Total Confusion!

In yesterday's post, I mentioned the Mexican Petunia. This petunia is not what we grew up with as a "Petunia"..this is an entirely different plant. The Mexican Petunia is a much sturdier plant with almost woody stems. Its leaves are more elongated and are about eight inches in length. The plant stands erect making it perfect for a backdrop plant. The Petunia that was found in nearly every garden "back in the day" has now been labelled as the "Old Fashioned Climbing Petunia" by most seed houses that sell "antique" seeds. (~Another potentially misunderstood term.."antique" seed..an antique seed is not a seed that is old..hence antique..it is the seed from a plant that has been open-pollinated for over fifty years. In other words, this plant's grandparents were in gardens long ago. Open pollinated plants are those that are pollinated by birds, bees and the wind not in some closed greenhouse by human hands. This pollination method assures that the seeds will produce new plants that are very similar to the parent plant. Antique seeds are not hybrids and can be saved from year to year.~) Getting back to Petunias..the Old Fashioned Climbing Petunia is also a lovely little bloom. Ranging from pinks to purples with a nice helping of white thrown in for good measure, these blossoms are wonderfully aromatic especially in the late evening hours. They actually do not "climb" in the sense of a clinging vine but are just rather leggy plants that will grow up to three feet in length and then sort of droop over anything that is handy. They can be kept short and bushy by deadheading but then you lose a lot of the charm of this plant. One wonderful habit of this plant is that it reseeds itself once you get them started in your garden. The tiny seeds are scattered about and will pop up in the most pleasing places. I usually just let them grow wherever they decide is the proper place and they do well. I have them in the pea rows, in the herb garden and in flower pots that are planted with other flowers. They planted themselves and I just let them be! Hopefully, this will clear up any confusion involving these two flowering plants..no..a Petunia is not always a Petunia!

While I am talking of flowering plants, I will introduce you to another of my favorites. This is a lovely creek-dweller that was transplanted into the yard gardens several years ago. I fell in love with this Aster when I first saw it growing in masses alongside the creek banks and just had to bring some home. This is one of those situations where I grabbed the shovel, a bucket and a son..tromped through the muck and mire to have him dig the lovely! My oldest son was the lucky fellow that had this honor! He and his beautiful wife slogged around in the bog for several hours digging Asters, Irises, Ferns and Spider Lilies. I was almost in Heaven! (Although I am not sure that is exactly what they were thinking!) I love the creek area..it is almost a fantasy land of plants! This particular Aster is a Stoke's Aster and it resembles a Cornflower. A very prolific bloomer, it will flower intermittently throughout the summer until frost. They do seed a good bit but I have never had a problem containing it. As an added note..this plant does like a lot of water during the summer months but likes to be rather dry through the winter.