I bought two ‘Pink Manners’ Obedient plants last spring. I don’t remember them doing much of anything, but then again it was hotter than blazes last summer so I may have just entirely missed their blooming period.
The other day I was gazing out the window when I spotted some pretty, light-pink flowers blooming in my front-yard flowerbed. I went outside for a closer look, and that’s when I realized ‘Pink Manners’ had sprung to life.
Obedient plants are perennials that can be anything but obedient, but ‘Pink Manners’ and its white cousin ‘Miss Manners’ were bred to be well-behaved in the garden. Obedient plants got their name from their curious pliability. You can move the individual flowers around the flower spike and they’ll stay where you put them.
‘Miss Manners’ has lavender-pink flowers with a white throat. The flowers practically glow from a distance. The plants grow 36 inches tall in full sun to partial-shade.
I didn’t plan it, but I’m thrilled with how well my ‘Miss Manners’ plant looks growing next to Monarda (bee balm) ‘Purple Rooster’:
