Crazy about Cosmos

One of the two exciting flowering standouts of 2007 in my garden are the Cosmos Cosmic Mix seeds that I planted mid-spring. With regular rainfall we saw up until this month, the Cosmos took off in a brilliant display of yellows, orange, and reds. These came from the Park Seed order that arrived late winter which I just threw around the borders of the backyard flower beds. I love the fern-like growth and the semi-double blooms of the Cosmos sulphureus…and this has led to my interest in the Cosmos bipinnatus which sports even “fern-ier” foliage. I intend on ordering a bag of the Psyche White Cosmos at Wildseed Farms for next year. Too bad they aren’t perennials! Note to self: order more red and yellow Cosmos sulphureus. Or even give the Ladybird series a test drive.

Flower wishlist

What happens when you window-shop garden catalogs in winter? Your wishlist and shopping carts grow longer by the time spring arrives. Here is my current wishlist of flowers, which covers the gamut of annuals and perennials, seeds and tubers/bulbs. I’m going for some early flashy color this season, which is why annuals made it into my list.

Zinnia elegans Candy Stripe
Zinnia elegans Swizzle Cherry & Ivory
Dianthus chinensis Corona Cherry Magic
Dianthus chinensis Velvet ‘n Lace
Cosmos sulphureus Cosmic Mix
Anemone blanda Blue Star or Blue Shades
Stokesia laevis Blue Danube, Bluestone or Peachies Pick
Caryopteris x clandonensis Dark Knight
Salvia x jamensis Sierra San Antonio

…and a large white-flowered reblooming evergreen daylily, perhaps a spider form.

I am still researching the white daylily as there are many cultivars available. Many online stores have huge selections of white/near-whites…now it’s just a matter of time trying to discover a particular Hemerocallis that will fit all my criteria.

I’m also expanding my blue-and-white garden, as evidenced by the number of blue flowered plants on my wishlist.