A walk through the zinnias
August 01, 2024If you love zinnias as much as I do, then this is your post! It's packed with pictures of the new varieties I planted this year and I'll share my honest opinions. This was an exciting year for zinnia lovers because this old fashioned flower has been getting a lot of attention. Roses have always been the darlings of breeders, and in recent decades both peonies and dahlias have received a lot of attention, but recently breeders have settled onto the humble zinnia. I have been following along like a fangirl and as a long time zinnia lover I found all this terribly exciting. This year I grew some of the newest varieties and I invite you to read on to find out what I loved and didn't love.
Floret's Dawn Creek Pastels, a champagne colored zinnia and very unusual. |
More Dawn Creek Pastels. Love the tufted zinnia on the upper right. The yellow at the bottom is Unicorn Mix. |
Profusion Cherry is a popular ever-blooming small and tidy border zinnia. Most seed companies offer this variety and I will never be without it. |
Eden's Exquisite. This is a nice mix of beautiful pinks. Will buy again. |
I always plant at least one flat of cosmos. I'm fairly certain this is Cupcake. |
Another interesting color from Dawn Creek Pastels, more like a shade of buff changing to pink as it ages. |
I like the bright pinks the best! |
A little break from zinnias because there are more tomatoes and more sauce! This time I had to fire up both ovens! |
This is my favorite dahlia of the bunch; fully tufted and a gorgeous fuchsia color and it has many buds and blooms. |
This is a dahlia from a tuber I've saved for many years. It's a dinnerplate variety, named for its large size. |
I planted borage around the veg garden for their edible flowers. They taste faintly of cucumber and retain their color in salads. So pretty! |
Every morning I wake up to a few casualties. One or two bites, then thrown aside. Absolutely maddening. |
More of the Queen Lime series. I will always have these in my zinnia garden. They positively glow at sunset and look happy and vibrant in the bright sun. |
Eden Brothers Exquisite. Will plant again. |
Cosmos Cupcake. Gorgeous! |
Buff colored zinnias from Floret called Dawn Creek Pastels. Some are tufted, some have cactus petals, some have both! |
More Dawn Creek Pastels, this one a pale coral. I love the color tipped edges on the top left. |
12 Comments
Your flowers are stunning. I love the colors of the Dawn Creek zinnias. The colors remind me of Antique colored pansies. This post was like a walk in a Cotswalds garden..
ReplyDeleteThank you. I remember when those pansies came out. We all went crazy over them. They looked like they should have been on grannie's bonnet on Sunday!
DeleteThose zinnias are gorgeous. A Martha Stewart article decades ago showed just how much variety they are capable of, and now you are reporting a major new breeding in pastels. (I have to say, though, I really prefer the bright ones!). Chloe
ReplyDeleteGood old Martha, I remember that she always love zinnias, hollyhocks, bachelor buttons, all the old cottage varieties. I miss her magazine!
DeleteAlso my grandmother planted zinnias and anything she grew is my fave. Chloe
ReplyDeleteSweet old fashioned flowers beloved by all us grannies!
DeleteA wonderful post. I just put in some ratther ordinary zinnia plants from the nursery but they're still delighting me. Next year: seeds!
ReplyDeleteAnd Jack can start them! Have you checked out the links I gave? So many gorgeous flowers.
ReplyDeleteI am thoroughly dizzy from the lovely zinnias. Here I try to concentrate in not allowing the perennials to turn into invasive weeds. However, between the humidity and the mosquitoes, our garden has to take care of itself.
ReplyDeleteAww, thank you so much. It sounds like your garden can take care of itself if perennials grow so well. Where do you live?
DeleteYour zinnias are stunning! I downsized when I moved to Ohio but now I want a garden! 😁
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! We are right behind you in downsizing--perhaps another five years.
DeleteYou make my day when you make a comment!