Too Common

Yesterday I received a garden magazine in the mail and on the front cover was a picture of a pristinus ebur zinnia. (No, Latin is not a second language for me. I just felt that calling it a pristine ivory zinnia didn't heighten its descriptive appeal all that much.) Anyway, one thought led to another and soon I was recalling a moment this past summer while I was at Lowe's garden department looking for filler annuals for bare spots in my perennial beds. A woman was shopping with her daughter, a child of about 5 years old, and the little girl was enthralled with a display of marigolds. Those bright orange and yellow hues really had a hold on her attention. I could easily relate. Marigolds are always a favorite standby in my own mother's flower beds. It was all quite a nice memory for me and then the child asked her mother to purchase those marigolds. I really was taken back by the woman's negative answer. It would seem that marigolds weren't good enough for this woman's garden because they were too common.

I must say the reason I relate this particular memory is because as soon as I saw the zinnia on the front cover of my magazine, the first thought that popped into my head was, I'm surprised they chose such a common flower. Oh I know---bad garden fairies will probably rain down on me!!!

So what is common? Isn't it that that is not distinguishable from the ordinary?

Some of the most distinguishable annuals in my 2008 garden beds were my tall zinnia. They ranged in color from a white so pale it almost appeared lime green to the brightest, deepest scarlet pinks, and everything in between. I was also blessed with a wide variety of structural shapes: star, pompon, and rosette just to name a few. When the perennials had given up either due to spent blooming time or just plain ragged Midwestern heat, the zinnia became the crowning glory along with other old favorites like begonia, vinca, cosmos and salvia. It's the annual that is the workhorse of the garden, blooming an entire season until the first vestige of a mean spirited frost puts them forever to sleep.

Beginner's tip: Almost all annuals produce easy-to-reap seeds that can be planted the following spring. Zinnia, cosmos, and marigolds are especially good choices for seed collection. Often the marigold will self-sow. Another really good annual that grows well year after year in my garden is Victoria Blue salvia. In fact, I planted it on the south side of my house (remember I'm zone 5) and it comes back like a perennial.