tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10013142.post-62621199539221165542008-07-08T06:32:00.001-05:002008-07-08T06:40:28.099-05:002008-07-08T06:40:28.099-05:00We were late in planting the garden, so even the quick-starters are just starting to be productive. Last year, I wasted a lot of money on exotic seeds that never germinated. Since I couldn't be sure if it was the seeds or it was me at fault, I decided to keep the flower experiments simple until I had a clue about what I was doing.<br /><br />Zinnias are easy. Zinnias truly are "Flowers for Dummies". So I bought almost every Zinnia mix that <a href="http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/subcategory.aspx?category=58&subcategory=135">Johnny's</a> offers.<br /><br /><a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_yj2JE1tFssM/SHNJwT-3ndI/AAAAAAAABa4/cmCdgg02g9E/s1600-h/pep1.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_yj2JE1tFssM/SHNJwT-3ndI/AAAAAAAABa4/cmCdgg02g9E/s320/pep1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220597487399050706" /></a><br /><br />The <a href="http://www.johnnyseeds.com/catalog/product.aspx?category=58&subcategory=135&scommand=page&qstateid=817ed23c-ad8e-46a5-ac5c-464383d1140a&sp=3&item=1784">Peppermint Stick</a> is supposed to be a "fully double bloom".<br /><br /><a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_yj2JE1tFssM/SHNJwa6HF_I/AAAAAAAABbA/VdS-3d7jH38/s1600-h/pep2.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_yj2JE1tFssM/SHNJwa6HF_I/AAAAAAAABbA/VdS-3d7jH38/s320/pep2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220597489258141682" /></a><br /><br />They're not exactly turning out like that, though. (Compare with the image in that last link.)<br /><br /><a href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_yj2JE1tFssM/SHNJwsaVdcI/AAAAAAAABbY/9LCqrJHHmf0/s1600-h/pep5.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_yj2JE1tFssM/SHNJwsaVdcI/AAAAAAAABbY/9LCqrJHHmf0/s320/pep5.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220597493956703682" /></a><br /><br />Maybe they need more water. I kind of like them this way, though.<br /><br /><a href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_yj2JE1tFssM/SHNJwuIC9pI/AAAAAAAABbI/XTYfVPyo2yg/s1600-h/pep3.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_yj2JE1tFssM/SHNJwuIC9pI/AAAAAAAABbI/XTYfVPyo2yg/s320/pep3.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220597494416864914" /></a><br /><br />One of the "small percentage of solid colors" they warn you about.<br /><br /><a href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_yj2JE1tFssM/SHNJwlHn3aI/AAAAAAAABbQ/LixTPfdcE_8/s1600-h/pep4.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_yj2JE1tFssM/SHNJwlHn3aI/AAAAAAAABbQ/LixTPfdcE_8/s320/pep4.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5220597491999169954" /></a><br /><br />This one's trying to go for "double" I guess. Sometimes one of the petals is a solid color like this. I found that if I cut them at this point, those inner petals never unfurl. They seem to stay frozen in time at the moment of cutting.<br /><br />Like all the other Zinnias, they have excellent staying power as a cut flower.Ruralityhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06616461213179182660noreply@blogger.com