The flowers I planted with abandon earlier this summer are just beautiful! They didn’t turn out exactly like I had hoped, but they are lovely nonetheless.
I planted several different types of flowers, but the only ones that have really thrived are the old maids (zinnias). They are among my favorite flowers. I just love their cheery blooms! They are one of the easiest flowers to grow—at least for me. They make lovely flower arrangements and once the plants start blooming they just keep right on blooming till cold weather.
Old maids come in a variety of colors. This year I have shades of pink, yellow, red, orange, and green.
Granny always grew zinnias and my grandmothers did too, but they called them old maids.
I planted several other types of flowers but none of them came up except the old maids and a couple of sunflowers.
When I first planted the row I made the mistake of planting gazanias all along the row. I got them from Betty and Pat at Satterfield’s Nursery. The flowers were beautiful and bloomed well until the old maids shaded them out. That was my mistake gazanias don’t grow very high, or at least the ones I bought don’t.
There’s a house over in Blairsville, GA that always has a long lush row of old maids planted in their garden. I’ve noticed it for years and have always marveled at how pretty and neat the row of flowers is.
I’m thankful to have my own row of old maids this year. They were stunning when the green beans behind them were lush and green and now that the green beans are beginning to die out they are still going strong with blooms aplenty. I know I will be enjoying them till the first hard frost.
Each morning when I walk on the treadmill in the basement I can look out the window and see the cheery old maids looking right back at me.
Last night’s video: Matt is an Expert at Answering Questions.
Tipper
Subscribe for FREE and get a daily dose of Appalachia in your inbox
Your flowers were all beautiful this year! You just have the gift to grow, because just about everything you plant will grow sooner or later .
Your picture is so beautiful! I plant old maids every year. This year I put out Pink Profusion Zinnias and they are just so flashy. I plant them at the end of each row and when our grandson helps plow he easily knows where the rows are. I scattered seeds with abandon and most of mine wound up being tickseed. There’s a couple of cosmos. Thank you for inspiring us all!
I never gardened in any way, but just retired this spring. I also never cared about flowers, or even really knew what a zinnia was. After seeing the video where you scattered seeds with abandon”, I thought it would be fun to get a pot and some dirt and stick a zinnia in it. At the local Walmart, there is a section of mostly dead plants on clearance, and I bought the saddest little plant I’ve ever seen. Within two days it had perked up, and I sprinkled some seeds in the pot around it. I now have a beautiful pot full of the happiest flowers I think I’ve ever seen. They make me smile everytime I see them, and the bees and butterflies seem to love them. Thank you, Tipper, for my newfound love of zinnias. I can’t imagine a summer without them now.
Saw hummingbirds on my Zinnias the other day! Beautiful sight..
When Matt said there’s one way in..one way out and we’re prepared!! Around my neighborhood we say try me “it’s cocked and loaded.” Bet he’s said that before too!
Have a great day!
Zinnias are gorgeous in my garden, too. Love the nickname. They never fail to be the hardiest beauties of all. Planting with abandon is my style, as well. Inspired by your post last winter, I planted poppies with abandon – on mounds of snow. (I think grandson thought I may have been a little confused that day.) Sure enough, this spring they popped up here and there. I’ll always think of them as my “Snow Poppies.”
The red Will Rogers zinnias are among my favorites with their strong, tall stems and brilliant red blossoms. I will smile and think of you when I see my Old Maids out there, adding beauty and charm to the garden.
A mix of flowers sown with abandon makes a beautiful canvas. After all, that’s how God does it. No straight rows or segregation, just a wonderful mix.
I’m running a little late today to read your post. My wife and I just finished two runs of raspberry jelly and two runs of jam. (17 jars of jelly and 11 of jam) I hear some of them sealing with that satisfying ‘pop’ as I type this.
My wife likes flowers of most any color. She especially likes yellow and has a patch of Evening Primrose that I keep trying to control. I can’t convince her that it is an invasive weed.
What a beautiful picture! I love zinnias too. I’ve seen some mighty pretty sunflowers this year also.
