Calandrinia is it?

[Howey]

This one grows where I planted Calandrinia seeds.  This is actually its third year in the garden and looks like it might bloom.  Sorry, in a way, about the rain drops in the picture.  Fran

Frances Howey
London,Ontario, Canada
Zone 5b

[McDonough]

Hi Fran, googling around it does indeed seem to match Calandrinia grandiflora.  My first instinct was that the plant is a Penstemon, but could be a Calandrinia; here's a link showing the oblong leaves, with more photo links below:
http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/93829/

[deesen]

Purely from memory but I think it's an annual.

[McDonough]

Calandrinia grandiflora is listed as a "drought resistant perennial" on numerous California sites, but that's California.  Found one site that listed it as a Zone 7 tender perennial. Perhaps the annual/perennial characteristic has more to do with hardiness and climate. This plant is new to me, so I'm looking forward to discovering more about it.

[Howey]

Same here, Mark.  Perhaps it is a biennial as it has taken a couple of years to get to this point.  Somewhere on Dave's Garden it says it gets to be three feet high.  I can hardly wait for it to bloom - it is supposed to be a July, Aug. Sept. bloomer - till frost.  No buds yet but the foliage looks quite lush.  Have been putting baggies on buds (Dahlias) and seed pods (Zephyranthes) so the squirrels don't collect them before I get a chance to.  Oh, the joys of gardening!  Fran

[deesen]

A few pictures here from plants I grew in 2008 from seed, I think from the SRGC Exchange. They flowered once and then met their demise! They grew to a couple of feet high on lax (very!) stems.

[Howey]

David:  They're lovely.  The flower is similar to another non-hardy succulent I grow - not sure of its name but the leaves and habit are quite different.  Fran

[Lori S.]

The flower is similar to another non-hardy succulent I grow - not sure of its name but the leaves and habit are quite different.  Fran

Might that be Talinum paniculatum, Fran?