By Linda Wiggen Kraft, Healthy Planet Green & Growing Editor
There are many favorite flowers, but zinnias are #1 in my summer garden. They bring such joy and childlike pleasure. In fact, these feelings of innocent joy are exactly what the flower essence “zinnia” imparts in flower essence therapy. Butterflies and pollinators love them too, especially the single ones with fewer petals and easy access to pollen and nectar.
Zinnias are the flowers I most anxiously await to bloom in midsummer. Perhaps it is because I start them from seeds under lights before planting in the ground. They get lots of nurturing inside. I plant them when they are small and tender. Unfortunately, rabbits like to nibble them so rabbit repellent is a must when the plants are small.
I could buy already growing zinnias, but the colors and types I want are often only available from seed. Many gardeners plant seeds right into the garden. They take about two months to flower from seed. My garden has a color palette that favors purples, peach and white. Those are the colors of zinnia I plant. The tall purple zinnias that peek their blooms above the peach/orange and deep pink roses are Purple Prince, Benary’s Giant Purple and Lilac Purple Princess. The Lilac Purple Princess is a cactus type with petals that don’t fit together instead they spread out in a somewhat wild fashion. Zinnia Senorita is a peach-colored cactus zinnia. Zinnia Polar Bear is tall and white flowered. Like the other taller zinnias, they are zinnia elegans. Zinnia angustifolia, or white star, is much smaller. One-inch flowers cover the ground hugging plant. It is perfect along the front border.
Zinnias are cut and come again flowers. The more they are cut just above the place where other stems are branching, the flowers will produce two more flowers at the point. The more you cut them, the more flowers will grow until a first frost.
It’s somewhat late for zinnia seeds to be put in the ground this summer, but one could try. Or next year fill your gardens with zinnias. There are numerous seeds in many colors and sizes. Find the colors and shapes that you love and let the innocent joy of zinnia fill your heart.
Linda Wiggen Kraft is a landscape designer of holistic and organic gardens. She is also an artist and creativity workshop leader. Find out more, subscribe to her blog and Instagram at www.CreativityForTheSoul.com, Call her at 314 504-4266.