Among the Trees: Back Deck Zinnias

My first house in Nebraska had a fireplace with a terrific Craftsmen-style mantle.  In the backyard garden, I grew zinnias, cosmos, dahlias, and gladiola flowers that I arranged in bunches on the mantle all summer long.  I liked coming into the living room and admiring the flowers from my garden.  Sassafras House doesn’t have a fireplace and bouquets get set on the dining room table.  That’s nice, but I have missed flowers in the living room. 

This summer, I planted zinnia seeds in pots on the back deck.  They can be seen out the back window from nearly every vantage point in the living room and it’s been lovely.  

I’ve cut a bouquet or two but mostly I enjoy seeing the flowers from the windows or sitting among them on the back deck.  The bees feel the same way.

That’s happy!

Zinnias!

This year, I planted zinnia seeds in pots on the back deck.  I planted in May, fertilized and watered, had to re-planted a smidge (damn the squirrels),  and I gave the seedlings daily pep talks as they grew into leggy branches. Last week, I could see the start of flower buds.  I got pretty excited.  This week, the payoff began. 

I have zinnias!  Bouquets will be in the future and I am best-pleased by this happy development.

Flowers

My 2020 backyard garden was started with the best of intentions and grew quite nicely until the backyard mulberry tree leafed out and began to shade the garden patch.  The mulberry needs to be trimmed - cut down, probably - but that messy chore fell victim to the pandemic.  If T and I don’t cut it back this Winter, I will hire a tree service to come out and do it come next Spring.  Its presence meant that the zinnias took longer than I like to wait for flowers to bloom.  But there are enough now to start off a bouquet and that is a most welcome treat as school is underway.

Zinnia!

My first zinnia of the Summer season is a deep purple.

I don’t recall having planted such a deep shade of purple before and I think it’s lovely.  This is the only bloom for now but enough for a bouquet are on their way.  That’s happy!

In the Waning Light

One of the nice things about being home so much is that come twilight I have a good chance of making pictures of the golden light that often infuses the sky.  Sunday was a nice night for the Golden Hour and I made several pictures. Here is Old Man Tree framing the southwest sky and the moon.

To the due South.

From the front porch.

To the East.

To the West.

Even when it’s steamy hot (and it has been plenty warm around here), I enjoy the ease of a Summer evening when I can pop outside and enjoy the last beautiful light of the day.

Last of the Season

Last weekend, I picked what I expect will be the last zinnias of the 2019 garden season.  There was a handful of pretty flowers.

I mixed them with some the fall mum bouquet I had on hand and made a pretty posey for one of my favorite antique mason jars.  It’s on the dining room table helping to make things cheerful.

I’m already daydreaming about the seeds I’ll plant next year.  That’s happy!

Indian Summer

After some days in the 70s, Summer’s heat has returned in the last week.  That’s a chance for a few more tomatoes and zinnias and the garden is hard at work.  This week’s heat may give these tomatoes enough time to ripen.

There were a handful of cherry tomatoes and a few pretty zinnias.

The tomatoes were had for supper; the zinnias joined the Mason jar bouquet on the table.

I am ready for cooler weather but these Summer treats are always welcome.

Indian Summer

After some days in the 70s, Summer’s heat has returned in the last week.  That’s a chance for a few more tomatoes and zinnias and the garden is hard at work.  This week’s heat may give these tomatoes enough time to ripen.

While I wait, there were a handful of cherry tomatoes and a few zinnias ready to be picked.

The tomatoes were had for supper; the zinnias joined the Mason jar bouquet on the table.

If we can't yet have cooler weather, at least these Summer treats are sticking around.

Zinnia Season

My zinnia seeds are bringing me flowers and I picked a few on Sunday.  I added them to some greenery I have on hand and they make me smile every day.

That’s happy!

Zinnias

This weekend is the official start of Autumn and though there seems to be enough warm weather on tap to keep me in zinnia bouquet for a few more weeks, it’s a nice time to celebrate the flowers I have enjoyed this year.

I love zinnias and have been growing them for year.  Every Monday, I pick myself a fresh bouquet for the week.

Zinnias are simple and rather old-fashioned, part of their appeal to me.

They like sunlight and they tolerate heat.  I’m careful to water and fertilize them and for their part, they bloom and bloom and bloom.

Zinnias on the table feels like a cheerful treat and I look forward to the zinnia season all year.  There are dozens of varieties from which to choose and I enjoy collecting seed packets in preparation for each Spring's planting.

That’s happy!

Zinnias!

Last night, I picked my first zinnia bouquet of the season.

Gardening has taught me more about patience than anything else and this point in the summer, when there is an abundance of fresh produce to enjoy, is always lovely.  The days are sunny and long and it feels as if summer might very well last forever.  This won’t be the case of course; the zinnia season is as fleeting as any other.  But while it lasts, it’s so very charming.

The Zinnia Season

Last week’s forecast suggested that the first week in May would bring us some unusually warm days and nights.  So I did what any rational woman would do: I lined up my flip flops and I planted my zinnia seeds.  

Zinnias are on of my favorite things about summer.  Daydreams of picking bouquets from my own garden have carried me through many a dark, cold Winter day.  But daydreams are one thing and getting seeds in the ground are another; getting planted a few days early is a treat.  Tomatoes and basil will go in the ground in the next week; by then tiny flower seedlings will have emerged.  The 2018 gardening season has begun!  

Tuesday Garden Update: July 26

At the start of July, I vowed that I would make a picture each week to accompany a Tuesday blog post about my garden.  Last week’s pictures never made it into a post because I was distracted by the horror of the RNC spectacle.  But I was out in the garden every day and in last week’s photos I can see all the evidence of the harvest soon coming my way.

Over the weekend, two of the largest tomatoes came ripe.  And with them, we’ve officially entered the delicious tomato portion of our summer.  

This week, the garden is a reflection of the past week’s sunny heat.  More tomatoes are on their way to ripening.  My zinnias have buds that hint of flowers and bouquets in my future.

Gardens are lessons in patience and careful effort.  They are a reminder that Mother Nature will not be rushed and that good things come to those who wait.  

Tuesday Garden Update: July 5

The garden is mulched and the warm, sunny days mean that growing is happening by leaps and bounds.  I’ve picked my first tomato; many more are set on and making progress.

The zinnia rows are taller by the day.  I added some extra seeds to fill in the gaps and those tiny seedlings are also growing.

I’m out here every day, checking the progress,  looking after my plants, and re-arranging the sprinkler as needed.  I check the blooms and admire the progress.  I daydream about the cucumbers and zucchini in my future.

This part of summer is delightful but always seems fleeting, perhaps because it’s filled with such promise.

Your Weekly Bouquet

 The cool, frosty evenings have brought an end to my weekly zinnia bouquets and this week's showing is the final batch for the season.

 It won't be long before I am reading  seed packet descriptions and planning for next summer's zinnia's harvest.  I like to garden for many reasons, foremost among them is the reminder of the virtues of hard work and patience, skills that a happy gardener must cultivate and tend.

Your Weekly Bouquet

It could just be my starry-eyed view of flowers, but something about this mess of end-of-the-season blooms seems especially bright and lovely.

 I organized them by color before I trimmed them for bouquets.

Then I placed them in my fanciest vases.

That's happy!