Most of my seeds sown plants will bloom next year but out of this years bloomers, I have very much enjoyed heliopsis Bleeding hearts and a bunch of lewisias which surprised me with a late summer bloom. Also, salvia coccinea, delphinium nudicaule 'Laurin', hesperis matronalis, red flax, various sweet peas, limnanthes douglasii 'Rosea', phemeranthus calycinum, cistanthe grandiflora, escholtsia caespitosa (sp?) and finally, muhlenbergia capillaris shows huge promise (I have muhlenbergia reverchonii on the go for next year). As always, I did an autumn sowing of hardy annuals - sweet peas, centaureas, larkspur, wild carrot, gypsophila and a rather charming pink long-headed poppy with a ridiculous name - papaver dubium Lecoq. Cowslips, lunaria and foxgloves are colonising the woodland.

Less pleased with the zinnia - too many colours which just looked messy and also not happy with 'Kiss me Over the Garden Gate - persicaria orientalis, which was feeble, despite a wet summer. Tagetes also - had meant to sow the 'Dixter' tall strain but ended up with the much dumpier 'Burning Embers'. O, and Cosmos - a deep pink 'Dazzler' I won't be doing again either. Needs endless dead=heading, has graceless growth and just seems to look dismal. Out of numerous nicotiana, the tall and simple white affinis still the best.

This is my favorite this year. Zinnia Profusion Red Yellow Bicolor. All these colors are on one plant. It starts yellow with a pinkish-red center, goes through being orange with a dark pink center, and finally ends dark pink.

I think the Creme de Cassis hollyhocks are very pretty, and those Profusion zinnias are gorgeous! How tall are the zinnias and do they have sufficient stems for cutting? I will definitely look for those next year!

I tried growing dahlias from seed this year and was mighty impressed! I tried the Redskin mix from Pinetree Seeds, I sowed 12 seeds in April and had 5 sprout within days. The blooms started well before the end of July, and the last plant to flower opened only days ago, but it was fun waiting to see what colors I'd get. I will probably try to overwinter these tubers and grow more from seed next year.

Sounds like you were busy, rosaprimula. Wish you had some pics of your Lewisia. I'm thinking that one is fussy in the SE US.

That Profusion zinnia looks like something I'd enjoy. Hadn't seen that before. The dahlias sure look like they did well from seed.

Your hollyhock looks healthy. I gave up on these, even the fig-leaved ones, because the rust made the plants look so sordid. I completely approve of growing dahlias from seed - they are reliable, cheap and you always have the option of saving the tubers for following years. For species such as merckii and most especially, d.coccinea, seed is the only way to go. I think I am over zinnias although I do like the smaller aztec types.

I had a bit of a cheat, Erasmus, by using Jelitto's 'Gold Nugget' seed for the lewisias, which, I think, has been treated with gibberelic acid to avoid the need for stratification. So seeds sown in late summer made small but robust little plants which overwintered and flowered the next year instead of a winter strat. then a whole season of vegetative growth and blooming in the second year. I love Jelitto's - although they are not the cheapest seed merchants, their selection is second to none and filled the gap for me when Chiltern's quality diminished a few years ago.

This year, I am doing a couple of green roofs so have already sown a sedum mix, a 'green roof floral' mix (lots of dianthus, arenaria, aubrieta...) and a mixed sempervivum/jovibarba set...some of which are already up.

Also sowed 40 agaves- 10 each of 4 different types, plus dasylirion and anizoganthus. These will, eventually, grow with eremurus and tagetes lemmoni (although will have to wait till next year, I think for availability)...in a sort of arroyo/desert wash. Desperately trying to source damianita and baileya multiradiata.

Fanciful, I know but hey, 'ars longa vita brevis' (Hippocrates).

And my penstemon craze shows no sign of abating - several more coming from Jelitto to complement another genus I am in love with - flax. I have a couple of lovely yellow forms - linum arboreum and l.flavum (with lush evergreen glaucous foliage), as well as blues (lewisii, narbonense) and various annuals, so I am sowing 2 pinks - l.tenuifolium and l.pubescens).

