Morning Glory and Dew Drops (I know ..I know...the picture is not a Morning Glory)

I opted out of gardening today because I wanted time to visit my mother-in-love, Granny, who is 93.  I did manage to quickly snap a friendly bumble bee who was grazing on my Mexican petunias. Too busy gathering nector, he generously allowed me to snap picture after picture of him and his industry. 

Luckily for us, Mexican petunias are resistant to drought.  Their blooms are generally closed by nightfall.  They are easy to propagate and root quickly with the help of a rooting compound.  They also send out invasive roots and come up all around the original plant.  They grow about 3 feet high but there are dwarf varities.  They are generally blue, purple or pink.  They are easy to grow and grace us with late summer bloomss.  They tolerate sandy soil, too. Butterflies, hummingbirds and bees adore them.

Granny, who grew up in Headland as a Soloman, always regales me with stories of her growing up next door to her Aunt Kate.  We tumbled onto the subject because we started talking about our recent visit to Headland and seeing a huge pomegranate bush loaded with fruit.  She tagged on to that train by remembering that her aunt had another unusual plant at the time for the 1920s:  a banana tree.  She told me that Aunt Kate lost her husband when she was pregnant with her seventh child, May-May.  Even with such hardship, her children became prominent and productive citizens.  I've met many of the cousins and one thing that seemed to be shared by all is a wonderfully sweet nature, just like Granny.  Dan-Dan, her husband of over sixty years, always referred to her as his morning glory with dewdrops.