Passionate about Passion Plants

In my annual “spree at the Green House”, I bought several new plants. I love shopping for plants each spring. I always buy old favorites, as well as a few plants I have never tried before. I usually buy a mixture of annuals and perennials. Usually, I know at least a little about the plants I am buying. This year however a plant at the green house caught my eye just because of its name: passion plant. I had no idea how difficult or easy this plant is to grow, if it has a flower or simply foliage or even if it is a perennial or an annual. The leaves were quite beautiful, so I would have been pleased to simply enjoy the greenery. Even if it had no flower or even ugly foliage, I would have loved this plant just because of its name: “passion plant”. The name congers up images of romance, knights in shining armour and true love, and I just knew I had to own one. The little sign that came with it said that could tolerate full sun or partial shade. Guided by that instruction, I planted it by my patio along the lattice. I planned on going on-line to look up information on this plant, but just never seemed to have time to do so. The plant began to climb up my lattice. A couple weeks later, I noticed a few bulb-like growths on it, which was my first clue that flowers were developing. The growth was quite big, so I guessed it might be a fairly big flower. Again, I was going to look on-line, but just didn’t get around to it. This week-end, I was “puttering” around in my back yard and out of the corner of my eye, I caught sight of something huge and pink on my trellis. My wonderfully-named plant had grown beautiful, huge flowers! How perfect the flowers were! Maybe that’s why it is called “passion” plant – because the flowers are so beautiful that everyone who sees one is passionate about it? Growing beautiful plant in your backyard and being passionate about it. . . it’s a good thing!