Why I Oughta...

Day three of Zinnia seeds.   First, I showed the State Fair Zinnia seeds that we're going to direct sow later this Spring.  Then, yesterday, I posted photos and details of the unique, green-flowered Envy Zinnia seed packets .  Today, is the third new (to me) Zinnia variety via seed packets:  Candy Cane Zinnias.    Here, below, is the front/back of the Zinnia Candy Cane mixed seed packet: If you look around the Web, you find photos of these that show the blooms to be MASSIVE .  Are they?  I'm not sure.     The concern I have for these is that I wonder if they'll look 'ratty'?  Look at the photo on the seed packet - and you might confuse them with a Zinnia bloom that is past-its-prime.   You can see at the top of the back of the seed packet, Burpee lists these as an "Heirloom" and Eden Brothers confirms that fact .  

Zinnia seeds are the theme this week - with another set introduced here on the blog.  Yesterday, I showed a couple photos of a larger-format-bloom Zinnia:  The State Fair Zinnia .  Today, is another new (to me) cut flower.  When you look at the rack of seed packets, you see a lot of the same/similar colors:  pinks, yellows, reds, oranges, peaches.  But, then there's a Zinnia seed packet that stood out.  It is this one below, named Envy.  Seed packet front/back of Envy Zinnia Seeds that we picked up: These are GREEN flowers. Borderline Chartreuse.  That's certainly unique.  Especially for Zinnias (at least for me).   From the Burpee site : Green Zinnias in your garden make a dramatic display that words can only partially describe. The 3" double and semi-double blooms look as sensational in the garden as they do in the vase. Try them in fresh arrangements with white, deep blue or pink flowers. Can be sown directly in the garden...

Last year, I direct sowed a couple packets of Zinnia seeds in both the sideyard cut flower bed and in the vertical garden (Greenstalk) and they produced a good number of cut flowers for bouquets.  I used the variety named "Cut and Come Again" and they lived up to their name.    They produced a variety of colors - pinks, reds and more .    That (direct sow) experience has lead me to think that I *might* be able to do even MORE with Zinnias this year.  I'm going to try even more packets this growing season and I picked up some new (to me) varieties this past weekend.   The first one of the bunch is below - named "State Fair Zinnias" - they're larger than the ones I grew last season. Below is the front/back of the seed packet from Burpee: From Burpee's site : This one is a sure winner. State Fair Mix has jumbo 5" flowers, a wide range of colors and tall, robust plants. Colors include red, yellow, orange, purple, pink, white and bicolors. Disease res...

I planted a full packet of Nicotiana Jasmine seeds - direct sown - in a new bed on the southside of my house this Summer.  The seeds came from Nat's Mom; who grows Nicotiana in a couple of varieties each year.  The seeds are tiny specs and they don't need to be buried very deep.  So...I sprinkled them, put a little bit of soil on top and walked away.  What happened next was, well, surprising.  After planting the seeds, I quickly saw a huge number of seedlings pop up .  "Great!", I thought.   Weeks went on and the seedlings kept getting taller.  But...something was off.  The foliage was NOT matching the other Nicotiana that I had in the garden.   After looking at it for a couple of days, I realized I didn't have Nicotiana Jasmine.  I had a HUGE MESS OF POKEWEED .  I chopped, yanked and pulled every bit of it.  And discovered that I had - after all - a couple of Nicotiana Jasmine seedlings buried in the mess....

2024 is the year of flowers.  Despite these still be VERY outside my foliage gardening 'comfort zone'.  This started last Fall and continued with my 2024 to-do list with #2 - push thru with flowers . I've done A LOT of dahlias - arranged for the kitchen counter .  And, even a small set of pompon, dark maroon ones .    Now, I have a small Zinnia arrangement.  Mostly composed of the direct-sown Cut and Come Again seeds in the sideyard .  And a couple Yellow Flame Zowie Zinnias from IB2DWs .   Below is what I cut on a recent morning: I will certainly plant these Cut and Come Again Zinnia seeds - in the sideyard.  I'll also put some down IB2DWs, too.  Mark it down for Spring 2025.  

