Friday, September 26, 2008
Passion Flower

I was looking back through some older photos to get the botanic name for this beauty and I noticed something interesting. The first flower from this vine on the site is a lot more purple. I can only assume that is from the shady cool conditions we try to keep in the back yard. I'm sure he was in bright sunlight in the nursery and probably got just the right nutrients to bring out those beautiful colors. But I think I like the variegated look even more! And since I regularly have to untangle this guy from all of the other plants in the back yard I think he is pretty happy with the arrangement too.

Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Blooming Passon

Having more fun in the back yard. This is a great vine, it has come back from the brink with a vengeance. We should have lots of butterfly habitat this fall. :-D

Saturday, March 18, 2006
Passion Vine

Another view on my Passion Flower vine from a few days ago.

We did not get any more rain as promised. So no more rain photos yet, perhaps later this week! I'm sure the Basset will sniff out some beautiful subjects for me this weekend anyway.

Tuesday, March 7, 2006
Drops of Passion

Well yesterday was a really gray rainy day. It was starting to bug me. Then I took my camera into the back yard. Rain can be a wonderful thing for a photographer!

Recently, our Passion Flower vines made an incredible come back. We originally got them to attract butterflies and they were almost wiped out by their own success! The resulting caterpillars LOVED them.

This is an extreme close-up of one of the tendrils the vine sends out to climb things. It seems to have an amazing grip!

Friday, July 22, 2005
Passion Vine

This is from one of the vines in my back yard. I really like the little tendrils this vine puts out to climb on things. You would think nothing could stop it. Of course, the butterflies that we got this to attract have almost done it in. When it comes back it comes back with a vengeance but I think I am going to have to get it some friends before the next invasion of butterflies.

Sunday, April 10, 2005
Floral Fireworks

Another beauty in my backyard.

Last fall we noticed quite a few butterflies in our back yard. We decided to look for something that they would like to eat. I grabbed a couple of these Passion Flower (AKA Maypop & Apricot Vine) vines in the store because I have always loved them. After some research we also tried another flowering vine.

A few days after getting the vines settled in, one of our visitors returned and sat right on the Passion Flower vine. Apparently I am not the only one who likes them. Of course, they probably were not admiring the blossoms, they must taste pretty good too. (Butterflies taste and smell with their feet.)

Before long, the small vines were so covered in butterfly larvae they almost didn't make it (they must taste really good). We were able to watch them build cocoons but we did not catch any of them leaving.

Happily, spring is here and one of the vines is covered in buds and we have already seen one early beautiful blossom. The other is still recovering from it's fall job as a butterfly drive thru, (errr... fly thru?) But it looks like it will make it.