Finally (apols for boring on), I am continuing with my 'genius loci' project and sowing iconic fenland plants of east anglia...including a number of mulleins. With the apiaceae and various ragworts/hawksbit/goatsbeards, I am trying to maintain a wildlife friendly patch which feel appropriate for this part of the world - flat, arid (yet surrounded by water) and windy. And also, probably our most beautiful UK native - the pasqueflower - pulsatilla. Have sowed several forms, including one which looks like black velvet - p.pratensis ssp nigricans. How completely gorgeous is that one, Erasmus?Is your heart fluttering yet?

Yes, the pasqueflower is lovely. Do thistles grow wild where you are? I have not seen many thistles but there is a car wash place we go to that had a pretty big thistle plant a year or two ago and I loved seeing it. Thought about taking some seeds but then read that it can be invasive. Or some can. This one had lavender pink blooms and was about 3'x3'. It didn't come back...maybe they sprayed roundup or maybe drought got it.

I have tried a penstemon from seed...Electric Blue I think it was, and though it germinated very well I did not end up with a plant of it or the plant just fizzled out, I don't remember. Penstemons so far don't do well here. Too wet in winter I think. I have so little room left in my garden that I have to curb my wish to buy seeds. I had more than I could plant this year. Other plants that don't do well for me: campanulas, and even echinacea although some people nearby grow them well. I think certain varieties of penstemon and campanula might do well here but I haven't found them yet.

I think if you learned how to post pictures you'd be doing a great service to these forums as you probably grow many plants nobody else or few people grow and it would be wonderful to see them . There's a way to do this that is not hard once you set it up.

Bellarosa, you did have some patience with those lisianthus and I can see how you'd be delighted to see them bloom. They are pretty, and kind of rose-like. I had read they take quite awhile to bloom. I have not seen them for sale lately as already started plants. Maybe it costs the nurseries too much to get them to a blooming size. I like the pale peach of the hollyhock. I think I like hollyhocks in a mix of colors all together. Have grown moonflower before...blooms sure are huge. I think they self sow.

What kind of petunia is that? Someone in my town has an old fashioned petunia that self sows and tolerates heat extremely well.

Beautiful lisianthus!

Erasmus, oh, yes, the lisianthus will test your patience! LOL. They take 4ever to bloom, but are so worth the wait. The petunias are PETUNIA, SUPERBISSIMA COSMIC CHERRY from Baker Creek seeds. The flowers are HUGE! Just stunning.

Thanks, socalgal!

Thanks, bellarosa. How did that petunia stand up to heat?

erasmus -- I love tall ageratum; I really have no use for the short, stubby cultivars that have over-taken the market. I've grown "Blue Horizon" in the past but it's hard to find the seed anymore (although I see Select Seeds has it), so I've taken to growing "Blue Planet".

Pic of "Blue Planet" from prior year:

erasmus - really well! I'm telling you that petunia is amazing! It's BIG and bold!

Mxk3, Blue Planet also looks good. I got my Blue Horizon seeds from Swallowtail . I like the quantities they send. I have a tall ageratum that is a perennial and it is starting to bloom now. It looks pretty similar to the Blue Horizon but blooms late. It also spreads an awful lot but is hardy and reliable.

Bellarosa, thanks for info on the petunia. I may try that seed co. . A petunia that did well for me this year was Supertunia Bordeaux.

Cosmos Picotee was pretty but plants of it didn't last all summer.

I liked Bright Lights cosmos.

erasmus_gw: Thanks for the lead on Swallowtail, I might order the Blue Horizon from them or Select Seeds next year depending on how much seed I have left of the Blue Planet. They're interchangeable in my book but I just like growing things that I've grown long ago. I find it comforting in a world that moves too fast...

Ah, there are many things from the past that are kind of comforting. I like typewriters. The sound of them. Wall mount pencil sharpeners. The smell, the crank, and the good job they do. I gave my son one last Christmas hoping their whole family would take delight in a good pencil sharpener, ha.

I think dianthus is the flower most nostalgic to me. I remember my mom with a flat of them. These Orlaya came up on their own. I like them. The clematis in this picture , Durandii, is still blooming. It may have taken a few breaks but kept them coming most of the summer.

Truer to color

@erasmus_gw, thanks for sharing.

Creme de Cassis hollyhock is amazing! I need to find the seeds.

