The
Morning Glory (or Major Convolvulua, or Pharbitis
hispida or Ipomoea purpurea) was a sweet
old favourite in the Victorian garden. It had been known
for a long time in English gardens, being described
in Stuart times as the "greater blew Bind-weede,
or Bell-flower with round leaves".
The
plant was a hardy annual. Seeds could be sown directly
into the garden bed or, for stronger plants, could be
sown into pots in cold frames first so that they could
be well grown on by the time they were planted into
the garden in or after May.
