My Little Pink Mutant

Along the brick path of my dooryard garden, a little lavender blooms, Lavendula officinalis 'Blue Cushion'.  Its lovely soft blue and pink flowers have been filled with butterflies and bees for several days now.   And no I am not pulling your leg when I said blue and pink flowers...there are indeed two colors of flowers growing on this one plant.

My little mutant

The flowers of 'Blue Cushion' are normally powdery lavender blue, but a couple years ago my little plant showed up with an identity crisis of sorts and it's personality split as one of the newer branches mutated, sporting soft pink blooms.  I've grown a lot of lavender in my day and had never had this happen before.  If you have ever had something like this happen you know how exciting it is...if you haven't, just trust me, it's exciting!

A closure look reveals the very light pink flowers and a happy bee.

If this had been a variegated plant that had changed back (reverse mutated) to a single color, or a dwarf plant that suddenly grew a very long branch as dwarf Junipers often do,  I could say that it had reverted back to its original form, but this is something all together different.  Once in a while a plant produces a mutation that sports a brand new and different character from the rest of that plant and sometimes different from the species.  This is called a "plant sport".  It is an exiting moment for horticulture buffs like me, as this is basically the birth of a new plant variety.

Isn't it just amazing!

Flower color mutations are seen frequently in roses and carnations, but not often in lavenders.  Other types of  mutations will produce things like, gold leaves instead of green, wavy petals or leaves instead of smooth or leaves that are serrated instead of smooth along their edge.  Sometimes it is in the form of completely different growth habit like weeping or contorted instead of upright.

Secretly I have hoped that my little pink mutant will be something worth propagating and begin a whole new line of Lavenders.  Wouldn't that be something?

As I write this I am reminded how amazing this creation of God's is and how His creative capacity is well beyond what you or I could ever imagine.  It is discoveries like these pink flowers that remind me too of how He delights in loving us by giving us sweet surprises that delight the soul.

May your garden be blessed.


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