Mystery Weeds

Have you ever had mixed feelings about an unknown weed in your garden? This year I found what might be a tomato seedling in the front yard sun bed and transplanted it into the herb bed in the back. Voila! I have dry-grown cherry tomatoes. I noticed the fruits this week. I say dry-grown because we have had a serious dry spell here for the last few weeks.

The other mystery weed reminded me of a tall phlox. so I kept it.

I knew it probably wasn't a phlox, but you never know..... It turned out to be a milkweed, the host plants for monarch butterflies. I had planted some in another part of this bed about three years ago. The plants didn't return. I did not plant anymore milkweeds because they attracted voracious orange and black beetles that ate my monarch caterpillars.

Serendipity at work!