Surprises

I don't know anybody that doesn't like surprises.  Especially gardeners. If you don't know what a gardening surprise, you are missing out.  A gardening surprise is a plant that just magically appears in a flower bed (or yard) one day.  The first of these magical plants was, aptly named, the Surprise Lily.  It showed up in two different beds the same year.

They have some big long latin name that escapes me now, but are also known as Resurrection Lillies.   They still appear from time to time.  Then I had some little white flowers that showed up real early in the Spring in my pink garden, but those eventually disappeared.

At the back of the house, I have a nice sized perennial garden, that started out with several different plants, but is now mainly Purple Coneflowers.  At one time, I had tried to grow Rose Campion in there, to no avail. Imagine my surprise, when a few years later, it appeared 10 feet away around the shed, nestled between my Lavender and my Blue Columbine.

Speaking of Columbine, it appeared 10 feet away last year in the bed next to the house!  It doesn't look so great right now, the last few 90 degree days have been rough on it.  But it did bloom.
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This year is no exception.  For the last 3 or 4 years, I have put pots of Lantana on my front porch.  But in prior years, I have had pots with Petunias and Snapdragons (not at the same time!).  Imagine my surprise this summer, right next to the front porch!  Petunias AND Snapdragons!

My mixed feeling surprise this year is my favorite, but I don't know what it is.  My mailbox flower bed stared out with Blue Salvia, Red Bee Balm, White Boltonia and a White Butterfly bush.  The Butterfly Bush didn't survive the winter, but this showed up in it's place.

It looks like it might be in the Campion family.  But it could be a weed out of control.  I don't know, but I kind of like it!