Almost Perennials
Hollyhocks, love in a mist, four o’clocks, poppies, spider flowers, French mallows, larkspur and nicotiana may be annual and biennial plants, but you’d never know it.
They come back to their garden spot year after year, because they reseed themselves eagerly, returning ten plants where there once was just one.
I had a few of these plants in my garden for years and they return reliably, almost like perennials. There’s a chance that some roses won’t survive winter, but I’m certain the cleomes will be back in full bloom come summer.
One characteristic these dependable plants have in common is they thrive in full sun, where they bloom abundantly, and delight the gardener with genetic variations every year.
It’s not a surprise to see them in cottage gardens. They are heirloom plants, whose nostalgic charm is matched only by their eagerness to propagate.
Their pepper shaker seed heads produce countless tiny seeds that scatter with the slightest breeze, blessing the world with offspring.
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