Break The Rules With Petunias, Grow In Any Light

Wave Petunia

Petunias are the divas of the annual garden world. They need full sun and want to be watered and fertilized incessantly; beautiful and demanding. Petunias are virtually impossible to kill if you follow the rule of giving them constant attention.

Who has time for this? Not me! When it comes to petunias I say BREAK THE RULES!

In the photo above you see a summer view of the Wave Petunia planted in mostly shade, fertilized never, and watered rarely. Wave’s are a tough little flowers and as you can see they are still flowering even though I have broken every rule in the book with the plant. They are not at their FULL potential because I have not given them any attention at all. However, they are a nice contribution to this little section of my front garden . In fact, by breaking the rules I have saved money (which I will later apply to the purchase of more plants of course).

Every evening this purple petunia attracts the local Hummingbird Moth. My family and I watch as the moth goes from bloom to bloom, ignoring all the other plants in the garden and focusing exclusively on these Wave Petunias.

I broke the rules and the moth won. You see, viewing your garden as a place where imperfection happens instead of constantly expecting perfection is the first step towards understanding that it is the imperfect looking organically grown plant that can be even more beautiful than the expensive, perfect, overly fertilized plant. Your community does not need more chemicals, less water, and well… perfection. It just needs some thoughtful garden love.

Do you love your community? Plant a garden and beautify it – do not use chemicals and try breaking those traditional rules – make a difference!

Special Note – Because the FTC requires it, I am letting you know that Ball Horticultural supplied the annual plants grown in this garden. I  write many instructional stories and videos with their  flower and vegetable products and donate a large portion of the vegetables I grow to the local food pantry when harvested.

Photo taken by Brenda Haas.