As summer comes to a close, we’ve all had lots of time spent with vegetation, and thus a lot of time to develop favorites. What’s yours?
It’s hard for me to pick just one favorite. I started off favoring nasturtiums, until a hungry pack of aphids descended on my plants and I had to work really hard to kill them without using harsh chemicals. I wish I had just purchased lady bugs at the outset. But I thought I could kill the aphids faster with an organic spray. Boy was I wrong. Nature works a whole heck of a lot faster than something that comes in a bottle.
Then I got obsessed with signet marigolds. I love their lacey foliage and simple flowers. And I love the dichotomy of being unusual and common at the same time. Everyone knows what a marigold looks like. But signets are somewhat unusual.
Somewhere in there, I was also pretty in to echeverias. Until I killed them all. It’s kind of hard to love a plant that doesn’t love you back. Aeoniums have been pretty good to me though. And I really love the variegated one I potted up recently and the almost black one I have tucked under my herb planter.
I think the plant I’ve liked all throughout the summer, and still love, are zinnias. First of all, I like words and names that start with ‘Z.’ Second, I love the huge variety of colors, shapes and sizes of zinnias. They come in dwarf varieties that are only six inches tall and others that grow to four feet tall and everything in between. Zinnias come in virtually every color and color combination except true blue. I even like their seeds. Nice and big and easy to sow. I recently purchased these at Target:
What’s your favorite plant from this past summer…or of all time?
