Six zingy Zinnias to grow

…well, one bee, although there were several on the echinops above, E Arctic Glow’, when I was trying to take a photograph, but they wouldn’t stand still or long enough! The garden, is, however, currently swarming with bees and butterflies, which is good to see.

There’s nothing better than growing your own organic vegetables, freshly harvested and available to eat that day. However, here at Garden Organic’s demonstration garden we also want to grow produce that’s attractive and encourages pollinators and beneficial insects.

The Pacific Bulb Society has a large report on numerous species.

The last week or two has seen an influx of butterflies in the garden, which may or may not be the norm at this time of year; some have even paused long enough for me to photograph them, which is certainly not the norm! I hadn’t planned to seek them out for Six on Saturday, the meme hosted by Jim of Garden Ruminations, but nevertheless they still wangled themselves into the photographs. Above is a meadow brown.

Bromeliads are one of the most colorful plants you can adorn your rooms with. If you want the most stunning ones for your home, then check out these Best Bromeliads Anyone Can Grow Easily Indoors!

Commonly known as the Winter melon and Chinese watermelon, Ash gourd is native to Japan is found commonly throughout India. When touched, the fruit leaves an ash-like residue on hands. That’s the reason behind its interesting name! Here’s all you need to know about growing Ash gourd!

As the summer eases its way into August and September, zinnias unleash a tremendous number of blooms for cutting with ever increasing stem lengths as we move into October.

Zinnias are easy to grow. They are half-hardy annuals, so need to be sown in the protection of a greenhouse or a propagator on a bright house windowsill in mid to late spring. Once they’re large enough to handle, prick them out individually and grow on before transplanting outdoors when all risk of frost has passed.

Are you keen on the idea of growing your own vegetables, but not really sure where to start? This list of ten easy to grow vegetables is a great first step on your grow your own journey.

Venturing out despite the rain to take photos for Jim’s Saturday meme on his Garden Ruminations blog, I changed my focus partway through as I was increasingly bowled over by the glorious clumps of perennials around the garden. I have mentioned a massive hellebore previously, now not the only one, and even the dandelions seem to be on steroids! It is not just the size that impresses, but the wonderfully rounded shapes of them too – look at Centaurea ‘Jordy’ above, and the echinops, probably E ‘Blue Globe’, below:

Having successfully got five streptocarpus through the winter and into bloom I am a little more hopeful of my prowess with them, but will feel more confident once I have got them through a second winter too – and may even be tempted to add one or two more! The fern behind them is a couple of plantlets lifted from the saucer under a pot of sarracenia,  kept topped up with water and seemingly an ideal breeding ground for ferns – the asplenium is understandable as there is a lot of it in the garden but I don’t know what this fern is or where the spores have come from.

Apart from the quick Wordless Wednesday post, I don’t think I have looked at my blog at all since Monday, having instead been taking advantage of available time and clement weather to pursue the endless list of tasks necessary in a spring garden. No sooner is one crossed off the list there is another to replace it, but at least progress is noticeably being made.