Caudiciform Morning Glory
Ipomoea platensis
(ip-oh-MEE-a) (pla-TEN-sis)
Synonyms: Plata Ipomoea

This was a new flower for me. It was growing in a container and the vine part of the plant had grown to about 10 feet tall on its trellis. One of the interesting parts was its large and swollen caudex (the thickened persistent stem base of some herbaceous perennial plants). The way it had intertwined itself was amazing. This native of Argentina uses the water storage tissue in its caudex to survive extended droughts. The flowers were pretty with their two shades of pink and ruffled appearance. The foliage was nice too. You can see a little peeking in the side of the photo.

I have recently been struggling in how to write the story of the last member of the ‘Big Three’ that passed away last week. First I want to say that both of my dogs are okay. Both Ruby and Juno are doing fine. This is about someone else’s dog. During the 1990’s there was a lot of construction at the Estate. Not only were a lot of the gardens built then there was a lot of building construction at the same time. Almost everyday we would bring our dog, Molly, to work. There was also the caretaker’s dog, Garlic and the owner’s dog, Lily. These three dogs got along very well. They would often be hunting, digging (ugh) or just hanging out together. I don’t think I have ever seen dogs from different families enjoying each others company as much as these three did. We would often have Garlic and Lily over for sleepovers.



Molly (l) and Garlic
Photos courtesy of Conley Myers

Lily

It was one of those times in life when everything seemed to be just right and the three dogs just added to that. Molly would get so excited in the morning because she would know that she would be running around in with Garlic. All I had to say to her was “do you have your hard hat and lunch bucket?” and all hell would break loose. Three exceptional dogs, all gone now, that made a mark on my life and will never be forgotten.