June 10, 2005
aubrey beardsley flower
isn't this strange and beautiful? the "spokes" appear to unfold into full leaves -- they are partway to doing it. i have to go check again.
today ben tied long pieces of twine to train the massive squashgourdmelonpumpkin vines up toward the house, and make a little shade-umbrella of them. we have one large female flower on what i think is the rouge viv d'etamps but the flower itself has seemed to peter out before actually opening -- none of the males are doing that. hand-pollination is at the ready but the damned flower needs to open for that to happen.
there are females on a number of the other now-mystery plants. i am guessing that at least two are "tennessee spinning gourds". i wonder what else we've got.