Love Those Four O'Clocks

Monday, May 19, 2008

(This is the white Four O'clock with pink specks from last year)
As I've said many times, Four O'Clocks were my Daddy's favorite and they are also one of mine. Bruce & I even got married at 4:oo in the afternoon just for that reason. It was kind of a sentimental thing. Those of you that don't know much about them, don't know what your missing out on. They are an old fashioned garden flower. They usually bloom after 4:00 in the afternoon and into the evening, hence the name. They are night bloomers and have a wonderful, sweet fragrance. They bloom all night and close during the day. When a flower is finished blooming it leaves a seed that falls to the ground and reseeds itself or gets carried and dropped in another part of the garden by a bird. I love to collect the seeds and use them in other areas or give them to friends. Butterflies & Hummingbirds also love them. They are easy to grow. They don't require alot of care, in fact they can withstand alot of abuse. They come in many colors now. They use to be found mostly in Fuschia or Yellow but now they are also Pink, White, Peachy, Broken Colors, Kalediscope. As a result of all these different colors, alot of them are what I refer to as 'Mutant colors" because sometimes you don't know what you are going to get from year to year. One year I took my mom some seeds and tubers from some Fuschia Four O'Clocks that were blooming at my father's grave. I brought them up to her in Pennsylvania and she planted them. They came up Fuschia. The next year they were yellow! That's one of the things that I also love about them. They are always full of surprises. In a particular area of our front yard we have a Fuschia one called "Limelight" planted next to a white Four O'Clock bush. The first year all color was at it should be. Last year the very same white ones were white but with a couple of faint pink specks or pink lines. This year they just started blooming 3 days ago and to my pleasant surprise they look like a pink peppermint. I have attached a couple of pictures below so you can see what I mean. Also, alot of our Fuschia ones have developed light pink or peach around the outer edges of the flower. Some of the whites have a pink stamen and then on another white bush they will have yellow stamens. I love the variety and the surprise! We also had one that hasn't bloomed yet this year but the past two years that one same plant had two color flowers on one plant; yellow and fuschia. I can't wait to see what it has in store this year. I know that I am very enthusiastic about my Four O'Clocks, but if your a gardener, then you understand this crazy love of plants. I get so much joy from them! Oh the simple things in life that God has created for us to enjoy! I know I will have alot more to say about my Four O'Clocks throughout their blooming season, so you haven't heard the last of me on this! Haha! Forgive the photography below. It had stormed and was still lightly raining and dusk when we took these pictures. Hope you enjoy them anyway! If you want to know anything about Four O'clocks send me a message. I'll be happy to help! I may even have some extra seeds laying around for you! Happy Gardening~
This is the Four O'Clock that came up as a Pink Peppermint looking flower this year. Bruce is holding it so you can see it better.This is one of the white ones which were the first to bloom this year.These are some of the "Limelight" Fuschia ones that have
developed kind of an apricot color around the edges. This is a yellow bush and there is a white starfish shape in the center of the flower. There's the "love of my life" posing in the rain, at night in the Four O'clocks. (He's such a good sport!) Look how big the Four O'clocks have already gotten.
Those are 2 big plants but there are about 6 more there also.

This is another picture of the pink peppermint looking ones with the fuschia ones behind it. Fuschia & Yellow Fours growing by Seven Sisters Roses Fuschia Four O'Clocks

0 Comments: