show your volunteers

Look what showed up in my garden. Last fall I noticed a rosette of leaves near some foxglove but the leaves were just a little different. I almost pulled it out thinking it was a weed (it looked a lot like a weed I have elsewhere in the yard) but decided to wait to see for sure what it was. Thank goodness! Look at what I got.

It's a verbascum, I believe. I know I planted one of these several years ago but it didn't do very well and did not come back the following year. I cannot remember it's name and I have found surprisingly little information about verbascums online except that they are shortlived. Could this have come from seed that lay dormant in my garden for 3 or 4 years?

I guess I'll let it go to seed and hope for the best.

How about your "volunteers"?

Here's a close-up.

My gosh, what a lovely surprise!!! That is gorgeous!

Seeing as I moved to this home (and state!) last October, everything that comes up is a surprise >smile< .... but nothing has knocked my socks off yet.

Oh, the horseweed that I watered so faithfully 'cause I thought it was marigolds, now that was a surprise!

I bet we've all done that, carefully tended a mystery plant that looked promising only to discover it's a weed. I know I have and more than once, too.

Looks a lot like my Verbascum 'Southern Charm'. Mine has self sown a little
too. Here is one of many pure white columbines that reseed around my yard.

Valerian is another cottage type plant that has had volunteers for me over the years. It is in full bloom now when not much else is blooming.

When I first planted osteospermums (from containers), I had no idea they would reseed themselves like crazy all over the front garden! I had 3 colors - white, pink, and purple. They seem to have cross-bred themselves into subtle pastel tints, very pretty.

I let the poppies, larkspur and hollyhock reseed so most of these are volunteers. I have a lot of rudbeckias and blackeyed Susans that have volunteered this year also.

Beautiful cactuspatch! It looks so natural.

Pretty flowers,all.
cactuspatch,
Lovely cottage garden complete with cat just waiting to pounce on whatever bird lands in the birdbath. I don't think the cat could get any closer. I guess he? doesn't feel the need to hide since he blends in so well.
The photo is of Egyptian Walking Onion and Shasta Daisy volunteers.

Thanks! Actually that is a calico so is female. ; ) She was just drinking from the birdbath. She lives inside only coming out with me once or twice daily to play in the garden. Since my cats stay in, we do have a lot of birds. I know that the birds love to eat the seeds from many of my "volunteers". When the larkspur start to go, I pull them out and since I had short orange cosmos planted before, they start to come up. The birds seem to love to eat on cosmos once they form seeds. I have a lot of roses as the backbone of the garden. The rest of my front courtyard "cottage garden" is all easy perennials or things that reseed. I love Shasta daisies! Aren't those the ones that get a bit tall? I have some daisies, but they seem to stay short. I gotta get more Shastas. Isn't DG great? Keeps me from forgetting all the plants I need to add. LOL!

These 2 plants never stay in their beds. : )

Dahlberg daisy, and Periwinkles.

Ah, I should have remembered calicos were female, so sorry. It's been many years since I've had a cat since family members are allergic. It is a very sweet shot of her by the bird bath.
The Shasta daisies are the tall cultivar, Alaska, but I don't think I'd recommend them because they eventually give off a strong unpleasant odor as they get older. They do look nice with red poppies. At one point I had let them seed across the whole front of the house to cover the daffodil foliage. I've since replaced them with penstemon Husker Red that also seeds nicely, has wonderful red or red tinged foliage and pretty white flowers.
The photo is of Willow helping me replant a herb garden. Not quite a volunteer but I couldn't resist posting the photo.

Here's one of the penstemon Husker Red volunteers just starting to bloom, also a yarrow volunteer is in bud.

This message was edited May 31, 2007 10:20 AM

Wow Chris that is gorgeous! My Verbascum are so puny, I'm jealous :)

Chris,
That is absolutely gorgeous!!!
Sherry

The irony is that when I tried to grow verbascum on purpose, I had puny little plants too and they didn't survive. I don't know whether to try again or just hope for more volunteers.
Chris

love everyone's pictures. I think the surprise plants that show up on their own when and where they please are one of the most fun parts of gardening.

