Just when I was thinking that our Monsoon season was wrapping up, we have two very rainy days here in Tucson. Yesterday I measured an inch and a half in the rain gage, and although it has mostly been sprinkles through the day today, the clouds are ominous and I won't be surprised to see some rain come with nightfall.
Although my garden is doing well, I have shown all the blooms that I have so I am posting about a new plant I picked up the other day.
It was labeled a "Corkscrew Flower". I am just captivated by the uniquely shaped flowers and buds and although I don't think it will survive the winter with top growth, from what I've read, it should come back each Spring. I've also thought about putting it in a container which could be moved to a little warmer place, but as of now I haven't decided and it is sitting on my front patio area.
When I started researching it though, it seems that I don't have a real "Corkscrew Flower" (Vigna Caracalla) at all but a "Snail Plant" (Phaseolus caracalla) instead. The Corkscrew flower is multicolored and fragrant and the Snail Plant is lavender and does not have a scent. I am really surprised by how often I run into mis-labeled plants. My Passion Vine was also labeled incorrectly, from what I can figure out.
The little dove who has been sitting on her umpteenth batch of eggs in my smaller Cholla finally hatched two little babies. The nest is low, and I was able to snap a picture of them. They look like they've been hatched longer than I thought, which goes to show how hard it has been to catch this devoted Mama off the nest.
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11 comments:
What ever it's called that plant is interesting! Love the nest in the cactus. Happy Bloomin' Tuesday! Jeaan
Wow - that vine is really unusual and BEAUTIFUL!!! Love the pale lavender color and the shape is so pretty. The dovelings are darling! ;o)
Weirdly rainy end of summer here too, in Seattle. Are those little doves going to have to watch their wings so they don't get poked by the cactus spikes? What a funny place for a nest! Guess maybe it keeps away predators??
- Karen
http://greenwalks.wordpress.com
Okay, I'll bow my head in shame, I didn't even notice the bird in the next until I passed by the picture a few times. Just goes to show that nature's camoflauge works well. :)
I was going to say...that's a snail vine. We've had them on our back fence until our neighbor pulled them out! I had one out front that was crawling up our porch, but the STUPID DOGS dug it up! Except for STUPID DOGS, they are nearly indestructable! They grow very quickly. I still have one on the other neighbors' fence and NOTHING stops it!!!
We've had our share of thunderstorms here, too!
I love your little bean tree slide! What a pretty vine (I think its a snail too), and SWEET dove babies! Mom nested in the prickly pear? How cool! Thank you for sharing!
Okay, I'll put my 2 cents in too -I think I'd call it a a fortune cookie vine. Anyway it's a neat plant, hope it survives. And the doves are very sweet.
I run into the same problem with mislabeling all the time with cacti. I am a bit obsessive compulsive when it come to accurate ID, and this is a frequent source of frustration! Snail Vines usually will come back if they are well established before the frost. You may have time to get it going before it gets that cold.
We had .52" the other night also. I'm worried about my cacti rotting as many got soaked--just after I did watering. Monsoon time has both highs and lows!
I'm glad to hear your dove finally produced some babies. Mine is back on the nest after a 2 week break. The pair started this stuff back in March and have never managed to hatch a single baby. I think it's time they move on.
Aiyana
What a cool flower that vine produces.
THats soo cool!
I love it!
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