fall rose noun A zinnia.
1925 Furman Glass Window 237 She carried in her hand a large bunch of zinnias. “Miss Christine sent you these fall roses,” she said. 1979 Slone My Heart 45 She had a very large garden—row after row of vegetables, but the very best, with the richest soil, she used for her flowers: fall roses (zinnias), marigolds, bachelor’s buttons, and touch-me-nots, and many others, too many to name.
—Dictionary of Southern Appalachian English
I’ve heard zinnias called old maids all my life. I was thumbing through the dictionary looking for something and found the entry for fall rose.
The last few years I’ve tried to plant more flowers around the edges of our garden. This year I hoped to have a long row of old maids growing along the entire length of the lower garden where we usually grow our winter squash.
I planted the seeds and they all sprouted. I was well on my way to achieving my goal of blooms.
During the time we spent at Miss Cindy’s house caring for her there was a real frog strangler one evening. Creeks were out everywhere and there was standing water along all the roads.
It was several days before I got a chance to walk around the garden. The water that fell around our house formed a small branch and completely washed away every sign of my growing flowers, leaving behind a small trench.
I was determined to have those flowers so I planted another row making sure the seeds were outside the area I first planted in case the heavy rain came again.
The second set of seeds seemed to take longer to sprout but they eventually did and began blooming. The flowers really hit their peak in late September and are still looking beautiful.
Seeing their bright faces in the landscape that is slowly dying back makes me almost glad they got washed away the first time.
There’s some sort of message in all that—I’m not sure what it is exactly.
When I think about what Miss Cindy would say about the flowers I can just hear her oohing and aahing over the late colorful blooms and see her smile when I tell her they are sometimes called fall roses.
Last night’s video: Fall Garden Tour in the Mountains.
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I enjoyed your fall garden tour last night. I love zinnias and really all flowers. I have never heard zinnias called fall roses, but I think that’s a perfect name for them. It just makes my heart happy to see all of God’s beauty! Loved the picture today also. Continued prayers to all of you.
What a bunch of beautiful flowers. I love them.They just brighten up a place.
Your picture in this post is beautiful and I really loved strolling through your fall garden with you last night. I love zinnias too, but like I have mentioned before, we have a lot of deer and they ate them as they were growing. I do, however, have just a few beautiful, tall marigolds left. They have huge yellow blooms. My husband said they look like carnations they are so big, but now I think we will call them fall roses. Going out to enjoy this gorgeous fall day before the rain comes tomorrow. God Bless.
When fall falls upon us
And the leaves all fall,
The scene through the trees
reveals a whole nother world.
Zinnias are one of my favorites. Prayers for Granny and all. Take care and God bless ❣️
Zinnias are at the top of my list of favorite flowers. They are so easy and carefree to grow. I ordered 100,000 seeds several years ago to plant in a half acre that used to be part of my huge vegetable garden. I saved the seeds but they didn’t come up this year for some reason. I’ve never heard of zinnias called fall roses. Mom grew dinner plate ‘dallies’ and ‘glads’ when I was at home and they were the most beautiful flowers I had ever seen. If there are chores in Heaven, I know what she is doing today. Praying for Granny to get well.
I’ve planted old maids everywhere I’ve lived. Mostly because they last a good while and are cheap seeds. I’m partial to the bright colors but especially those deep yellows, oranges and reds.
You video from yesterday was a wonderful tour. Flowers can be described in many ways, but the one I like best is God’s way to brighten up the world. I even love Joe Pye weeds, as I see them as flowers. Miss Cindy knew what she was talking about. Someone somewhere put appreciation in your vocabulary and I do take pleasure in hearing your description of what you see. My MIL was of the idea, if it is a flower it is a flower and don’t you dare mow it over. God Bless you guys…stay warm and safe and well.
“Planting flowers is believing in the beauty of the future.” I grow zinnias and they are my favorite. I grow purple and yellow ones 🙂 God bless ALL!
