I direct sow zinnias beginning the first of May. There are swathes of space in my beds reserved for zinnias. I sow a group of 6 or 7 seeds every 12 inches or so in these areas. Use the watering can each morning. Thin to one plant every 12 inches. Nothing could be easier. Not planting zinnias too close to lawns (where morning dew can sometimes cause mildew) and making sure the plantings have a modicum of good air circulation are key. Also, never overhead water zinnias past the seedling stage. I favor the giant zinnias. Why waste time with those small varieties? A good companion for zinnias is mexican marigold, a bush type marigold with small yellow flowers & potato-leaf foliage that goes about 3 feet tall. Looks very nice interweaved with zinnias that don't have yellow flowers. Cosmos are pretty much just as easy, but while I have seeds, I really have other priorities at the moment. I may sow some soon though. Once it heats up is when you sow both cosmos & zinnias.

I wouldn't try to transplant them if they are already blooming. You might be surprised how quickly cosmos will produce seed. I bet you could have seeds in two weeks. You'll need to protect the flowers once they have faded, to keep birds from eating the seeds and knocking them onto the ground. I've used old nylons or tulle bags from the wedding department at craft stores. Tie them around the faded flowers and let them catch the seeds as they dry. Good luck. If you don't manage to save any seed, I've got lots that I've save in the past year or two that I'd be happy to donate. Martha

Many years ago when I first became interested in growing roses, it seemed like a random magazine article or a photograph would get me excited about certain look in roses because no one around here grew anything I was just nuts about. If you are of a "certain age", you might remember the very earliest Victoria magazines of the 80s--those romantic, stunning bouquets and rose arrangements featured in Victoria's photos got me on such a tear for David Austin roses. I hadn't even heard of them before Victoria. Another major change for me happened about ten years ago when I moved to this location in the middle of semi-arid desert hills. I realized I needed strong colors in my roses to stand up to the blazing sun and shimmering hills--plus I had a yellow (light) house. Suddenly, I needed purple and more yellow and lots of it. I still have my pinks and peaches, but purple roses, plus a few yellow ones really get my heart rate going. Here's a pic of The Prince, not a true purple, but what a dark and smoldering look that roses has! Diane

Great use of the space you have there! Talk about maximizing square footage! Really interested to see how that cucumber experiment turns out. What size mesh is that? My first reaction was that it might be too small but then realized you will likely be planting along the outside? The tentrils (?) should be able to grab a hold of that and hopefully you don't get any cukes growing inside.