• Impatiens balfourii is a relative of the pictured impatiens plant.impatiens image by palms from Fotolia.com
  
  Impatiens balfourii is a perennial. Named for "Sir Isaac Bayley Balfour, a 19th-century botany professor and director of Edinburgh's Royal Botanic Garden," according to the University of Wisconsin website, it is classified as a forb/herb, or "a non-woody plant that is not a grass." Impatiens balfourii can be used in a flower garden, to border houses or fencing, or for seed-collecting activities.
  
  

Flower Garden

• Impatiens balfourii, like the plant pictured here, can make a lively addition to a flower garden.garden kitty image by Faith Ashurst from Fotolia.com
  
  Impatiens balfourii, also known as Balfour's Touch-Me-Not and the Poor Man's Orchid, makes an excellent choice for the shady garden location. It may be purple, pink, lavender or white, and may grow to a height of 3 feet. Impatiens balfourii does well in bright-to-medium shade and propagates easily because of the way its seedpods virtually explode to scatter seed. It thrives in sandy, mildly acidic soil and requires regular watering, according to Davesgarden. It also germinates just fine in cooler weather. Impatiens balfourii blooms during the summer and fall and must be cut back to prevent seeds from scattering if you do not want to see more plants the next year. In addition, although the plants spread easily, they are just as easy to pull up and will therefore not take over the rest of your garden.
  
  

Fences/Borders

• Impatiens balfourii can enhance privacy at low windows.white window image by Michael Korecki from Fotolia.com
  
  As Impatiens balfourii propagate easily and grow quite tall, they can also be used as borders, to separate garden from lawn, to adorn or camouflage fencing or to enhance privacy at low windows. As they are easy to grow in shade, they can be successfully planted close to a house or other building. In addition, because they self-seed, you can start with a few plants, and in a few years' time, the spaces between your original plants will be filled in nicely.
  
  

Seed Gathering

• According to the University of Wisconsin website, the word "impatiens" is from the Latin, "referring to [the] explosive action of fruit to disperse seed." Simply touching a seedpod of this species will cause it to break open, exposing a quantity of tiny seeds. Consequently, Impatiens balfourii offers a great opportunity for you to collect its seeds, either to plant for yourself or to offer to other gardeners. Collecting the seeds can also be a fun and educational activity for children. It is best before collecting seeds to "allow pods to dry on the plant," according to Davesgarden.