Simple Pleasures

I do love my flowers and plant a lot of them each summer. I'm always amazed by the way they hybridize such fantastic color combinations in petunias. I used to get lured in by the pretty colors but then watch them get leggy and straggly, as least they did for me, no matter how much pinching back I did.

But, ah, these little Million Bells, miniature petunias are self cleaning (meaning no dead heading) that bush out and grow to make incredible displays. I have planted these in my railing planters on the deck. The flowers are only about an inch across, but look at those color combinations!

This next plant was found at the back of the succulent greenhouse (although it is not a succulent) at one of my favorite nurseries. There were only five or six of them and I was completely smitten. The label said that it is a house plant for a sunny window. It has about doubled its size in the two weeks since I bought it.

The flowers look like little purses made of velvet. When a flower has had its day, it just falls off intact, not at all wilted. The name on the card said it is a Calynopsis. A new one to me.

Happy gardening!