I'm guessing you had a much cooler summer than I did. In my yard, zinnias are just about the only thing that did well this summer. They like the heat and we've had quite a few (I lost count) days over 100. I planted over 160 zinnia seedlings plus had some volunteers. It's one huge patch of mostly bright red 'Scarlet Flame' zinnias, some Zowies which are orange/magenta/yellow, and a patch of hot pink celosia down on the end. It shows up. lol

My only spree lately has been picking up end of season clearance bargains that I really don't need, veronica 'Atomic Lavender', gaillardia 'Mesa Yellow', daylily 'Pardon Me', phlox 'Early Start Velvet' and 'Early Start Light Pink' echinacea 'Salsa Red' (that one wasn't clearance), phlox 'Jade' and another phlox whose name escapes me. That's my reward for living through the drought and faithfully watering all summer.

Zinnias are probably the only annual where I have actually contemplated spending some serious $$ on. Last winter when I was browsing the catalogs, planning my zinnia garden I almost did it. However, I simply donâÂÂt trust the catalogs any longer. I will be forever suspicious of the newest, most improved, more gorgeous than-anything-before-it claims of perfection. So instead, I went with a $3 packet of about 100 seeds and planted them.

Since I direct sow, I had to assume there would be a high mortality rate. When the seeds finally germinated, the weather was coolish, the poor baby seedlings were almost immediately attacked by some unknown insect which chewed off the new leaves as fast as they appeared. I sincerely doubted any would survive, but then the weather turned unbearably hot and stayed that way. Zinnias like that.

My 30 x 6 foot zinnia garden today. Not too bad IMO for around $3.

Kevin

{{gwi:267220}}

Nice, Kevin!

None of my annuals, zinnias included, have done well this year. Bad year all around for annuals. Self-sown stuff did well, but the seeds I planted and seedlings I transplanted just never really took off. I have a tithonia sitting out in the garden that after a few months is still only 8 or 10 inches tall, with nary a bud in sight.

No sprees this year so far. But there's still time! I did go through Gilbert Wild's sale a month or so back and loaded up my cart, but I left to go eat dinner and when I came back to check out my cart had emptied (who knew there was a time limit on one's cart?!), so I got upset and said the heck with it. I wasn't going to spend another 45 minutes going through the site picking out plants all over again. Their loss, my wallet's gain, lol.

Dee

Very nice Kevin! I plan on doing an all zinnia bed next year so I can have fresh cut flowers in the house!! This was my first year growing zinnias from seed and had great success so next year they will get their very own sunny spot in my yard!!

Here is my zinnia story. Scarlet Flame, came up well, bloomed well. Flowers started red, faded to orange,probably from extreme heat. There were 2 plants that are maroon color. In another spot, I have bright red ones. All out of the same pack.
A coral colored cactus type from Burpee, netted me 5 plants out of a pack and a half. VERY POOR GERMINATION
I had an old package of cactus flowered from Ferry-Morse, 3years old, came up well and bloomed.
I had a new pack of iredescent(sp) yellow from burpees, 11 seeds in pack, 4 plants.
Is poor germination from weather or what??

nah, bugger zinnias. Another fad bites the dust. I only wanted the extra colour as I don't care for the flower shapes or structure much at all - will stick with nasturtiums or summat next year.

flowergirl - Who knows. It could be either, but your experience is a good example of why it would be totally stupid of me to invest in these seed when I need so many plants.

Kevin

Wrong terminology there, Kev, - you don't actually 'need' these plants (like oxygen or water) - you WANT them.
And yeah, seeds can be risky but they sure are a cheap way of filling a bed.

Beautiful zinnias Kevin! I bet the neighbors love to go by that patch. Growing from seed is the boss! I grow almost all my annuals from seed, and many perennials too.

I went on a seed buying mania during the winter of 2010-11, it was a HORRIBLE winter, we were pounded by storm after storm and received about 80 inches of snow in 6 weeks. There was much property and structure damage with collapsing roofs, ice dams, and carnage from the snow plows. I do a lot of snow removal with my job and house and felt so oppressed by the snow that I went on a seed buying spree for my winter and spring sowing! It helped. :)

Maybe you are feeling deprived of sun and warmth this summer and treating yourself with seeds for plants that will thrive in your recent weather conditions?

