“The Lord is good and glad to teach the proper path to all who go astray he will teach the ways that are right and best to those who humbly turn to him. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” ~ John 3:16 Happy Gardening!Ĭheck out this terrific article on the Mother Earth News Website: Volunteer Plants: A Garden Bonus At times I let them grow where they have begun, but often I dig the sprouts up and move them to bare spots. I have dozens of volunteer plants springing up in my gardens. After the passing of several days, it is still alive and thriving in the hot summer sun of June. The small petunia is now planted in a bare spot in my front garden. The plant loosened its grip, I tugged, it left its first home. Happily, for both of us, the knife worked. What was the solution? Perhaps I could loosen it a bit with a plastic knife, and then gently tug until I could pull it away from the confines of the concrete. The roots that it had so steadfastly sent into the soil would be torn away and the plant would wilt and die within an hour. I knew that pulling the petunia from the scant dirt between the sidewalk blocks would be doom. It was definitely living on “borrowed time.” Sooner or later the sole of a shoe would smash it’s tender blossoms and leaves into the unyielding surface of the concrete. How had the small plantlet survived the tromping feet of my grandchildren, the mailman, myself and my husband, and other visitors who come to my front door? I knew I had to try and save the petunia. When I spotted the pink trumpet of this petunia growing in the crack of my front sidewalk I was astounded. Besides being filled with unwanted chemicals and dyes, a heavy layer of mulch smothers any hope of volunteer sprouts seeing the sun. Volunteer plants are one of the top reasons I don’t mulch my flower beds.

These seeds spring to life when the temperatures become warm. Volunteer plants are those whose seeds have slumbered in the earth through the winter. In blog posts of past years you will find me praising the season’s “volunteer” plants. Silverberry Petunia is my flower of the day for Cee’s FOTD challenge. Because the blooms are not as large as a standard petunia, they work in smaller-sized pressed flower settings too. If I gather these blossoms when they first open, although very fragile and thin, they retain their color and veining. Proven WinnersĪ bonus for those who press flowers…usually petunias are iffy for successful pressing. In garden beds, they will work either in the front or middle of the bed.

They are fantastic landscape plants and are great in large containers, where they function as both fillers and spillers. Supertunia Vista petunias are very vigorous, with mounding habits that can reach up to 2 feet in height in the landscape and will trail over the edges of baskets and containers up to 4 feet by the end of the season. Amazing! It’s still growing strong and fast. Only one plant, potted up in a hanging basket in the Spring, has expanded in every direction. The flowers are small and compact, and even though I try to deadhead them, they don’t seem to need it to continue to bloom in abundance. Beyond that, the color of the plant is extraordinary, truly a silvery pink. It really lives up to the Proven Winners Brand description of fillers and spillers, for it certainly fills the basket and spills over the side. I planted it up in Spring with some Sweet Potato Vine and have been in love with it ever since. I can’t remember the source for this beautiful petunia, but oh my, am I glad I found it.

Petunia tidal wave