Z's Weed

Gardenaut bloggers and readers discussed weeds recently - what constitutes one, and why. We've seen a new twist on this at our home this season as Z insistently watched and watered a plant we were quite confident was a weed that appeared in a disused planter on our porch. It slowly grew for weeks before, to Jenni's and my surprise but not our nearly four-year-old daughter's, a bud appeared.

A week later...

What's particularly strange about this development is that this is not a flower I can remember us growing, not just in that particular pot, but anywhere.

The situation reminds me of the Ruth Krauss/Clement Hurd collaboration The Carrot Seed. That book has always bothered me a bit because the protagonist gets nothing but discouragement from his whole family. We, of course, were never explicitly discouraging. But maybe it reflects the "me against the world" perception that toddlers and young children inevitably develop at some point as their closed-minded elders ignore their dreams, callously but perhaps entirely unintentionally.

At any rate, we were all thrilled to see this new friend, which Z crows about every day on our way to the car. We have made a special point of noting to her that she was the one who grew that flower, and she was the one who knew it was not a weed.

Anyone know what this lovely flower is?

Update: It's a zinnia! Thanks, MissoulaChick!