Pretty, Purple and Prolific

As the season of spring progresses, so do the plants in my garden.

The early spring blossoms have faded giving way to the next, fresh round of flowers.

The most spectacular, at this moment, is the money plant aka lunaria aka silver dollar plant. The money plant is a biennial flowering the second year of its growth. 

I started with one such plant in my yard years ago and now that one plant has spread, on its own accord and not by my design, into almost each and every flower bed that makes up the entirety of my perennial garden.  And, I am happy with its movement.

The money plant blooms are deep purple and long-lasting.  It is a favorite for me as I enjoy the blooms wherever I notice it growing.

At the end of the growing season, the plant produces a dried stem of silver-dollar sized, lovely translucent seed pods that can be utilized in many a dried flower arrangement or with several stems gathered in a vase. 

Or, these pods can be left alone to adorn the fall/winter garden beds.  And, over time, the seeds disperse via wind throughout the yard. 

The following year the seeds produce a leafy plant.  In the second year, those plants produce an amazing display of purple petal posies. 

Two years seems like a long time to wait for flowers, but once the cycle gets past the second growing season, not a year goes by without the fabulous flowers. 

At the end of the second year, I just pull out the entire plant and discard it.  Easy Peasy.  And no worries as I already have zillions of first year lunaria already established for the next season.

My candytuft ain’ t bad either.