When plants are top heavy with blooms and add the weight of rain water, they often fall over. I don't know a gardener who hasn't got something staked or supported. It is not necessarily that they are planted too shallow, but that may be the case if you direct sowed the seed into the garden. Often they don't need much support just enough to keep them upright. The differences in size tells me you probably got saved seed from someone or saved it yourself. Hybrids--which is a great many of our plants--seldom come true to the parent plant

Would love to trade for some of these. Don't have much to trade, but check out my list, or I can pay for shipping.

Hi i have yellow casmose belsam lunaria biennis [money plant] cleome pink joe pye weed i trade for your 4O'clack send an emale if you are interasted nabolty@comcast.net Bill

If you like having butterflies visit your yard, few things are more attractive to them than Lantana. If your Mom wouldn't mind, take some cuttings from her plants and literally just stick them in the ground. Water every few days if it doesn't rain. I just added pics including a Lantana cutting from last year that's growing back nicely this spring, in this discussion. Butterfly bushes (Buddleia) are just as easy to multiply, but somebody has to have one to get started. Easy to find in stores, inexpensive, or through trading. Of course BF's like butterfly bushes, HA! Basil flowers are beloved by BF's and bees. If you have a little patch of ground to scatter some basil seeds, they should have plenty of time to make flowers this year. Then, of course, the leaves are yummy. The flowers are white, so don't clash with anything, not that exciting visually, but I've seen hummingbirds visiting them also. That gets it a prized spot in my opinion. That's really cool your sprouts survived some frosts! Has anyone else noticed, the seed sprouts are all plain green, top and bottom. The plants coming back from previous years' tubers have red on the back of their leaves. I was very intrigued by the first one I saw in the back yard because I didn't recognize it at first, but could tell it was growth, not a sprout, and there were no weeds there to be growing back. Never know what could creep over from the abandoned yard next door though.