This isn't in my front cottage garden, but it is my favorite volunteer. I guess it came from the mulch I put in this flower bed. Yum!

I'm just starting my cottage garden :) We moved here last year and I didn't know alot (still don't). I found out that I had been yanking out TONS of columbine because I thought it was a weed. I let one of the babies go last fall and this is what it looks like now:

A week later with flowers.

That's a pretty one. Glad you didn't yank it out. Here are some Tarda tulips that go to seed and have spread around the front garden. They are one of the species tulips.

I must have pulled up 200 or so cleome seedlings this morning. I always let a few grow each year. It's one of those plants that once you have it, you have it.

Blue salvia farinacea reseeds each year and adds some nice late summer and fall color to the garden. Shown here with a mum that didn't make it through the winter.

Mrs Moon Pulmonaria also self sows.

This hot pink morning glory seems to be slow in showing up this year, but it usually reseeds readily.

here is another one self seeded combo, poppy and larkspur. My larkspur seem to get taller every year since I moved here.

This little marigold decided to self sow right in front of a mum that seemed to be the perfect match for it.

Lincolnitess,those are wonderful! We seem to have the same philosophy for gardening. It is easier when you go with what reseeds readily! : )

Globe Thistle
Echinops ritro was one that volunteered a little too much for me. Those babies are hard to pull up. I finally got rid of it.

I love the look of Jupiter's Beard against my stucco walls, but it got to be so weedy that I pulled most of mine out. If I am able to deadhead often, then it is no problem.

After living here 32 years I am getting Cedar tree starts in my beds. I have 3 that I know of.

I have a couple of volunteers in my flower bed that I am clueless what they are! I'll have to try and get a picture and get it posted, maybe one of you can tell me.

cactuspatch, I have the 'Becky' Shasta Daisy ('cuz I have a dd named Becky!) and I really enjoy it. In fact, it was one of my last plants standing after our first frost this week.
I also have a 'Katherine' Phlox (lilac; for my other dd), a 'King Henry' viola (dark purple, for hubby), and for me, the Black-Eyed Susan!

It is fun to find "surprises" in the yard. You never know what the wind will blow in!

I just discovered this verbascum this year and love it. I have yellow and pink and they've grown well in heavy soil. I'll keep trying to amend it, but maybe clay is the answer??

I've put in several and am hoping that they'll overwinter. Self sowing would be awesome.

Nice picture combinations, everyone. I'm just getting started on focusing more on sunny-site flowers than on shrubs and woodland plants and this gives me lots of good ideas.

Took this photo a couple of days ago. The orange cosmos are volunteers in my yard. They start in the Spring. I pulled out many that were older and these come in the Fall.

I think the backs of the flowers are very pretty too. Some have the darker areas and some don't.

Lovely, cp. And what garden is complete without a couple of gorgeous felines? I have a soft spot for Siamese, even *with* their rusty-gate maiow....

Cactus, you have a BEAUTIFUL garden. I love to see pictures of it.

What a beautiful look!! I'm going to use this as the inspiration for a spot in front. Do you know anything about the cosmos volunteers? I love the little red mark on the front.

And to have the garden blessed by the cats - you can't go wrong there11

Thanks! Katie59 it feels great to think I inspired you especially since I get so inpired myself from looking at all the great photos here at DG. I got these original seeds from a friend about 20 years ago and they have reseeded every year. I imagine they are a common variety and would reseed for you too. The birds eat a fair amount of the seeds too. Which my cats love to watch from a window in the garage. ; )

psych, you can see my photos on flickr by clicking on my name, then scroll to the bottom of my page an click on the link there.

Pagancat, there are actually 3 cats there I think? The light one is actually a Tonkinese with pretty blue Siamese type eyes. She does have a cute meow and this am she was laying on the futon in my yoga studio and I caught her actually doing stretches along with me! Honest-it looked like she was imitating me!