On a whim a few years ago, I bought a pack of zinnia seeds from the local dollar store simply because they reminded me of Pop and his lovely gardens. I had no idea if the seeds would even sprout since they were so cheap compared to other "name brand" seeds. Well, every last seed sprouted, grew and bloomed for the entire summer. Being who I am, I saved seeds from those blooms. In fact, I saved far too many seeds since so many people remarked "Oh, I love those! Save some seeds for me!" Long story short, no one came to get the seeds so, the next spring, I planted even more zinnias. The saved seeds did remarkably well and, as before, I saved seeds...far too many seeds. In fact, when I went to plant this spring, I had an entire gallon of zinnia seeds! Oops! That is an awful lot of seeds when you consider how flat they are. Needless to say, I planted more zinnias this year than in previous years. Once again, the flowers are outdoing themselves and I find myself hating to toss the spent blooms aside. So, the saving has commenced. Who would have thought that a one dollar pack of seeds could bring so much brightness to the gardens for so many years??
Of course, all of those zinnia blooms attract a myriad of nectar seeking critters. The zinnia bed is a literal kaleidoscope of butterflies, moths and bees. At any given time, fifty or sixty different insects can be found flitting about the blooms. I am beginning to think that was the best gardening investment ever made and plan on never buying seeds from any other place. The zinnia bed is going to be extended to twice the size this next year and will be home to hundreds of plants. In fact, since the vegetable plot has already gone the wayside, my plans are to sow the remaining saved seeds (from last year) in that space. The ground will not sit idle as I await for time to plant the fall garden. The critters will be happy campers and the yard will be a blast of color! (The photos only show half of the existing zinnia bed!)
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