As I happily listen to the rare sound of rain and thunder, something I haven't heard for almost two months, it's good to reflect back to more of the gardening successes in the strolling garden this year. I had the best results from seeds this year than ever before. The zinnias were awesome and have bloomed for over three months. I planted two tall varieties and there are still buds on them now. I plan to scatter more seeds around the garden next year to attract even more butterflies and bees to the garden. I've also seen a lot of Hummingbird moths buzzing around. They're so much fun to watch diving around the garden and thankfully Miss Penny the Pill hasn't caught any as she stalks around the garden on the lookout for intruders to her yard.
The zinnas grew up to three feet and were a non-stop riot of color. Loved them.
The zinnas were great companion plants to the Scabiosa, Sedum, Salvia, and roses.
Another plant from seed that did well this year were the Cosmos. They did so well in fact that they became a bit of a problem because apparently I didn't read the packaging well and planted them in front of the bed. When they grew to be over five feet tall it became difficult to weed and reach all the plants and herbs behind them this summer. I finally chopped them all down this weekend and have a large vase full of pink cosmos to enjoy from the bummer crop.
They bloomed in various shades of pink, white and burgandy. But mostly pink.
The Zebrina Mallow reseeded like crazy the second year and was covered with blooms all summer too. It's so much better behaved than its much taller hollyhock cousin, of which I've had to pull out many this year due to their overgrowth and reseeded everywhere. Hollyhocks are so wonderful in a cottage garden but on the windy plains they're often growing sideways and falling over.
Well, off to read a good book and enjoy the steady pitter patter of rain. If only I could have one day a week of this. We're still over six inches below our average, which runs between 18-24 inches a year, and today's steady rain is a god send to parched West Texas.
