Carrie, I love those! What kind are they? They're so nice and short. I thought they looked like intense purple, but smaller. Or are they shorter because they're volunteers?

Karen

I've had them come up and fill in all over one long bed for years. This year they were done in by the late frost. I really missed them. Some came up in a new bed that we mulched heavily with mulch that I had dropped some spent blooms on. I collected a ton of seeds and will have them again in that bed. Love the fact that they are easy to pull out if they come up where you don't want them. Also love love love that eye catching purple and the fact that the birds also love the seeds. Adele

I wish amaranthus, any variety, would reseed for me!

I love those! what kind are they? Saving any seed to trade??

Barbi

Your garden is lovely, and not just because of the amaranth--but maybe if I grow it, my garden will look as nice? Please tell us which amaranth that is--and save us some seeds!

Actually, I have no idea which amaranthus that is... and unfortunately, a couple of weeks after that picture was taken, I pulled many of them before they made their plume. I have one clump standing, and if I can get seeds (they are dropping as I write this), I can save some. I haven't saved any since the first time I sowed them. I just let them drop and they blow all over besides. I get so busy, that I forget to harvest the seeds and they just drop to the ground or blow around. They must fly all over (the seeds),because I find them in places I've never even gardened in before.

That is so pretty! I have some amaranthus that is sort of a dusky purple, it is nowhere near that bright. I love yours, it really brightens things up.

I'd love some seeds too, if you save enough....

Amaranthus--mysterious and enticing, reseeding weed from hell.

Carrie, can you post a few more photos of the amaranthus? How tall does it get, and what does the flower spike look like? I've just tried searching, and can't find a short amaranth with purple leaves like that. I found two tall things that look about right, but I really like the height that yours seem to grow to.

Amaranthus "velvet curtains" looks about right but grows up to 7 feet tall:
http://www.jungleseeds.com/images/AmaranthusVCurtains.JPG

and Amaranthus cruentus "Oeschburg" is about the same.

Help us, please! You dangled this lovely amaranth in front of us, now we need to figure out what it is and how to get some seeds!

Vera has been posting pics of some that look the same. What are they Vera? Are they just short because they're late volunteers, or what?

Karen

Boy howdy LOL!

All my re-seeders came from Intense Purple....every last one came true. I'm thinking these must be heirloom? Anyhoo, some are are taller than others, but the majority that came up on the outside of the bed perimeters were basically growing out of the hard packed gravel road. They could have gotten taller but I kept them whacked back, so I just had foliage rather than plumes for quite a long time. The tallest ones popped up in the veg bed and melon patch.
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gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous - I love them with BES, don't you?

I also like when they don't plume for awhile - the foliage sometimes reminds me of castor bean plants for some reason

Carrie

Oh, now I'm starting to feel nostalgic for mine! I had some going wild in my back bed for a couple of years. I like them in the early summer, but in my yard they get really leggy and start to look like trees by the end of summer. Last year I decided to clamp down on them. I deadheaded them and then this spring I overseeded the whole area with larkspur, zinnias, cosmos and other reseeders. It must have worked, this year I didn't have any except for two that I just noticed peeking out from the edge of the bed :) I'll have to catch a pic of that bed for you...it's so overseeded, it can barely bloom :)

Here's some of my Amaranthus trees:

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If you think amaranthus reseeds....would you like to try some of my purple perilla? ;) It grows in sun AND SHADE!

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Lisa

ooooo Lisa I like yours too!
I do like it with the Black-Eyed Susans...I wonder if I should let them re-seed in the prairie bed? Might be a lotta work thinning them out each spring, but might be well worth the color combo.Hmmmmmmmmm! That bed gets watered maybe once a month if that; they should stay rather short and not over shawdow the BES, Echinacea, Ratibida, Gaillardia ect. It probably would look good with the native grasses in there too :D

Vera

I LOVE purple perilla. It's my favorite. This year, by mistake, they were planted right next to bright, tall orange zinnias and the combo was great. It's the unplanned surprises that are really fun

Carrie'

Gorgeous pics, Lisa

I don't know anything about amaranthus, but I just have to say you have a gorgeous garden and beautiful property! That must take a lot of time to maintain.

Thanks!

Carrie, I grabbed the camera and went out yesterday to get a few pics.... (please excuse all the weeds!)

The former Amaranthus bed... (if you look close you can see one of the amaranthuses trying to peek out :)

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Perilla reseeding in unplanned places:

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Perilla in shade:

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Perilla in sun:

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and since I'm sharing....the shot I love the most from yesterday:

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That's a VERY pretty Cosmo!! That perilla is looking very nice too...hmmmmm, might have to try that one.

Vera

Very pretty, lisa. What kind of cosmos are they?

Karen

Thanks again Vera! I love it too. I had to climb through the jungle and baby tea roses to find it :) That bed is actually going to be tea roses (against the fence) when they get big enough, but for now it's mostly a butterfly garden.

I'll try to keep a few seed pods of the perilla if anyone wants them. They are gorgeous, and very fragrant. I like the color best in partial shade, but obviously they will grow in just about any condition!

Lisa

All of these pictures are just fantastic! I love them and I'm going to look for seeds of both perilla and amaranthis to put in my back bed next year! Wonderful!

glo

lisa - I am loving that you posted pictures of perilla - shade and sun because I too love them better in the shade - they seem to be darker. I've read somewhere that the seeds cannot be saved for more than a season... in other words harvest them in fall and plant in spring and the following spring they are not viable. I wonder if that is true....

Anyway - loved your pictures

Carrie (I don't see your weeds)

I should clarify my post:

"and the following spring they are not viable"... meaning the seeds that were retrieved the year before -

Sorry

Carrie