Zinnia Time!

This is a great year for zinnias, I've noticed. Something about the weather or the amount of rain and sunshine we've had during the past two months has really made them sparkle this summer. Here are a few shots of this easy-to-grow, old-fashioned favorite in my gardens:

Mixed zinnias of several different types in my cutting garden. These make lovely bouquets, and I've noticed that I actually like the smaller ones better for bringing inside, for some reason.

A single pink zinnia in the Pink Section of my Rainbow Border. I don't know why more pink ones haven't germinated from the seeds I planted in this section....

The red zinnias have done a bit better in the Red Section of the Rainbow Border. Shown here with some scarlet salvia, these have many more buds ready to flower.

Moving on to the Orange Section of the Rainbow Border, these look pretty good except for the hole-y leaves that have been bitten by some cursed insect or other, even though the red and yellow ones just a few feet on either side were left alone. Yet another of the myriad mysteries of gardening...

The Yellow Section is filled with color from these yellow zinnias. Most late-summer color in the Rainbow Border comes from annuals such as these zinnias, as well as the petunias and marigolds shown in this photo.

Green zinnias are one of my favorite colors of this flower. Green flowers are fairly rare, and these zinnias make a very important contribution to the Green Section of the Rainbow Border.

The one color that zinnias aren't available in is blue, so I'll skip to the penultimate Purple Section of the Rainbow Border. These were sold as one of the most lavender (as opposed to magenta, which has less blue and more red in it) zinnias available, but I'm not sure that these really can be called lavender, except perhaps for the fading older blooms. I don't want to sound overly picky, because they certainly are very pretty, but I'm trying to choose colors very carefully in this border, which is an exercise in color gardening (and a very good learning experience for me as a gardener). I have learned that zinnias really can't be very blue at all. (But perhaps I could mark the flowers that are slightly more blue and save those seeds, and eventually get bluer ones that way? --Though I'm sure many have tried this before.)

I would really like to find some pure white zinnias to add to the two White Sections that begin and end the Rainbow Border, but I've had trouble finding white zinnia seeds sold locally, and I've noticed that the zinnias that are sold as already-blooming annuals in packs aren't white, but are actually a cream color. Perhaps I will try to look harder next spring. Has anyone had experience with a commonly-available brand that is a truly white zinnia?

A few last mixed zinnias in neon colors in the North Border, which look nice with the petunias, sunflowers and shasta daisies, I think.

Zinnias are really one of the best flowers for adding color to borders and for cutting, especially in late summer when most perennials have finished blooming already. They are very easy to grow and also inexpensive -- I grew all of these from seed packets that cost about $1 apiece (except for the special "lavender"-colored zinnias that I bought online, which cost me quite a bit more...).

Some garden designers disdain such a "common" flower, but there's a reason why old-fashioned zinnias are so "common": they grow well and flower generously, as long as you have sufficient sun and heat for them, not something in short supply in Midwestern summers. (They originally hail from Mexico, South America and the Southwestern United States, which explains their love of strong sunlight.) They are also drought-resistant, long-blooming, and require little-to-no maintenance.

If you have a sunny spot, why not toss some zinnia seeds there in May and forget about them until you see their beautiful, cheery blooms? You'll enjoy their color continuing through autumn and they often reseed the next year. What's not to like about an easy, inexpensive, colorful and long-blooming flower like zinnas?

Thanks for reading! -Beth