Sorry, I left you hanging again. You will totally understand when I am able to finally get this thing caught up, and I will. A couple of posts back, I had a question. It was regarding a plant that I had planted in my flower bed. I didn't know what it was, or what I was supposed to do with it. I recently read a comment by Miss Abigail, and yes, you are correct! It is Mexican Petunia. From what I have read about it, it is virtually impossible to kill, and if you live in a wet climate, not that we do, it can become quite invasive. The state of Florida has it on their invasive list. Well, living in the great state of Texas, unless you have it in an area that is regularly watered, not so much a problem.
This particular plant came from a friend of mine. She passed away a couple of years ago, and when her family sold her property, they called me to see if I wanted a few of the things that were left behind. Upon my visit, I noticed some of the plants that she had in her yard, and asked if anyone minded if I dug some of them up. If I remember correctly, it was July or August when this took place, and I was sure some of these things would not survive. Still, in memory of my friend, I wanted to give it a shot. This Mexican Petunia and a Knock-Out Rose Bush made it through.
The Mexican Petunia was very small when I dug it up, and when I replanted it, it promptly died back. I knew it was a perennial because that is all she planted, so I wasn't overly concerned. To my surprise, the next year it came back bigger and better. Still not knowing what it was, I was shocked when it survived the drought last year. It was in an area that was watered, but not crazy amounts. Well, this year when it came back, it went crazy! It was huge this spring.
One afternoon, the Man in Charge came in from outside.
"What are you doing with that Big-Ass Weed in the flower bed?"
Not a regular weeder, I asked,
"What Big-Ass weed?"
At this point he described the location. I was standing at the stove, cooking, and my Full-Timer was sitting at the bar. I couldn't turn and look at him, but I quickly informed him that the plant was not a Big-Ass weed, and he should leave it alone. This prompted all sorts of questions. What was it? What am I doing with it? So on, and so on. From reading this post, you know that I did not have those answers then. My level of frustration was going up due to the fact that my husband does not do yard work...at all! I do the mowing, weed-eating, etc. I am not complaining. It is the way I prefer it because I enjoy those things, but my initial reaction to his questions was, "Why do you care?"
I explained to him that it came from my friend's house after her passing, and it meant something to me. He kept on with his list of questions and complaints due to the size of the thing. He also kept calling it a Big-Ass weed! Now, my Full-Timer was still at the bar watching this exchange. She could tell that he was irritating me by the fact that my shoulders were tensing up. She could also tell by my tone of voice that he better knock it off. Being the good kid that she is, she just grabbed her cup of tea and sat back to watch what happened.
About the tenth time he called my plant a Big-Ass weed, I turned around, and said,
"You're a Big-Ass weed! That is mine! It doesn't concern you. I will deal with it when I have time, and until then leave it alone!"
To say that he had a look of shock on his face would be an understatement. Simultaneously, my Full-Timer was spewing tea every where because she couldn't stop laughing. He got the point. Being the smart man that he is, he started laughing and threatening to chase me outside.
Crisis averted.
I was seriously about to have a throw-down on him if he said one more thing. To this day, we have referred to it as the Big-Ass weed, but in a more loving manner. And, no one, has ever tried to touch it. Now that I know what it is, I have been digging it up and dividing it. I gave some to another friend, and she has planted it. I am in the process of moving it to a more appropriate location now.
I wrote a post about my friend after she passed. If you are new to the blog, you can click HERE to read it.
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