It is now September. Gone are the multitude of Purple Coneflowers, but in their place are now one of my favorite cottage annuals - Cosmos!
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| Cosmos bipinnatus 'Picotee' |
I read on a garden website somewhere that if you have trouble growing Cosmos, well, you might just want to take up golf! I, for one, am thankful for such easy to grow plants that put on such a great display with very little effort from me.
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| the front garden |
Cosmos bipinnatus are ridiculously easy to grow from seed. In the spring I went around the garden throwing seeds all over right before a good rain, and that was pretty much all the care I gave them.
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| a Cosmos bud about to open |
Cosmos bipinnatus are part of the Aster family and are sometimes called Mexican asters (since they are native to Mexico). They tolerate poor or dry soil. Just give them plenty of sun.
The bees love them, and soon the Cosmos will be bursting with seeds and attracting Goldfinches in droves (as well as a couple children that like collecting the seeds for their next year's garden).
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| center of Cosmos 'Versailles Red' |
If it is possible to stop gazing at the Cosmos (they are mesmerizingly beautiful), there are other things going on in the garden. The chilly weather we've suddenly been having turns a gardener's mind to Asters and Mums, both of which went into my whisky barrel planters.
The Nicotania is still going in the mailbox garden.
(That stuff is seriously like the Energizer bunny of the plant world!)
The Caryopteris 'Worcester Gold' is in bloom, to the delight of many different types of bees.
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| Carpenter bee on Caryopteris |
This time of the year is also when the Goldenrod blooms. I didn't personally plant any Goldenrod in my garden (in fact I weeded some out), but all the wild areas around the yard are full of the beautiful golden flowers.
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| Plasterer bee on Goldenrod |
It's hard to believe that the summer is pretty much over. There's a nip in the air, and newscasters are already talking of possible frost. I refuse to believe it!
I'm going back to gazing at my Cosmos and thinking summery thoughts!
I hope you all are enjoying the last few days of summer gardening!
To see what other garden bloggers around the world have blooming in their garden, visit Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day over at May Dreams Gardens blog.
Cosmos has to be one of the easiest flowers in the world to grow. I planted some seeds some years ago, and I have done absolutely nothing since. But they reseed and come back reliably every year. Mine are all orange. I need to add some gorgeous colors like yours!
ReplyDeleteI had the orange ones in my last garden. Those are also so pretty and also so easy to grow! The butterflies really liked those ones, too.
DeleteOh my gosh, I love that variety of Cosmos! I'll have to search for it next spring. I've never tried growing them from seed, but the tiny plants I start with from my favorite garden center sure take off fast. Maybe I'll try seeds next year. I feel exactly the same way about gazing at them, and they are extremely easy to grow! Plus, the bees and butterflies love them, too! I love they way you've naturalized them in your garden. :)
ReplyDeleteHopefully they'll be around for a long time to come with all the seeds they make! I'm thinking about buying some seeds for some shorter Cosmos as well, though, since all of mine grew so tall.
DeleteFrost warnings are up here too later in the week. But your cosmos are stunning. I do miss not having planted any this year. I now must find these lovelies Indie.
ReplyDeleteThe 'Picotee' ones are quite popular, and I see the seeds sold at garden stores a lot. They are my favorite!
DeleteLove your front garden full of cosmos--beautiful! Ssh, don't tell anyone else how easy they are to grow--just let everyone think what a talented gardener you are:) We have many of the same blooms right now, including the wild goldenrod full of bees, except for the caryopteris. Mine didn't survive the winter and I miss it so much this time of year. As for nicotania, I agree; I haven't planted any in three years, yet I have so many blooming plants still going.
ReplyDeleteHa! That's true - maybe I should have kept it a secret! ;) That's too bad your caryopteris didn't make it. It was such a bad winter last year. Here's hoping for a much milder one!
DeleteThe cosmos are so pretty. I'm going to follow your advice and scatter seeds in the spring. P. x
ReplyDeleteYou won't regret it! It's such a great summer flower.
DeleteCosmos is also easy to grow here, but those hybrids that look very beautiful especially that one doesn't grow well here. I guess they are made to adopt in temperate climes only. So far we only have yellow and orange here, no white, no pink, no purple, no picotee!
ReplyDeleteOh, that is too bad! I have always though of the orange ones as the more heat-loving ones (though I don't know if that's just due to their hot color). That is too bad the pastels don't grow well for you, though.
DeleteThis has been the quickest year EVER! Soon we'll be shimmying our better halves up into the spider-ridden attics to retrieve the Christmas trees.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm with you...holding onto summer and enjoying the Cosmos, which are the best they've ever been in our garden. Plan to sow even more next spring.
I agree. Where did the summer go? There was actually frost this morning - I couldn't believe it!
DeleteYour cosmos are so beautiful! What a lovely time of year in your gardens! Thanks for sharing it with us. -Beth
ReplyDeleteThank you! They really shine in the garden!
DeleteHello Indie, I love cosmos, too. You have some beautiful colors and shadings in yours, some I've never seen before. This is the first year I haven't had problems with powdery mildew on my plants and I'm glad because their flowers are so cheery. Hard to believe we're almost done with the growing season already, sigh.
ReplyDeleteI love the Picotee ones - they are the ones that have so many beautiful shades! That's awesome you haven't had any powdery mildew. I've started having some trouble with it, but as you said, the season is almost over, unbelievably!
DeleteI certainly share your love of Cosmos. I was no good at golf, so started gardening. We have just had the white Cosmos this year, I am sure there will be others come next Summer.
ReplyDeleteHa, growing Cosmos does seem easier than golf, doesn't it? I don't have much hand-eye coordination, so gardening is definitely more my speed!
DeleteOh that is a gorgeous garden! That garden probably wasn't too far from where I used to live - I wish I could have seen it in person!
ReplyDelete