Zinnia update

I feel a little guilty about not giving my longtime favorite flower, the zinnias, any blog attention this year. There are a few reasons for this lack of photography: First, I did not grow as many as usual. I planted them farther apart than they need (I used the wrong piece of hole-burned landscape fabric, spaced for beets or beans), so there aren’t as many as usual.

Second, for reasons unknown, my heritage seeds (typically very reliable) had poor germination rates this year. I had to re-seed about 40% of the holes.

Third, I neglected to “pinch” the plants as they were growing, so that leads to reduced blooms (and thicker stems).

And finally, Montana and I (and the honeybees) are just enamored with the bachelor buttons this year.

Poor neglected zinnias! Alas, they still look terrific and will always have a prominent place in my flower garden.