The usual flower bed at the entrance of our garage is again overflowing with zinnias. I particularly love this one, a shaggy-petaled beauty that I do not remember seeing in past years. It was part of a variety pack of seeds that we bought, I suppose. When I mentioned its unusual appearance to Mom, she thought it might be because of the extreme dryness we have been having. But I noticed that other zinnias had the standard smooth petals.
Here's a closer look at a representative of the shaggy petaled ones. They are all this same color, a vivid pink, almost the shade of Pepto Bismol. They look to me as though they are the flower equivalent of fireworks.
I watched a Monarch Butterfly trying the nectar here and wish I had my camera handy. But, no. I have marked these zinnias with twist ties so that I may let the flowers go to seed and collect some for next year and for friends. They may be a hybrid, of course, and in that case what I see next year will revert to something quite different. Still, it is fun to try.
