltje said...

I don't blame your husband at all. It is one plant to crave for. Even if I need to take it indoors each winter. I have left one of my Passifloras outside last year, gave it the best possible protection, but in the end it didn't survive the mental cold. Or so it seemed. Until the other week when I spotted new growth from the root system. Passion flowers are just an awesome work of art in my humble opinion. Never mind the hybrid or the colors. I have got the red one for the first time this year (P. Victoria) but this 'ordinary' one remains one of the most extraordinary flowers I have ever seen. Talk about delicacy, talk about grace, talk about 'its-outta-this-world'.

P.S. The Dutch have it all don't they, perfectly mild weather and garden centers galore ;-)

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Violet ... I keep saying "if only I could have had the cameras I have now for then , while we were in Holland !"
They are so amazing as garden people .. forget the wooden shoes .. the Delft .. hum ? .. well not really, the forgetting part ! But the gardens in such tiny places and huge ones such as the Keukenhof .. I am still in awe of it all and can hardly believe we lived there for 4 years.
I'm going to give it a try .. to see if I can save something of this plant .. but I know it is so in demand each season now .. well, I can buy another one can't I ? !

Cat said...

Wow!
Sadly the one that was in our yard seed to have expired before we arrived.
Congrats on yours!

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Thanks Cat .. too bad yours didn't make it .. but hey, you can try with a new one ? I may have to .. we'll see how well the winter project comes along.
Thanks for stopping by !

Anonymous said...

It looks like something constructed on an artist board. I'm amazed nature can produce so much detail. Didn't notice till that last pic that you have it growing in a pot. That's clever.
Anna--Flowergardengirl

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Hi Anna ... this is the only way that is practical for me to have husband's favorite vine .. we had a more elaborate one in Holland .. but these guys are so amazing it is hard to believe it truly is a living plant !