Amaranthus and Ibises

Every year some strange plant that we didn't plant turns up in our garden and not only grows but flourishes. There is a certain irony in this considering how much coaxing other plants need to grow at all. However, one of the best tomato plants we ever had was a volunteer. The laboriously planted and tended tomato plants in the nearby raised beds were not quite as big or as juicy as the one we didn't even know about until it produced a tomato....

I decided to do an occasional series on these plants, some of which are quite weird and wonderful, starting today with this giant amaranthus. There are many different kinds of amaranthus, most notable, perhaps, being the curiously named 'Love Lies a'Bleeding' which we have planted in a container but this one came up all by itself and continued to grow and grow....The leaves are beginning to turn from reddish green to yellow now and I don't think it will get any taller,  but OilMan can't bring himself to pull it just yet. When we lived in Berkeley a strange weed came up in the garden opposite our neighbor's front door. It grew taller and taller and the neighbor kept asking OilMan to pull it but he wouldn't. Whether this was because he wanted to satisfy his curiosity or irritate the neighbor I can't be sure. At any rate, it finally showed signs of blooming and ultimately produced beautiful foxglove flowers.

The ibises made out of old oil cans took up residence in our garden a few years ago with lots of help from us, but have been content to oversee things, without being very demanding, ever since....