My sister's new landscaping. Note the large cosmos behind the little peach tree. 

Hitchhikers in New Mexico

I got to my sister's house in New Mexico, and was both amazed and disappointed.

Disappointed as not as much lived as I'd hoped.

Amazed because more survived than I thought would.

One of the more amazing plants was a blue mist shrub. It had grown to a nice little shrub about 2 feet tall and was blooming it's little head off. I figured it would live. I just didn't expect it to thrive.

Another top performer was a Russian sage. It had never grown well for me, so I decided to take it west after it had broken into four pieces. I kept one for myself and gave 3 to my sister. Mine is about an inch tall. Hers are 3 feet tall and blooming like gangbusters. Go figure.

Some plants thrived, others were barely hanging in there. Which isn't too surprising as it was the height of summer when I left them. Baking heat does not make for a good transplant situation. But a lot of them did well.

I also found a few hitchhikers.

Yep. Even plants like to hitchhike.

Seeds like to hide in the dirt and make a surprise entrance.

One stow away was a datura (aka: moonflower). The seeds had waited for the nice warm New Mexico sun to germinate. By the time I got there in October, it was a nice sized plant, blooming away.

But the most impressive tag along was a cosmos. It had almost gotten pulled up by my sister because it looked kind of like a weed. When I got there it was four feet tall and sturdy as a tree.

And just about to bloom.

What fun! I got to watch it open it's first blooms and amaze my sister with its colorful lavender discs.

Hopefully it will drop a few seeds in a not too silly spot and offer up another surprise for next year.

Plants do like to travel from time to time.