Meanwhile, my annuals are coming along nicely! We don't have real hot summers, but it has been nice and warm with cool nights - lovely. I direct sow a patch of tall annual zinnias every year, cultivars of Zinnia elegans like Cut & Come again and State fair. The butterflies love them! (So do bees and hummingbirds.) Here's what they look like now, but they'll keep getting taller and fill in until frost. You can't see it, but there are at least 3 Painted Ladies nectaring on these in this picture.

Flowergirl, quality control of commercial seeds is not perfect. I have occasionally gotten mislabeled seeds, poor germination, and mis-matched colors (seeds from trades are worse, but at least they're free).

Also, storage of seeds is important. They must be stored in a cool dry place or viability degrades quickly. I store all of mine in a produce drawer in the refrigerator. It may be hard to believe, but I have germinated Zinnias seeds that are 20 years old!

PS Campanula, I NEED to grow plants, without which my body might be alive, but my soul would wither.

ah yes, I know that 'need' too well. Gardening sure is cheap therapy - a sweet pea summer beckons for next year.

you have not kept those zinnias for 20 years in the fridge, have you?

Ah yes, then I remembered - American fridges are as big as english houses.

Kevin for $3 and that impact I think that is hard to beat!

What site do you guys use for good seed deals? I am still fairly new to all of this so am building my personal database on the websites I should be checking for some upcoming sales.

Thanks in advance!

No those seeds weren't 20 years old. A few years back I grew some tall red Zinnias that were packed for 1990 or so. I've been storing seeds in a produce drawer in the refrigerator since 1986 (regular sized fridges, but it's just for 2 people me and my son). Actually still have a lot of veggie and herb seeds that were purchased way back. The Genovese basil seeds I've been using the past 5 years were packed for 1991. Still germinate great.

Atekk, check out the Seed Exchange forum, there are lots of people offering seeds for the price of postage on that forum - although the summer might be a little slow.

I have bought seeds online from Parks, Swallowtail, Prairie nursery, Prairie Moon nursery, Diane's seeds, and Everwilde. Also the Lily Auction (for daylily seeds). Most are okay, some are more generous with quantities than others.

Don't forget the local outlets. I buy the Zinnia seeds at the local hardware store in the spring! Good quantities cheap, and you don't pay shipping.

Squash and beans are OK for years and even tomatoes can last for a few seasons - I guess it depends a lot on how and where seeds are kept (which is why seeds which have spent a few years in a coat pocket are not likely to make the cut). It is usually pretty hit and miss for me - I start off well, with a nice sealed tin but before the summer is over, there are many, many bits of paper with seeds in them -even had to rip pages from a book on occasion to make emergency wraps. They sit on surfaces all over the shed and, assuming the woodmice don't get there first, some might even make it to the fridge. Clothes get washed, leaving seedy detritus blocking the filter and all handbag pockets have bits of seed in them. Seed saving is something of a mania for me being both broke and tight......

Well I didn't know we have bigger fridges here. lol Mine is always stuffed full. There's no room for my giant seed box.
The Zowie Yellow Flame zinnias I got last year were kinda pricey and I was hoping I could collect seeds from those for this year, which I did, but it's a hybrid so I didn't have very good results with the seedlings. I think I may just stick with the cheapo Scarlet Flames next time (the red ones at the front of this photo).
The hot pink spikey plants at the back are celosias. I grew those from seeds I collected after a seed box clean-out one year so I don't know what kind they are. Very bright though.

mmmm, I definately agree, they should be planted en masse - mine, sadly, after the snail and slug massacres and the cold wet summer, are scattered forlornly in 1 and 2's - nothing looks so miserable as a solitary zinnia in a skeletal dahlia bed.

I know I've been using the same packet of basil seed for at least 10-15 years. I've stored my seed in the both the freezer and fridge with equal success.

ATekk

I think I purchased my zinnia seed from Sheperd Seeds. I was looking for a large flowering plant under 2 1/2 feet tall and those were the only ones I came across. In the past I've used Jung's because they offered a whole bunch of separate colors cheap, but those grew too tall - like over 4 feet - which looked out of proportion in my Blvd garden.

Kevin

Pretty Christie, the Celosia looks nice with the Zinnias!

nice pics! I tried to go on a zinnia spree this spring but slugs or something similar wiped out nearly the entire seed bed... the cheap leftovers from last year were all that made it.

The fall before last I went on a hardy cyclamen and then a hellebore seed spree. Who would have thought I would be responsible enough to keep them alive long enough to plant out into the garden? So I ordered extra.

