z

zinnias, one color at a time

Benary Giant orange zinniasIT TAKES A VERY GOOD EYE to be able to arrange flowers of many colors in a single arrangement. Much easier (and often more striking) is a single-color theme. With zinnias, one of my favorite, easy summertime cutting flowers, this monochrome effect is best achieved by planting a single-color strain in the first place, such as the Benary’s Giant, instead of the usual mix. I favor orange, lime and crimson, but there is a wide range from white through several shades of pink, lilac-purple and vivid yellow.

  1. Littlesister says:

    Zinnias are something we grow by the foot in our garden, the 45-foot row to be exact. We order seeds by the quarter-pound. I’ve never understood anyone gardening without them. They are joy itself, reminding me of Phyllis Diller’s hats, prom dresses that I’ve mistakenly worn, those crazy Rock-hopper penquins with the tufts of yellow feathers sprouting from their heads, in all, the delights of life itself.

  2. margie skaggs says:

    I love zinnias I started growing them last year All colors they were about 4ft. tall . They were so beautiful.Im growing more right now for this spring, I cant wait.
    Thanks Margie

    1. margaret says:

      Welcome, Margie. My sister grows multi-colors, too, and millions of them…her favorite things of all, I think. Me, I stick to oragne, red and chartreuse, but cannot imagine a year without zinnias, either. Thanks for visiting, and come again soon.

  3. Donna says:

    For the first year in about 10, I was unable to get my zinnia seeds to sprout. Tried several different kinds, from several different stores, with very sparse results. Finally gave up and put a couple of double knock out rose bushes in the space I usually reserve for the zinnias……summer won’t be the same. Still can’t understand what went wrong…….??

    1. margaret says:

      Welcome, Donna. You are not the first person who has mentioned this this year (and in fact I had bad germination on one variety in particular, too). Seems like some investigation is called for…now I am suspicious. See you soon again, I hope.

  4. jenni says:

    Hummmm….I thought it was just me. The only ones that sprouted well for me were the saved seeds from last year. I thought it was me.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.