Since we built a new 25 x 20 garden for veggies, we decided to plant some old-fashioned flowers in one of our existing smaller raised beds. I bought sunflowers and zinnias from Seed Savers and a couple of months ago planted three rows of flowers (and one row of okra).
I carefully read which sunflower varieties were tallest and thought I was planting accordingly. Imagine my surprise when the “Sunflower Mix” dwarfed my Titan and Mammoth varieties.
I love these colors.
These "mixed and mystery" sunflowers are dwarfing the Mammoth and Titan varieties which haven't bloomed yet.
The Giant Zinnias are shaded by the sunflowers.
I also have some zinnias that came up volunteer in the herb garden.
I love all things that come up "volunteer."
I was following a black swallow butterfly from flower to flower. You can see some white echinacea that also "volunteered."
In a previous post on my nostalgia for zinnias, I mentioned a forgotten photo of my great grandmother standing in a field of zinnias near Rocky Ford, Colorado, where she and her husband leased property to a seed company.
The last time I visited my dad, I asked about this photo. Aha, he came up with it!
Kodacolor, circa 1949. My great-grandmother in the center of her field. My great-aunt is on her right.
I remember looking at this picture in my grandmother’s photo album (where we ultimately found it) and marveling at the bright colors and size of those zinnias. Yes, I remember when this photo was not faded.
I am glad to have it and was glad I could scan it in for posterity.
