four o clocks - jalapa mirabilis cosmos - cosmos sulphureus or cosmos bipinnatus flowering tobacco - nicotiana sp. datura - datura sp. bachelor's buttons - centaurea sp. sunflowers - helianthus annus corn poppy - papaver rhoeas nasturtiums - tropaeolum majus morning glories - ipomoea purperea celosia - celosia plumosa amaranthus - amaranthus sp.

it might be a little early for plantaginea... give it another two weeks.. or peek down in there and see if the flowers are just forming ... pick a plant... since you don't have streakers... in a size and shape that pleases you ... if you can get a plant in the size and shape you like.. you can always take its pollen.. in future years.. and put it onto one of the reliable streakers ... too many people do it backwards .... genetics are sooo variable... get size.. get shape... ruffles... crinkles.. etc ... and when you have perfected it.. the easiest part.. is to put its pollen onto the streaker to get an edge on it ... all you need is 20 years.. lol ken

Well, zinnias are my first choice, but you already have them. For next year, you can direct sow the following seeds from early winter to early spring and have cool-season flowers begin blooming between mid-March and mid-April: poppies, larkspur, Texas bluebonnets, chamomile (an herb with tiny white daisy-type flowers), and snapdragons. Right now (or in the next couple of weeks) you can direct sow the following for blooms this year: nasturtiums, hollyhock, verbena bonariensis (tall verbena), sunflowers, globe amaranth (gomphrena), celosia, marigolds, salvia farinacea, Texas hummingbird sage (red flowers), veronica (purplish-blue, pink or white flowers), cosmos (won't bloom until later in the summer), morning glories if you have a fence or trellis for them to climb, and coneflowers. In my zone 7B garden, many of the above reseed themselves and come back most years with little, if any, assistance from me. Good luck, Dawn

So, is a good rule of them that self-pollinating species are generally safe, whereas insect/wind-pollinated species require extra attention? Generally, that's true. But growing only self-pollinating vegetables really limits you in what vegetables you can grow. It limits you to only using heirloom (open-pollinated), self-pollinating vegetables and well-stabilized older hybrids. It won't keep some newer hybrid things from reverting even if they are self-pollinating. In other words, if you grow a newer hybrid variety of tomato or squash that hasn't been around for years and is well-stabilized the seeds from that tomato or squash may revert the following year regardless of any cross-pollination that may or may not have taken place. Follow me? From Mother Earth News "The easiest way for the beginning seed grower to avoid [cross pollination problems] is to concentrate on self-pollinating vegetables - such as lettuce, okra, beans, peas, and tomatoes - which have flowers designed in ways that discourage or prohibit fertilization by other plants. (Peas and tomatoes, for example, have already pollinated themselves by the time the flowers open!) Still, to restrict your efforts to these plants is to miss out on much of the fun, challenge and satisfaction of growing your own seeds." And bagging a couple of blooms and hand pollinating them is really quite simple to do and takes only a few minutes. There is a FAQ on how to do here at GW. Had your Dad done that you wouldn't be scarred for life. ;) Help or make it more confusing? Dave