I have this amazing garden out in our backyard. I was much more meticulous with it at the beginning of the year – cultivating it to have a wild, English Cottage sort of look. I planted delphiniums, larkspur, goblin daisies, irises, hollyhocks, snapdragons, marigolds…a couple of catnip plants for Cider (So she could roll around in one while the other was trying to recover from her affections – thank God catnip plants are like weeds) all of those sort of things.
Oh yes, I also had a few packets of Cosmos seeds…and so I threw them around by the fence not expecting very much. We have horrible clay soil, and so I really have a hard time growing much from seeds.
Now, in October it is very clear that I have underestimated Cosmos.
They started growing nicely in the spring, which just thrilled me – but then as expected, I had a number of seedlings die off from crowding and what I thought were soil conditions…so I thinned out the rest and remained hopeful that they’d do something. And for a number of weeks nothing happened. They shot up to about 4 inches tall and then just stayed there – not growing, not dying…just hanging out. So I assumed they’d be dying any day now because they hated the soil.
Well, maybe they were mutating…or perhaps they were adapting…or even just storing up energy much like a biker loads up on carbs right before the big race….but come August they TOOK OFF. Shot straight up in the air and kept going. And going, and going. Not many blooms, but they just kept growing. Cider soon began to love her ‘forest’ comprised of thick cosmos stems (about an inch to an inch and a half in diameter) and hardly any leaves (down by the ground) up top it was nothing BUT leaves in all their feathery green glory. Not that many blooms, just a lot of height – the day they went over Greg’s head was a big day (he’s 6’6”)…the day we couldn’t touch the top stems was even bigger. I figure that they’re around 12-15 feet high now.
And it just when they peaked like that that the blooms finally decided to show – in October. And their blooms are just as vivacious as their growth, it’s a sea of purple, maroon and white in the back corner of the yard. With those flowers came butterflies by the dozens – I think they were Monarchs. 2 Saturday’s ago I went outside and was amazed to see the whole backyard all a-flutter with butterflies all over the place. They’d come for the cosmos, of course, but were landing in the grass, on the trees, on the back fence, by the back door…it was an amazing sight. They must have been migrating somewhere, but I’ve never seen anything like it, and have no doubt there was magic in the backyard that day.
And the butterflies left – but my cosmos keep growing – I’ve put in some pictures for you to see just how amazing they are – I’m hoping for a repeat production next year.
Oh yes, I also had a few packets of Cosmos seeds…and so I threw them around by the fence not expecting very much. We have horrible clay soil, and so I really have a hard time growing much from seeds.
Now, in October it is very clear that I have underestimated Cosmos.
They started growing nicely in the spring, which just thrilled me – but then as expected, I had a number of seedlings die off from crowding and what I thought were soil conditions…so I thinned out the rest and remained hopeful that they’d do something. And for a number of weeks nothing happened. They shot up to about 4 inches tall and then just stayed there – not growing, not dying…just hanging out. So I assumed they’d be dying any day now because they hated the soil.
Well, maybe they were mutating…or perhaps they were adapting…or even just storing up energy much like a biker loads up on carbs right before the big race….but come August they TOOK OFF. Shot straight up in the air and kept going. And going, and going. Not many blooms, but they just kept growing. Cider soon began to love her ‘forest’ comprised of thick cosmos stems (about an inch to an inch and a half in diameter) and hardly any leaves (down by the ground) up top it was nothing BUT leaves in all their feathery green glory. Not that many blooms, just a lot of height – the day they went over Greg’s head was a big day (he’s 6’6”)…the day we couldn’t touch the top stems was even bigger. I figure that they’re around 12-15 feet high now.
And it just when they peaked like that that the blooms finally decided to show – in October. And their blooms are just as vivacious as their growth, it’s a sea of purple, maroon and white in the back corner of the yard. With those flowers came butterflies by the dozens – I think they were Monarchs. 2 Saturday’s ago I went outside and was amazed to see the whole backyard all a-flutter with butterflies all over the place. They’d come for the cosmos, of course, but were landing in the grass, on the trees, on the back fence, by the back door…it was an amazing sight. They must have been migrating somewhere, but I’ve never seen anything like it, and have no doubt there was magic in the backyard that day.
And the butterflies left – but my cosmos keep growing – I’ve put in some pictures for you to see just how amazing they are – I’m hoping for a repeat production next year.
It sounds beautiful in an out of control sort of way. AB would be so jealous!
ReplyDeleteCosmos are great flowers when your trying to hide something - like an electrical box. Hope you do have a repeat performance next year.
ReplyDeleteRalph