What's the Story, Morning Glory?

First glimpse of Morning Glory
leaves to the right of the Petunias

Morning glories are probably my favorite flower to plant, next to roses, of course, which is just about every woman's favorite. I planted them for the first time several years ago where my husband and I used to live before we got married. It was the height of when the economy was at its worst and people were losing jobs left and right. I was no exception. I lost my job in May 2009 and became inevitably depressed. I tried desperately to search for a new job, as well as a hobby.

During those three months I got into gardening. I borrowed different books from the library and spent my time of reading and studying. I also found that digging in the dirt and planting and creating life, in a way, was oddly therapeutic. I found that it helped pick me up during one of the worst points in my life...so far.

Since then, not only did I find another job, we moved to a place that was better for us in many ways. Since we have more of our own space, I've begun planting again. As soon as we moved, which was during the winter of 2010 into 2011, I found the perfect place to start a garden. I couldn't wait until April or May to start. Unfortunately, you may remember, the summer weather in the northeast in 2011 wasn't the greatest. It wasn't very warm and it was a little too rainy. All in all, the weather was just slightly poor enough where my garden didn't do well.

This years things we've moved and I've begun planting again as I finally have my own place to attend to.  It got warm, and even hot some days, very early during the spring. I noticed that the flowers I had planted the year before, which died out before the fall, began to turn green and pop up, which was amazing to me because they were only annuals. But sure enough they came back, and they are beautiful.

The end of April I planted Morning Glory seeds. On May 26th, almost a month and a half later, I haven't seen much other than a few leaves poking through the ground. At first I almost pulled them, thinking they were weeds. However, I noticed that they are showing up where I had planted them. Feeling a little disconcerted, I looked it up and Morning Glories apparently don't bloom in the northeast until June. So if this is true, and I did all the right steps, they should be blooming right on schedule.

Morning Glory leaves
to the left of the Pansies

I've also learned from my previous Morning Glory planting experience that they are actually a vine. As a result, if they planted too close to other flowers or plants, they choke them. So this time I've planned accordingly, and I've also given them something to climb.

I've included some pictures here of what I believe is the beginning of my new Morning Glories. I wait anxiously each day to see if they have poked through the soil and what colors they will be when they bloom.

Much like Morning Glories, we grow and learn each day in life. The more we grow and fully develop, the more beautiful we become. Sometimes in life we experience storms or bad weather, but it is up to us to grow and learn from them. We are only "dead" if we choose to be. And it is up to us to pull out the weeds that may surround us. Remember that we may have a bad year from time to time, but we can always bounce back the next year. We also need to embrace the water and sunlight in our lives in order to really grow and reach our full, beautiful potential.







(C) Photos taken by Julie Hoey on May 26th, 2012. Usage of these photos or content written above used by written permission only.