Have You Got Time for a Clockvine?

Here is the first bloom on my clockvine. It turns out that it is not what I thought it was. There are two types of clockvines - thunbergia grandiflora and thunbergia battiscombei. I thought this was the grandiflora, but it is a battiscombei. Actually, this is perfect because I would rather the battiscombei. Floridata calls this vine the scrambling clock vine, so that's what I'll call it too. It is a pretty rare plant to find, but well worth planting. What I really like about it is the deep purple bloom with the golden centers - those are the exact colors of my very favorite college sports program, LSU! So now I have my LSU purple and gold flower. This is a wonderful vining plant that comes back after winter if you live in zone 8 or higher. Why are plants this nice so rare?

This next plant is the rampant wild coreopsis - also called calleopsis or tickseed. Notice how the little buds resemble ticks. This rascal reseeds readily in my yard and can almost become a pest. I tolerate it because butterflies like them and they are so easy. They get about 4 feet tall and make a pretty flower. They also tolerate neglect quite well. I like to shear them back a little when they get around 2'-3' tall so they get bushier. Highly recommended if you want something to plant in a "wild" portion of your yard.