You’ve got me wanting to make garden room for flowers. This year I did plant marigolds into the cells in the concrete block edging of my garden beds. They mostly did very well and I have lots if them still. But the ‘fall roses’ are prettier. At a park close by they planted a pollinator garden with them but let it go to weeds. I also have mint that is blooming now. The flowers are so tiny they are easily missed but they are well worth noticing. Still have morning glory running rampant also; purple and pink.
I love Zinnias and had planted them last year and was amazed at how big and beautiful they grew. This year they surprisingly came back even though we had put tubs in the same spot they grew last year. They just grew out around the tub. They weren’t as big as last year but beautiful just the same. I’m going to collect the seeds and replant them in a better spot next year in hopes they will grow big again. All your flowers look stunningly beautiful. I’ve never heard the term fall rose, but I sure like it!
It came a “frog strangler” is downright humorous and you sure can come up with the best and funniest sayings I ever heard! I really enjoyed what Randy wrote and shared this morning! I never heard of a fall rose, but zinnias certainly appear worthy of such a title in their beauty and to me they have a bit of a “tough” or “strong” look about them. Their heads are fat and stems somewhat sturdy. I hate your first planting got washed away, but the hillbilly said “aw heck no! Going again!” And so you did! If you ask me the best part of being from the hills is if at first we don’t succeed we shall try and try again!!! Go anywhere else in this country and folks can come up with 10,000 reasons why they have the “can’t help its!” You find yourself sighing and rolling the eyes…. Lol going to Missouri in the morning and driving this time about 10 hours. Gotta keep my word and must go. Wish me well galavanting north and west across Kentucky which is a long state… lol if I live I will be home Monday evening. If not, I’ll see yas in the by and by!!! Lol
Beautiful thought of remembering people you loved when “fall roses” are blooming.
Prayers for your mother, Israel and our country.
I don’t know much about flowers, my mother and grandmother loved them. When I began to cut our grass when growing up, I quickly learn if there was any doubt about it being a flower or weed, it was safer for my hind end to assume it was a flower and not cut it. My mother dearly loved African violets, I think that was the name, she had a house full of them along with a yard full of other flowers. These flowers in the picture sure are pretty.
I have been reading the old post of Grannyisms. I was lucky enough to live by my mother’s parents. While I loved my Grandmother, it was my Granddaddy that I worshipped. I could go on forever about him. When he would feed his animals each morning he would always be singing as loud as he could one of two songs, they were Angel Band or A Beautiful Life. Depending on the weather, he would either get on his knees and pray each morning in the hall of the barn or at a large above ground rock behind the barn he would put salt on for his mule. The salt came from the meat box of the butchered hog. We have now have landscaped and planted flowers around this rock in honor of him. It is now part of my yard.
What a sweet memory you have of your grandfather, Randy. I miss my grandparents sorely.
May God richly bless you for honoring your Granddaddy, a Holy Spirit filled man.
Yes he was Linda, I said I could go on forever, many of the church members that knew him credit him when helping keep our church going through the depression years. I don’t know everything he did, I think he would go around picking up people with his mule and wagon that had no other way of getting to church. I know for sure he did not have any money. He raised a family of 6 children by farming 40 acres of land with a mule or two. I have been told by many of the church members that they had told their family in times of trouble if the preacher can’t come, go get my Granddaddy. His name was Conrad Alexander Kirby often called Uncle Con by others. His daddy died when he was 2 months old and his mother when he was 3 years old, he was born on July 20, 1888. He was raised by another family in the community.
Tipper. I believe your replanting is one of those lessons I’ve learned time and again. The more pleasure gained from something for me usually means I have suffered or put in the most effort. Things seem to mean more when we give part of ourselves for the end result. Continued prayers for you family.
Zinnias are my favorite along with cabbage roses, stargazer lilies, bee balm, sun flowers, and astilbes, but there is just something about those fall roses.
Love your flowers I saw in last night’s video. Beautiful!