@mxk3 z5b_MI, I bought the Blue Planet Ageratum seeds for next year. Is it better to do fall/winter sowing instead of start them indoor in spring?

thanks, and happy gardening

Such beautiful pictures everyone! Many of these I've grown or grow, but lots of good ideas for when those seed catalogs start coming in the mail in a few weeks!

erasmus I'm right there with you on some of these older machines (says the person who bought an old rotary dial phone on cragislist just to turn the dial and listen to that sound lol!) We had a crank pencil sharpener in work, and an electric one, and everyone used the crank one. Then we renovated and they did not put the crank one back up. So sadly now I HAVE to use the electric one!

The color on that clematis is stunning. Hollyhocks are gorgeous - bellarosa I think I tried that peach one YEARS ago and didn't have much luck. My seed budget is limited and so I don't usually buy biennials because of my impatience lol. Would rather spend on seed that will bloom that season, and then the next spring always regret the non-purchase of biennials... well, if I had bought and planted the seed LAST year I would have them THIS year. LOL

Bellarosa your lisanthus are lovely. When I sold bouquets I tried them a few times but they just take too much time. And I don't sow indoors. I wintersow everything and they are just not conducive to wintersowing, at least not in my zone. They germinated, they grew, and they even bloomed, but way too late and by bloom time it was so cool they were losing vigor.

Petunias and impatiens are another thing I've tried from seed but just take too long without indoor sowing, ime. I always had great germination, just too short of a season lol.

Huge cosmos fan here. Love the newer Apricot Lemonade, and the Cupcakes. My faves out of the 15 varieties I sowed. Also a big celosia fan - grew a lot when I was selling bouquets, as well as lots of ageratum and gomphrena.

socialgal those zinnias are intriguing! I grow a ton of zinnias for cutting but have been seeing several threads about Profusions and am thinking of growing some for bedding/potting.

Grew moonflowers once but they didn't bloom till later in the season (October??) and it was too darn chilly to go out in the dark to enjoy them haha!

Cosmos Apricot Lemonade

Cosmos Cupcakes / Cups and saucers

:)

Dee

Can relate, Dee, to just wanting to hear the sound on the old phones. I think the old ones will not work with today's technology. But I bet there might be a market for old rotary phones if they could make them compatible with whatever the land line technology now is. The closest thing I could find is a push button phone but it has an ear piece with a similar shape to the old rotary ones. I might even use a cell phone if it had an old curved shape. There was an old thread here about things people were nostalgic for.

There are many things in the not too distant past that seem so good that they should be brought back and treasured.

I like your cosmos...the cupcake one especially.

My co-worker and I were commiserating the other day about all the things kids won't know or don't know about these days, such as newspapers, chalk boards (and the joy of being chosen to go out to the playground and slap the erasers), dropping off your roll of film and going back a few days later for your pictures, phones with a real actual hand piece, or DVDs and CDs (never even mind vinyl records lol). My co-worker was saying what a shame it was and then I laughed and said we sounded like a couple of old ladies. I said, do you think our grandmothers sat around and said, geez, these kids nowadays, they'll never know how to churn butter or darn socks, or what a washboard was for? It kind of put things in perspective, but as a person who is somewhat of a Luddite, it didn't make me feel any less nostalgic or sad for the future generation lol.

:)

Dee

"@mxk3 z5b_MI, I bought the Blue Planet Ageratum seeds for next year. Is it better to do fall/winter sowing instead of start them indoor in spring? "

IDK. I never winter sow. All my annuals are started indoors under lights in late winter.

Purple prince zinnia and sunflowers were both amazing.

@mxk3 z5b_MI, thanks! I researched a bit and haven’t seen Ageratum mentioned as good candidats foe winter sowing.

I don't know about winter sowing annual ageratum but the perennial type self sows everywhere here in zone 7a, NC. It's weedy. This year the perennial type is taller than usual, at least 4' in some places, and it is blooming at the same time as the annual Blue Horizon. They look pretty much identical except for height.

Those sunflowers and zinnias are beautiful, Khan. Sunflowers are somehow tricky for me.

Salvia Horminum

I started these in March indoors and they did well - I pinched the tops and the pinches rooted prolifically so I had quite a display from June through frost last week. I would love for them to self-seed but I haven't kept up with weeding, so we will see.

I love pulsatilla - it is native here in Alaska too (the light purple color) - appreciate the info about p.pratensis ssp nigricans, black velvet I will try to germinate it this spring:)) and I also want to grow the red variety again as it didn't show up this year.

