A Celebration of Zinnias
July 24, 2026
It's no secret that zinnias are my favorite summer flower. They're easy to grow, thrive in the summer heat, come in an endless array of colors, shapes, and sizes, make long-lasting bouquets, and are magnets for bees and butterflies. What's not to love?
Every winter I happily pore over seed catalogs, choosing my old favorites and a few new varieties to try. In late winter I start the seeds in the greenhouse and by early spring they're ready to be transplanted into the garden. You can skip the greenhouse part altogether and scatter the seeds directly in the soil--they don't require pampering in the least. Then comes the reward. By mid-summer, the border is absolutely bursting with cheerful blooms, and I can't imagine the garden without them.
Zinnia breeders have been doing some amazing work, stabilizing colors, improving disease resistance, and creating varieties that are more beautiful than ever. They just keep getting better and better!
The Queen Lime Series (now known as Queeny Lime) was introduced about ten years ago and completely changed the zinnia world with its unusual, muted colors of burgundy blush and lime. Since then, breeders have continued pushing the boundaries. Small specialty breeders like Floret and Dawn Creek—both of whom I've purchased from before and love supporting—have created stunning new varieties in softer, more subtle pastel shades.
 |
| Agave |
 |
| I love the glowing lavender center. |
 |
| Agave |
 |
| Queen Lime Red |
 |
| Shasta Daisies |
 |
| This is a dahlia that grows in the zinnia bed. |
 |
| Looks like an old fashioned zinnia that reminds me of an Oklahoma or State Fair except for the glowing center. |
 |
| I cannot get over how the colors of Aurora glow from inside! |
 |
| Ballerina |
 |
| Aurora |
 |
| An Aurora, layered with colors. |
 |
| A Queen Lime. |
 |
| Another Queen Lime. |
 |
| Nasturtium. |
 |
| The colors just glow! |
 |
| Ballerina with just a whisper of pink. |
 |
| Pink dahlias in the veg garden. |
 |
| dahlia |
The vegetable garden at the end of the day when it's shaded by my neighbor's giant redwoods.
 |
| Haha, I was taking closeups of the flowers and when I turned, look who was right at my side, ready for his close up! |
 |
| More sauce! |
I hope you enjoyed today's post and found it helpful—I’d love to see you back again! I publish about once a week and would be honored if you subscribed to the Knitionary blog. Just click here to join, and new posts will be delivered straight to your inbox.
I promise never to sell your email address (I wouldn’t know how to do that even if I wanted to). While most posts are about knitting, I also share my love of gardening, crafting, and entertaining. From time to time, I use affiliate links to help offset the cost of running the blog. If you make a purchase through one, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you and I appreciate your support of my work.
Comments are always welcome—just scroll down to leave one. I reply to every comment right below yours. If you’d rather reach me privately, you can use the contact form on the right near the bottom of the site.
14 Comments
I so enjoy all the photos of your garden. It's so obvious how much work you put into it. I also love the sunset photo! Enjoy the rest of your summer!!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much Sharon. I so appreciate your comment and support!
DeleteHow to you water? Soaker hoses?
ReplyDeleteYes, soaker hoses in the veg garden, and a long soaker hose on the zinnias at the front of the border. The rest of the border is watered by built in overhead sprinklers but they don't do a great job of reaching the very front, so that's why a soaker. The hoses last a few years then have to be replaced. My husband tries his best to repair and patch, but sun and weather takes its toll after a while.
DeleteBeautiful garden, beautiful flowers, beautiful sunset. You are amazing!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! Do you ever have your garden on a garden tour?
ReplyDeleteOh my! No, never! My garden is pretty enough, and I take good pictures, but it's not garden tour worthy at all. It's a pretty home garden.
DeleteNow you have me thinking zinnias. Would they work in a window box? I live in a condo. I had a friend with a gorgeous garden in the desert. She used soaker hoses.. chloe
ReplyDeleteI think they would work in a window box. The smaller, heavily flowering ones might be best, like the Cut and Come Again varieties? They'd need to be checked daily for water, but that's just common practice with container gardening. I check my big pots daily as they dry out so quickly. I think it's worth a try!
DeleteI usually only plant perennials. Plant once and they appear annually. But maybe I should branch out to annuals. They are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteWe love our perennials but find that a strip of zinnias or other annual at the front of the perennial border really adds a summer punch. We've ussed asters and marigolds before, but I've just fallen for zinnias and so that's what has stuck.
DeleteHi Kristin- I’m a long time reader but I don’t comment often as it’s glitchy on my iPad. I love your zinnias and I bought the lime queen seeds this year after seeing yours. Next year I’ll be adding aurora and agave. My zinnias are currently scattered through the garden, but I think putting them all together is stunning and I’ll work on that for next year. My garden is on the small side and full sun is at a premium. Thank you so much for the inspiration!
ReplyDeleteI just didn’t want to be anonymous! The comment above is mine.
DeleteThank you! I know so many people have problems commenting and give up and I so appreciate when a comment comes through, so thank you. I think you'll love those varieties. Most years I try to use a different variety of zinnia. I think next year I will go for an all pink border or may go for an all Queen Lime mixed border. Either would be beautiful. It's fun to play around every year.
DeleteYou make my day when you make a comment!