What's popping up in your gardens!!!

July 28, 2010

????????? ANY GUESSES...

I haven't a clue what this is growing....I know it looks like a sunflower BUT take a close look at the flowers that are blooming on it... Strangest sunflower I ever did see.  It is a "volunteer" - which means I didn't plant it - it just grew!!  Any ideas???



I have a lot of "strange" growings in my gardens this year....but the Fairy garden is looking great...

Honest to goodness fairies live here - and are hiding under that thyme!!!

9 comments:

  1. Hi Judy,

    It's called velvetleaf (Abutilon Theophrasti Medicus). Also called pie marker, buttonweed, Indian mallow, butter print, velvet weed, butter-weed, Indian hemp, cotton-weed, wild cotton. Velvetleat is considered to be one of the most important weeds of corn production in the United States. Could have been brought by birds or the wind. I have had it in my garden.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well I would have never came up with any names like LemonVerbenaLady did. I was thinking squash family, but now we know.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I get a little carried away! Sorry! The information comes from a book called Weeds of the Northeast! I have just IDed a lot in the Pittsburgh area, not really corn country.

    ReplyDelete
  4. You did NOT get carried away....LOL!! Love all the names - thinking I will tell people it is the "butter print" plant...sort of goes with the antiques !! It is quite lovely and is behind a stone wall from the street and as you go buy you can't help but look. (hope no one runs into our stone wall...YIKES!) AND I have something else growing that I haven't a clue but Ginny it does look like the squash plant - maybe a pumpkin or qourd got thrown there last winter?? Should have shown you on Saturday when you were visiting the store...oh well - I will take another picture...(big smile) !! Judy

    ReplyDelete
  5. Lemon Verbena Lady, you didn't carried away. Thanks for the info. I shared your info with friends and neigbors about the tomato blight and they were very apprective (?) of the info. And we can never have enough info when it comes to our gardens. Enjoy your blog.

    ReplyDelete
  6. ...I also have the mystery plant. I am wondering, if any of you are successful with growning Sweet Annie , real name Artemesia/wormwort. Wonderful tall bushy plant, used in arrangements and pretty attached to Prim Handmades. I was given the seeds and planted them in May, they NEVER emerged. Does anyone know about this plant? thanks for any info, Gail

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Gail,

    Here is a link for you from The Herb Companion magazine on Sweet Annie:

    http://www.herbcompanion.com/Projects/Annie-Sweet-Annie.aspx

    The article talks about it being slow to germinate. Taking up to a month. I get headaches from it so I no longer grow it. I visited an herb farm in Virginia and they had a field of it and got it from a very few plants that self-sowed. The article talks about sowing the seeds outside in May and sowing the seeds inside about two weeks before your last frost if you want to start earlier. Maybe that is the way to go. Hope this information is helpful to you.

    ReplyDelete
  8. ...many thanks Lemonverbenalady:) I look forward to reading the article.

    Gail

    ReplyDelete