Here's a top-down look at the top few tiers of our Greenstalk vertical garden showing off some of the Zinnias (Cut-and-Come Again and another variety that I grew from last season's seeds) popping off.  I direct sow'd both of these and they're doing fairly well as they *just* enter their blooming season.   Also, peeking through (on the left) is a Rosemary plant that is growing in between some of the cut flowers.   #2 on my 2024 to-do list was to 'push thru on flowers' - including cut flowers .  These Zinnias in the Greenstalk help check that box.  Of course, all the Dahlias lead the way on #2 as well.   See below for the current state of the top-tiers of our Greenstalk: Next year, one tweak I'll make is to think about starting some Zinnias indoors from seed instead of direct sowing them to get them starting blooming a bit earlier than mid/late August.  

Yesterday, I posted a photo of a cut flower arrangement with dahlias, zinnias and Disneyland Roses .  I thought it would be useful to document those plants - as they sit at the end of August.  This is when they're going to (or should) pop-off with blooms.   The Dahlias and Disneyland Roses are two totally different stories.  The Dahlias seemingly are thriving.  The Disneyland Roses?  Dying.  Literally. They've dropped so much foliage.  And have so few blooms.  They look sickly.   The dahlias are full and lush.   Below are a few photos showing the current state of the sideyard - in late August 2024. First, below, is a look at - from right-to-left - a Melina Fleur dahlia, a Disneyland Rose in the middle and on the left...another dahlia.    A bit further to the left are a couple of things that I'm NOT certain of- but I think they're Nicotiana Jasmine and some Zinnias.  Next, below, is the middle Disneyland...

Cut flower season has arrived with the first Cut-and-Come-Again Zinnias.  These three followed the first Dahlia that I showed yesterday - a Melina Fleur Dahlia .  These were direct sown seeds and are being over-shadowed by what I'm pretty sure is Nicotiana Jasmine stalks.  I might have to thin those out to keep these happy - not to mention the Disneyland Roses that are tucked back in there. I did exactly what their name implies:  cut them.  Here's to...ummm...coming again. These took a little more than four weeks from seeds being sown to the first cut flowers. 

A month or so ago, I scattered a couple of seed packages of Nicotiana Jasmine in the new cut flower bed on the southside of our house.  Nicotiana seeds are TEENY TINY.  Like, REALLY teeny tiny.  You can't really place the seeds, rather...you have to scatter them.   So...that's what I did:  scattered them in the new cut flower bed.  I also tossed in some Zinnia seeds.  Here's a look back at the bed before I planted anything, but soon added some Dahlias, too .   These Nicotiana alata grandiflora - Jasmine Tobacco - were in seed packets that had a 2022 date on them, so I wasn't sure if they were viable.  Below is the seed packet: Looking back at my Google Photos archive, I see that I put these seeds down on May 21st.  Exactly one month ago.  What does the bed look like today?   See below: Those are direct-sown seeds of Nicotiana Jasmine in just four weeks.  Some of them are almost up to my waist.  They're ...

Day four of Zinnia-mania - but now we move from beyond IB2DWs to the new cut flower bed that I carved out on the side of our house.   For 2024 plantings with Zinnias, I first  posted the details of some common orange Zinnias that I planted as bedding plants .  A day earlier, I planted a larger, further-along  Uproar Rose Zinnia  from the nursery.   Then, yesterday I planted a Zowie Yellow Flame Zinnia in the conifer garden IB2DWs .  I pinched off all the blooms on these to try to get them to grow a bit more bushier.   But, I'm also going full-on Zinnia Chaos Gardener with the new bed on the southside of the house .  I bought a couple of packets of Cut-and-Come-Again Zinnias and decided to direct sow them in the bed.  Did I evenly space them?  No, just kind-of scattered them.  Here's the bed recently planted - you can see anything but loam/dirt/mulch/compost/biosolids of course: I also put some in the Greenstalk ...