Jean, I love those huge balls of color, with their nifty shapes! Glad you have something blooming for you. :)

Like your zinnia's and of course Ms Blackie is the best and deserves a lot of attention after working so hard in the garden this season.
Linda

Hurray for you to have some flowers blooming despite the drought! Have you gotten any rain yet? Miss Blackie is SO cute and just precious with her pink collar. I wish I could reach into the picture to pet her. She looks like such a friendly cat...and a great gardening buddy.

Celeste

Love the zinnias! I've noticed that a lot of you gals from the US like zinnias. I am in a Canadian Zone 3 and have grown zinnias in the past, however, I don't hear about them as much on northern gardening forums. Just something I noticed. Perhaps they don't grow as well in the north. Shall have to look into some of the new varieties.

Love the kitty! She looks like she is in kitty paradise! I have shelties who think they are cats and am so tempted to get a cat. Then I remember that I have alergies to them. :(

I like your zinnias and butterfly and flower lights.
I'm sure Ms Blackie gets a lot of attention when she's asking like that :)

MS BLACKIE is a doll for being so loyal to you and of course she deserves all the attention she can get :-) I like all your garden arts like the butterfly and the sunflower and the hummingbird. They all look pretty. Love the zinnias. They look really great and they really are holding up well in all your extra heat!

I love the zinnias and Ms. Blackie, Jean.
kay

What a beautiful combination - a black cat and a pink collar. Ms. Blackie has a nice healthy sheen to her coat. She deserves all the attention she can get....I love the color of the zinnias. That orange is something I'd like to duplicate in a daylily. It's very pretty......Maryl

Your zinnias and garden art look just fine. Ms. Blackie is the star of this show, such a pretty cat. Have you had any rain? It keeps missing us. Avedon

Well,I am going to try this again.I had all my comments typed out answering each comment, and then it all disappeared. WEIRD.
Crackingtheconcrete,Linda,,Nat,,Kay,, MaryL,,Thank you for looking and commenting.

CELESTE;Thanks for the nice comments,and I am sure Ms Blackie, thanks you too, I did get a little shower this afternoon, Didnt amount to a lot, but, it bring the 100 degree temp down.

HONALEE; Its very unusual for some one to be allergic to cats and not to dogs, too.

RITA: Thank you for your nice comments.i'm sure Ms Blackie thanks you, too.She is really a great little garden companion,as if I am outside, shes going to be out there too, no farther away from me then a couple feet.She walks in front of me a lot amd just flops down in front of my feet, so have to be careful not to trip over her,She craves attention and petting.She dont like to be picked up and dont want to be patted near her hips and legs, so I think she must have lots of pain with arthuritis. I sis get a little rain this afternoon, or I should say sprinkles, but its better then nothing,and it brought the temp down this afternoon , but suppose to be back to 104 tomorrow.
AVEDON, Thank you. yes, had a little bit of sprinkles this afternoon.The best part was it brought that 102 temp down to 75.What a relief, even if it is only for this afternoon.

Jean

Jean, your zinnias are so pretty. They sure look like they aren't bothered by heat and drought. Ms. Blackie is such a cutie and it's great that she's so affectionate.
Val

Ms Blackie is a sweetie. So pretty! Your zinnias are just lovely! Judy

VAL;Thank you for the nice comment.The Zinnias are not bothered by the heat, so I will try to plant many more next year.Ms Blackie is a very affectionate cat.She just cant never get enough to satisfy her.Shes really a mess.She will get right in front of me,and sit and just stare up at me, waiting to be petted.She won't move either.I have to go around her, then when I stop, shes back in front of me again, looking up at me. Shes a very lovable cat.I guess shes just grateful for me taking her in when she showed up here, starving. and I made sure she had plenty to eat.

JUDY. Thank you for the nice comment.

Jean

Jean, I was just thinking about hot weather plants and that brought to mind the plants they sell at High Country Gardens for their "Inferno Strip" (salvia, Echinacea, etc).
I don't know if you like those plants, but if you want, email me your address and I'll pop some salvia starts, etc. in a little box for you and try to get it out before storm hits.

Jean ~ I always had a cat as a teenager and when my daughter was growing up and they were all long haired.I'm more alergic to siamese cats and short haired cats for some strange reason but any cat will bother me if I cuddle them or get scratched by one. Apparently, it is not as uncommon as is generally believed. I am also alergic to guinea pigs, peat moss, and a few unknowns.

Just curious, have you ever grown any bicolored Zinnias? I think I had one called Cherry Swirl or something.....:)

Aw, your kitty looks just like my kitty, Raven. She's not allowed outside 'cos she tends to run off but she's a complete love. She does the flop in front of you thing in the house and looks offended if you ignore her.

Your zinnias are very pretty. I've never had very good luck with them. We get rust on them and they die. Glad to see someone can grow them!

Here is a link that might be useful: The Stubborn Gardener

CRACKINGTHECONCRET;Thats very sweet of you to offer to send me starts of your plants,and I do appreciate that, but, its just too hot here for me to plant anything else.I am worn out just from watering in the evening.
HONALEE;Don't know about that Zinnia.I do have some thats called CANDY CANE and I dont care for that one very much.

KITCATCLUB; Thanks for the n ice comment.Sorry that you hsve had bad luck growing the Zinnias.They are such a pretty flower and there is so many different kinds of them.
Maybe you could spray them with some thing to protect them from Rust.I have just never heard of them getting rust before, but all things is possible.

Jean

To be honest, it could be something else. I haven't tried to grow them in years since they kept dying mid-season on me. I wish I COULD find something to spray against rust. Then I could grow hollyhocks - I love those but they're just not worth it with all the disease.

Jean I love the zinnias,miss blackie also all your garden art,I also see lots of daylilies in pots.Do you grow them in pots if so how long do you leave them in pots. I am thinking of putting some in .Will they winter over in them.I am in middle TN.
pAT

PAT:Yes, I have a lot of daylilies in pots.I seem to have much better luck growing them in pots.I had around 50,I think, in pots last winter and never lost a one.I have alot planted, too, but they are not doing as well in the ground,and a couple was dying and only had one tiny leave left on it,and I didnt want to l ose it, so I dug it back up and potted it,and now it has 4 or 5 nice healthy looking fans.I have done lost at least a half dozen that I had planted.

Jean

The zinnias really can take the heat of late summer, and they provide that much-needed color this time of year. Yours are beautiful! I didn't start any zinnia seeds this year, and I really miss them this time of year when all I have blooming are phloxes, hibiscus and morning glories.

Debra

Debra,If I didnt have these few Zinnias blooming now,I wouldnt have a bloom any where, except a rose here and there.I have some more Zinnias blooming in a flower bed off to the side of the house,and them things are about 4 ft high,I am always cutting bouquets from them and bring in the house,and they stay pretty for at least 2 weeks,some times much longer.That flower bed is out in the open and I was expecting the deer to eat them all, but so far,they have not touched them.and the bed is full of marigolds, too,and deer dont like them, so maybe they helped to keep them away.

Jean