Weekend mornings at the coffee shop are busy with older adults which is in marked contrast to weekdays. The NCSU college students are all still sleeping.
The adults are discussing sports, politics, and trying to boast about the accomplishments of their children. Its funny… but I digress.
I like to people watch and catch up with those I only see there on such mornings and, of course, enjoy my iced mocha latte. I have always found the older adult’s viewpoint interesting for their different and varying experiences. The retired professors, especially, seemed opinionated.
Its that time of the year when seeds are ripening in the garden and its time to collect and store them for next year or plant them around the garden.
The Four-o-clocks reliably produce small, black, hard seeds which germinate easily. Its early enough in the season they may germinate and produce a nice plant to survive over the winter. Otherwise, they would drop near the parent plant and produce large colonies.
Four-o-Clocks are named after their habit of opening late in the evening and closing the next morning. They come in a range of colors from white, to hot pink, and pastel shades. There are a few species with long trumpets or fuzzy leaves.
Here in Central North Carolina they are perennial.
They are very easy to grow and relatively pest free. I remember my grandmother in Beaufort, North Carolina always having a patch of them on the side of her house.