Here is the deep color from last year - I think it lost out to geraniums being too vigorous .

Oooh, lovely, lat52. You have reminded me to put clary sage on my list - there is a good purple/blue called 'Blue Monday'I would like. Gorgeous pulsatillas. Mine all germinated within a couple weeks (fresh seed) and are growing away, having been pricked out into 7cm pots. Not decided whether to keep in pots for the winter or plant out on the allotment,

I *love* pulsatilla. It's one of my favorite -- if not my outright favorite -- spring bloomer. It's one of the first things to bloom for me outside of crocus, and blooms early (usually mid-April). The flowers are very large in relation to the foliage, and the silvery seed heads are really cool-looking. Foliage stays a nice, neat, fine-textured clump all season and is a lovely companion for other plants. I have the mid-purple ones, I don't think there's a cultivar name, I've always just seen them sold as pulsatilla.

The pulsatilla is pretty. I wonder if I could grow them here in NC, zone 7a.

@erasmus_gw I needed more ageratum, so I ordered the Blue Horizon from Swallowtail along with a couple other things, glad you mentioned I could get it there.

Hope it does well for you , mxk3. IMO it's a non-fussy plant with constant bloom for a long period. Put on the most size once it got hotter. I am starting to order some seeds too. Got Superbissima mixed petunias , some old fashioned petunia with heat tolerance and fragrance, and " Butterfly Pea" from Baker seeds. See bellarosa 's comments on Superbissima above. I plan to order a few from Swallowtail but I know from last year that I have some trouble finding room to plant some of the stuff I grow. Some do well in pots. Calendulas were good in pots. You can make purple or blue iced tea or lemonade with Butterfly Pea, or blue rice.

I love tall ageratum! It dies well in part shade and handles dry conditions very well.

Last spring I ordered a bunch of different larkspur seed off etsy and direct sowed it all over the garden. it did really well and bloomed for a very long period of time despite the dry spring.

I was also impressed with these pandora poppies.

The salvia is ’Blue Bedder,’ and I had so much of it I stuck it everywhere. It bloomed from mid-sumner right up to November. The basal foliage is still green too, so sone of it might over-winter shich would be a pretty impressive return on investment for a pack if seeds.

I tried Rudbeckia Indian Summer and it was slow to bloom, but put on a great show. The flowers are huge.

Not something new, but I love Zinnia Zahara Raspberry Ripple so much!

Those are pretty, Markay. I used to have a lot of self -seeding larkspurs and took them for granted. Then some kind of blight came to my garden and wiped them out. They'd get blackened stems towards the base and would decline. Then they just quit coming back. I have tried to get them going again with seeds but they don't take. I think it might be bacterial. It doesn't seem to affect anything else.

My old larkspurs

I was glad to have them because delphiniums don't do well here.

I like the bedding type of salvia too. Had some from seed last year and hope the plants will make it through the winter. So far so good. I have started two flats of rose seeds indoors under lights but am going to wait till some time in Feb. to start my other seeds.

I like those zinnias and pandora poppies. I have a lot of rudbeckias that self seed. They spread a bit! Great color though .

I was outside awhile ago between rains and noticed that a plant of Chantilly Mix snapdragon is STILL trying to bloom after temps down to 12 degrees and a week of this arctic blast. I don't know if these particular buds will go on to bloom but the plant itself is still green and it is in a 4" pot. I have read it is perennial in some places but geeze, it has been cold. I am bowled over with this plant's resilience and bloom power. I got several packs of different azalea flowered snaps to try this year.

if this warm spell keeps up, my self sown calendula will be trying to bloom.

I have frequently seen packets of malope, but always passed then over, until seeing them IRL on a garden visit. Hugely impressive plants with an emerald green calyx, peeking through the deep plum petals. I have always had a soft spot for the malva family, so am also trying alyogyne, corynabutilon and another coupla sphaeralceas.

I have been growing Ageratum 'Blue Bouquet' (SelectSeed, 2 feet) for ages. I have had to move it around the yard many times, always flopping at some point. I felt like the deer thought it looked like a nice soft spot to lay down?

I finally found the perfect spot last year, and it lasted longer than anything else, with no flopping. It's always taken ages to bloom in my hot, humid area. No matter how early I germinate it? But it stayed in bloom later too. It was in really poor soil in a mostly shady spot.