"Petite Plum," Open for Business!

[leene_chan]

Butterfly Bush "Petite Plum," First Flower., a photo by Leenechan on Flickr.

I'm telling ya, it's nice to have some plants that are relatively pest-free.

This butterfly bush was the only one we had last year. Now it's one of many! Regardless of its name, it isn't "petite" at all. This summer it's grown to over six feet tall! We finally cut it down a bit. I think that as long as none of these bushes are taller than I am (at 5'1'') they can still fit nicely into our garden.

"Petite Plum" has many other names, like "Nanho Purple" and "Monum." I have no idea why. It's actually a bit darker in person than shows in photos, like those dark purple lilacs with the big flowers that don't have a fragrance. It's as dark as "Royal Red" but more royal purple than red-violet.

All the other butterfly bushes are still contemplating their flower spikes. I think our next flowers to bloom will be "Rose Bonbon." Who knows when "Lauren's Grape" is going to pop open that flower pod?