Garden in a Glance, III

This was my first year to grow Cosmos--and really, my first year to seriously grow flowers. I have been delighted by these cuties, as well as by how low maintenance they are. They don't require a lot of water, do better without fertilizer, and love the heat. And if I leave them to go to seed at the end of the season, they should come back next year on their own!

They started out like this:

And now they look like this:

 

My two flower gardens don't provide us food to eat, so they don't directly enhance our self-sufficiency, but there is something to be said for increasing the beauty in your world...

Garden in a Glance

I've had so much fun with my gardens this year that I decided to start a series of garden pictures to show them to you. 

This one is my first try with wave petunias. They're in my front yard where they get tons of sun and can be enjoyed by anyone who passes by. They have been a joy to me and well worth the investment, spreading to fill my SFG box (about 4' x 4'), just as I hoped they would. They're low maintenance and bloom the entire summer! For an annual, you really can't get better than this.

(This picture was taken a couple weeks ago and by now the melon plant in the center has begun to take over, so I'm glad I took the pic when I did.)