A Surprise in the Garden

Crown Princess Margareta

Yes, the roses are just beginning to bloom again; though flowers are still small and scantily formed, it's great to see them.

Wollerton Old Hall

 And now that I have given the Gaura a serious clip, I can better enjoy some of the plants it was beginning to smother, such as Cuphea ignea "Vermillionaire".

But this post is not about the usual suspects.

Admittedly, the surprise is not very spectacular to look at, just some green leaves and sprawling stems.

And in fact, it has been around for several months, left in place in hopes it would give the Cistanthe just beside it some protection from dog feet.  In the meantime, the remaining sprigs of Cistanthe have melted out beneath it...

I think I'm abandoning hope of growing Cistanthe spectabilis as a perennial here.

...while the interloper has maintained itself contentedly despite a long, hard summer.  But only yesterday did I realize what it was.

Not the self-seeded Mirabilis I thought first...

For a while it was possible to confuse the foliage, and the Mirabilis grows close by.

...nor yet the weed blown in on the wind, which was my second assumption once I decided it couldn't possibly be Mirabilis.

I found out very much by chance as there have been no flowers so far to assist with identification.

Two evenings ago, when I was planting one of my new irises in the North Border, I looked at the leaves of the nearby Chuparosa (Justicia californica).  Then I reached out and touched them and felt that same silky texture that had been mystifying me in the unknown seedling.

Leaves on my original Justicia californica plant

So the garden has given me a first self-seeded Chuparosa!  I am amazed as the parent plant was only added to the border last spring, put on a dwindling floral show, and then, of course, ceased for the summer.  Besides, I was not aware of J. californica having a reputation for seeding in the garden.

There are difficulties ahead.  I will have to transplant it as it can't stay in its original spot close to the edge of the Central Bed, and so far I have a very poor record on transplanting desert natives.  I hope this one will be more amenable to the process!

The common name means "hummingbird", and that is certainly one reason I planted this native of Sonoran Desert washes.  My original plant had a hummingbird sipping from it as it waited in my cart at the GC.  I wish I could post some pictures of hummingbirds and bloom, but that will have to wait till next year...!

Meantime, there are roses...

Wollerton Old Hall

Weather Diary: Sunny; High: 101 F (38 C)/Low: 79 F (26 C); Humidity: 21%-48%