Z is for Zinnia

I think zinnia blooms look a little like marigolds. I’m not sure why one reminds me of the other, because they are completely different flowers. I like instant color so I purchase zinnias as bedding plants. It’s much easier that way! If you’re a patient gardener, you can plant seeds directly in the garden for color two or three months down the road.

With their showy, elegant blooms, zinnias look good just about anywhere in the garden. Plant them in formal flower beds, casual plantings, borders, or containers. Zinnias are versatile plants that come in single, daisy-like varieties, as well as semi-double or double forms, and in petite varieties as small as 8 inches to back-of-the-flowerbed varieties that grow as tall as 3 feet.

The range of colors is huge, ranging from delicate pastels to bold orange and red. In fact, the rainbow of colors includes everything but brown, black, or blue.Zinnias are easy to care for, but they do need fairly consistent moisture and regular deadheading. Zinnias are beautiful in bouquets, and cutting the flowers just encourages the plant to make more blooms.

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