Kiss-me-over-the-garden-gate

Polygonum orientale

This heirloom variety, also called Ladyfingers, came to America in 1737, when Peter Collinson sent fellow botanist John Bartram some seeds from English gardens. Tall stems display large smooth leaves, and the dangling blooms of deep rose sway in the slightest breeze. "There is something oriental looking about it. It reminds me of the willow trees on Blue Willow china," says fellow gardener William Yoakum, who shared seeds with us so many years ago. Diverse beneficial insects are attracted to the tassel blooms. Self-sows.