Tag: Zinnia

Zinnia Abundance

zinnia 027 with butterflyThere should be quite a zinnia abundance in our garden year. I know that I am not the only one who loves these bright flowers… check out Mr. Butterfly. It looks as though he has had some rough times with his left wing, but that does not stop him from enjoying this flower.

zinnia 011Clearing the Jungle

This year, I was lucky to find a whole shoebox full of zinnia seed packets in the garage of an estate sale for $2. Of course, I bought them even though they were from 2002, so why not? They will either grow or they will not grow, either way, it was worth the investment. I planted all of those seeds in a wide row about 18 feet long in this garden patch. They are all overgrown with weeds, so it is time to spend some serious time weeding. I have dug out the borderline of the iris and placed the guardian gnome at the garden entrance.

zinnia 012A kind of search and rescue mission ensues to discover where the zinnias, marigolds, and other flower seeds are located among the ground cover weeds. Can you see the different shaped leaves in a row? It is hard to see, isn’t it? I start with the for-sure weeds and work my way around until I can discover where the row is.

zinnia 013

The marigolds here are much easier to identify in this confusing crowd of weeds.

zinnia 014Here it is all weeded and transplanted. They sure wilt and look horrible for a little while, but I always follow my grandma’s advice. Immediately, give any transplant a real good drink and they will be fine. She is totally right!

zinnia 020

Tired and overheated, I feel as though I should give up. But, thankfully, I notice another area of Zinnia’s already blossoming just a few feet away. They were planted with seed last year and re-seeded themselves so they are a welcomed returning garden resident. I am encouraged. The anticipation of being able to paint these colorful petals with their light highlights, and shadows that exaggerate the shapes is all this artist needs.

Garden Flower Zen

dahlia blossoms

Garden flower zen. A stroll through the garden provides bright colors and fragrant discoveries painted by blooming flowers planted throughout. I may be weeding but my ears are soothed to hear the song of many birds and bees buzzing by. The time spent is full of surprises like an occasional ladybug, butterfly, or dragonfly! Flowers are an essential part of an artist’s garden. I cut flowers almost every day to make our house feel alive in summer.

The work seems easier…

…as my eyes feast on the beauty surrounding me in the garden.

It is amazing what you discover when writing a blog. Looking through the photography of the garden, I see that we plant 20+ types of flowers in the garden on a regular basis. No wonder, the bees like our garden so much. I could probably write a post about each variety from the various pictures shot over the years that show the growth progress, colors, and best angles. But don’t worry, that is not the intention of this post. The goal of this post is to show you what flowers we grow in the garden as an introduction to further articles that show more intense information about each variety.

  1. Alyssum, a ground cover that I like to plant around other bigger guys.white alyssum ground cover blossoms
  2. Bachelor Button, a frequent bloomer gives a touch of color wherever they are.bachelor button blossoms
  3. Baby’s Breath, a small white flower used in bouquets.white baby's breath blossoms
  4. Bleeding Heart, the bush springs up just as the snow melts with heart-shaped blossoms appearing as we are ready for planting. Notice Mr. Butterfly on the top right.bleeding heart blossoms
  5. Carnation, the cinnamon scent of these blossoms make it a pleasure to snuggle them with your face every time you pass by.red pink and white carnation blossoms
  6. Coneflower, a hardy bush that grows up tall and spreads arms wide showering the garden with yellow blossoms all summer long. yellow cone flower bush
  7. Cosmos, a favorite wildflower blooming throughout summer.lavender cosmos blossoms
  8. Crocus & Daffodil, 2 short-time early spring guys who pop their heads out of the snow, with heads that turn to follow the sun.purple crocus blossomsyellow daffodill
  9. Dahlia, comes in a multitude of bright colors, shapes, and sizes.pink dahlias
  10. Daisy. We had daisies and red roses at our wedding.shasta daisy blossoms
  11. Geranium, I have to take into the house over winter.red geranium
  12. Gladiola, a flower that I love but so do all the gophers, an ongoing war.red gladiola
  13. Iris, is planted all around in and out of the garden. The deer seem to leave it alone, most of the time.bearded iris blossoms
  14. Lilac, lavender spring bush blossoms with a heavenly fragrance.lavendar lilac blossoms
  15. Marigold, 2 years ago I scattered a coffee can of dried flower seeds. Wrongfully, thinking were no good. But, they were just fine, notice the height of those marigolds.tall marigolds
  16. Poppy, a wildflower self-seeder.pink poppy blossoms
  17. Roses, one of my favorite flowers.pink rose
  18. Snapdragons are very fragrant and colorful blossoms.snapdragon blossoms
  19. Sunflower, pale yellow, orange, to brown. Check out the bee zooming in for a landing here.golden brown sunflower
  20. Zinnia, splashes of color all summer long.