Ain't Misbehavin'

The Obedient Plant has a mind of its own.  This demure looking plant is a happy wanderer, and will never be confined to just a small corner of the garden.  If your garden has a place for everything, and everything in its place, the Obedient Plant will laughingly tell you, "you're not the boss of me!"

Although the plant is wild, and carefree throughout the garden, it behaves itself in a bouquet.  If you bend the stems, they will hold the pose.  It's that obedience, which makes it popular with florists, who use it in large scale arrangements.  The Obedient Plant, ain't misbehavin'! 

Ain't Misbehavin', the Stride/Jazz/Swing standard composed by "Fats" Waller and Harry Brooks, with lyrics by Andy Razaf, was released when the plant would have been in full bloom:  August of 1929. For a song with opening lyrics, "no one to talk with, all by myself...", it's had a lot of airtime, and been perfomed by many of the greats!  

One of the best descriptions of Jazz, compares the genre to you and your friends taking a trip through the old neighbourhood.  Everyone knows the way to the coffee shop, and you each have a favourite street or park to explore on the way.  So, each friend in turn takes you on a little side trip down a lane, or across a field, through someone's backyard, past that place where they used to make that great BBQ chicken, past the community centre pool, across to the hardware store...and then, you arrive... and hangout for awhile.  Part of the magic of Jazz is in getting there.  

In the nearly 90 years since it was first released, Ain't Misbehavin' has been recorded by Fats Waller, Louis Arstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, Ray Charles, Nat King Cole, Dave Brubeck, Django Reinhardt, Leon Redbone (my favourite version), Billie Holiday and Willie Nelson - each taking us on a trip.

If you take a roadtrip from late Summer to Mid-Autumn, you will likely see the Obedient Plant, in gardens from Quebec to Manitoba, all the way down to Florida and New Mexico.  Look for it in sunny spots, since it loves full sun.  Although it comes in pastel pinks, lavender and white, it grows tall enough to stand out: 60cm to 120cm (two to four feet).  Up close, the plant's blossoms look like Snapdragons, which is why it is also known as False Dragonhead.

You'll probably find it in gardens just like this one in Toronto, where it has the white Echinacea flowers completely surrounded!   

Photographs Copyright of:  Ruth Adams, Widow's Endorphins Photographic Images Incorporated.