The plant of the week this past week was correctly guessed by several people. It is a honeysuckle vine. This particular one is sprawling up the lamp post outside my parent’s home. I suspect that it is a trumpet honeysuckle or coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens). It was there before they purchased the house so I can’t be 100% sure of what variety it is. One thing is for sure it isn’t the invasive take-over-the-world kind that exists over much of the south. This native honeysuckle tends to grow slower than the Japanese variety that has proven to be invasive since it was brought to the United State’s in the 1800’s to control erosion. Honeysuckle is very attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies as well as other birds who like to munch on the berries. If you choose to plant honeysuckle make sure it is a native, the Japanese variety doesn’t need your help!
I never knew there was any other type of honeysuckle than the wild stuff all over the south! We have it along our fence in several places. Smells so wonderful as we walk up and down the driveway!
My honeysuckle is one of my favs, mostly because the blooms last so long.
Very informational and great idea to teach about plants. I love it.
I was wondering why there are not more male bloggers, specifically garden bloggers. Have you given thought to this? Are there more women gardeners than men?
I hope the home garden is staying safe tonight. Rough night ahead.
Skeeter and Jim,
I’ve always liked the smell of the honeysuckle ever since I was a kid in North Carolina walking home from the bus stop. The heat and humidity in the south just amplifies the smell.
Tina,
Thanks! There are some male garden bloggers but the vast majority are women. I’m not sure exactly why but I suspect it’s more a reflection of gardeners than bloggers. I just think there are more women gardeners than there are men like you said. Jim has a neat site with gardens he’s visited, lots of great pictures. There is also Christopher at Outside Clyde and Doug Green so there are a few. I also like to check out Trey’s blog at the Blogging Nurseryman. There’s male four bloggers aside from yours truly. I need to add Jim to my blogroll.
The rough part has passed us by but the winds are still strong. I doubt our yard will have any significant damage, at least I hope not!
do you know why your posts do not show up on my email until like the next day?
Tina,
It’s the Feedburner setting. It could be changed to another time to send out. The problem is I don’t necessarily post in the morning all the time. Sometimes it’s in the evening or the middle of the day. If I post in the evening it will show up in your mailbox first thing in the morning. That’s how I would prefer to do it although lately I’ve been posting in the morning.
that is fine, i was just wondering.
Tina,
I changed the time to email between 12:00 and 2:00 PM. This way if I post in the morning it will show up that day and if I post at might it will show up before too much of the day has passed. I hope that sounds good. 🙂