After returning home that day, I researched the vines and discovered their name and also found that their seeds are called "heart seeds," because of the unusual markings on them. When I read that, I knew there was another chapter to add to my story.

I returned to the patch of vines and gathered a few of the pods so I could see their "hearts" for myself, and I wasn't disappointed. This is a picture of what I found inside the pods:

 Now, let's fast forward to January 2011.

The above picture was taken January 10, 2011, and the little girl is our six-year-old granddaughter Avery Grace. She was planting the heart seeds at our land in Madison County, Mississippi.

These are the seeds she planted ...

And here is a picture I captured recently of our very own little Balloon Vine!

I was absolutely thrilled, to the point of tears, to see those tiny pods ...

I hope this experience will instill in Avery a love for gardening that we will be able to share for many years to come.