The extras made it. Now I'm trying to rationalize a new bed to hold them all.... but I'm really getting attached. It would be much safer to pot my little treasures up and keep them indoors under growlights or in a greenhouse. I wonder how hard it would be to put together a little greenhouse.... hmmmm.

[IMG]http://i1064.photobucket.com/albums/u370/greenfingeredsuzy/DSCN0574.jpg[/IMG]

Do it - my greenhouse is a third of my garden!

Yep, I know it is simple....unless you are a dimwit. only have a few pics on photobucket (the camera saga is long and painful) and have forgotten what to do....and little explanation regarding browse buttons is worthless since I haven't a clue.

"I even sowed them in Jiffy 7's"

Did those peat pots ever break down? I've never used them but have heard horror stories about them. And wasn't this a particularly wet beginning of summer in the UK? So much so that the saturated pots didn't drain and roots rotted?

tj

Campanula - I tried to follow your link but it says you have moved or deleted the image.

Is the picture you want to post on your computer?

If so click on 'Choose file' just below where it says 'Post a follow up'. Then go to the picture on your computer. Give it a click and it will go into your post. Don't alter your post after clicking or the picture will disappear. Then submit your message.

If your pic is on Photobucket you will see a load of Gobbledygook below your picture. Click on the bit that says 'html'. Then click again in your message. You will see more gobbledygook until you go into message preview when, lo and behold, you will see your picture. Then submit and we will see your greenhouse too.

I think I've found it!

Your garden is about the same size as mine. I don't think people on these fora really understand how very small our patches are over here!

This is mine.

Here is a link that might be useful: {{gwi:245233}}

Thank you Flora - your garden is really greenly delicious.
Still have not quite got hang of pics though. Did the HTML clicking (it says 'copied' but to where? Certainly, when I go back to GW and click, nothing happens, not even after the preview. I know you are right because I dimly recall doing this last time (didn't need to do any cutting or pasting) but obviously, I am missing out on some critical stage - will try and nag eldest son.

Don't worry where it's copied to. When you go back to your message click the right hand button on your mouse. From the list select 'paste' and click on it. That puts the code into your post. When you go on preview you should see your photo.

Pretty garden Flora! It may be small, but it's got such a nice feeling. Yes some of us have lots of space here. I have 1.25 acres and wish it were a little smaller (I try to remove invasives from the wild area out back but it's hard to keep up.)

{{gwi:245231}}

Like this, Flora?
a test picture of R.moyesii at my allotment

Yippee! Nice rose.

Here's my allotment.

yeah, we have to have them (allotments), don't we, with our tiny little patches at home.. How much of yours is down to veggies, Flora - I have 2 and the ratio is about one third veg, one third fruit and one third flowers....and around 100 roses. It is a 5 minute bike ride away so I get there just about every day. Rather grandiose building in the background - I have a martial arts gym and bike workshop at the back of mine....plus a whole load of frightening new developements such as Travel Lodges and Student Accomodation (the main growth industry in Cambridge - not that any of our children could ever afford it).

I love the pics of your gardens. In fact, I LOVE small gardens. Gardening to me is a very intimate thing and I get overwhelmed with these spaces which seem to occupy acres and acres. Also it's a real challenge to design a small space well. I always appreciate those who succeed in doing so.

I'm very curious however why you folks "over there" refer to your spaces as allotments? To me that implies it's a space someone else has assigned to you or allowed you to use. I'm assuming the word has a different meaning to y'all?

Kevin

Yes, Kevin - that is exactly what they are - a piece of land we can either rent from the municiple council or a private landowner. Allotments have a long tradition in the UK - at one time there were over 1000,000 plots in use but this has dwindled (due to selling off for development and such) to about a third of this total. If you have no garden or a tiny one, renting an allotment (not easy since there are currently long, long waiting lists) an allotment is a great way of growing vegetables (what they were mainly designed for) or flowers or , depending on the rules of your allotments, anything from keeping hens to growing roses. Mostly, they are a regulated size (measured in arcane ancient terms such as rods, poles or perches) and are usually about 300 square metres (10 rods). I have had mine for 10 years now so it is getting to be a nice mature space (or it would be if I didn't muck about so much).

One year I planted Burpee Purple Prince and they were beautiful large rounded PURPLE Zinnias. The second year I again planted Burpee Purple Prince and they were large flat RED zinnias with a large brown center. This year I again planted Burpee Purple Prince and they are large flat PURPLE zinnias with a large brown center. What is going on? Is it something in my soil or the heat? Or is it the seed company? Awaiting your reply.
PS I didn't know where to submit my question.