Tipper, I feel like the ones that like what you and what you are doing far outweigh the ones that don’t. There are some people you just can’t please no matter what you do. For me, these people are not worth worrying over. I know I look forward each morning to the BP&A.
Good morning. I have a whole flower garden of marigolds with a beautiful statue of Mother Mary right in the middle. Marigolds are the only thing the deer won’t eat. I usually plant some “old maids” in behind but not this year. We also have giant sunflowers growing and blooming on the edge of our fenced-in garden. I planted lots of marigold seeds near them but only one or two came up. I just can’t believe there are people who would actually write you mean letters. That is so scary. It’s also really sad that those people have nothing better to do with their lives than to harass others. May God bless you and your family and keep you safe always.
Zinnias were one of my precious Mamas favorite flowers. Always so beautiful.
Your flowers are lovely
Those are so beautiful!
You planted with abandon, and that inspired me to scatter my flower seeds heavily too. And it worked!
They are beautiful and thick. I thought I was just not capable of growing flowers, but you did your planting, and I thought why not try. Thank you for the motivation and encouragement that brought me my pretty flowers this year! ❤️
Your Zinnias are beautiful! I’ve heard the old time term “old maid” but in this day and age it seems rather an unkind moniker and perhaps it’s time it’s retired…this is speaking as a woman of a certain age that never married (not by choice necessarily, just the way life turned out). Now, having said that, I rejoice in my life, and I know that you are a lovely, kind person and would never purposely use a term that might make someone else feel bad. I so appreciate all you you share of the old time ways, your love of the Lord, and your beautiful family!
My zinnias came up in a kaleidoscope of colors this year and my favorite is a very pale peachy pink. I too have really taken notice of the rows this year and decided that in next years garden I’ll try rows of sunflowers, zinnias, and cosmos instead of my usual scattering here and there. My orange cosmos always do amazing and make me so happy. I have mammoth sunflowers and lemon queens that have done well this year, too. I never heard zinnias called old maids until you said it but I like it, I think I’ll start! My daughter Elsie loves to go out and “plant flowers with abandon” all over the place and I let her. I love to see the surprise blooms coming up wherever she randomly decided to start a patch. Her gladiolus are her prized treasures. I’m sure she’ll have the dreamiest gardens one day!
You’ve had such beautiful and prolific garden this year. Thank you for sharing it with us. Last night’s Q&A was fun as always.
On my first post, Granny not Hanny! Lol
It’s hard to believe that anyone could find fault with what you and your family are doing. But there are people out there that are slightly left of center. lol. If my husband and I were to ever meet you and Matt or the girls, we would be so star struck we probably wouldn’t be able to speak!! You and Matt are so like us that we often say “have they been listening to us?” Then we have a good laugh! Please keep doing what you do so we can all enjoy and remember the things that are important. Love and prayers to Hranny and all of you too.
Tipper, flowers are just beautiful any and everywhere they pop up their pretty heads! Your zinnias are lovely and very cheerful! That purplish color is a real “Mickey Dazzler!” This year I’ve had begonias, marigolds, geraniums I raised from seed, hollyhocks I’ve raised from them every year in honor of my beloved grandmother for a good many years, nasturtium that little old sweet YOU “turned me on to” butterfly bush, roses, lavender, spearmint, cat mint and the dandiest patch of peppermint I’ve ever seen! It’s hip high and thick as thieves plus the flying wasps, bees, winged critters really love that stuff not to mention me who’s crazy over it and red, tall salvia that hummingbirds just love. I thought it was scarlet sage but man did I get fooled. So I got no scarlet sage this year that mommy loved as well. I have sunflowers about 14 feet tall! I ain’t even kidding in the least. I planted a garden in a fence and on the outside stacked peppers with sunflowers and they’re thriving. My tomatoes are coming nicely. It’s been windy and I planted pots of begonias with sunflowers. Now when the wind blows-toppled over they go as does that salvia. One day, I’m going to just have enough of the picking up and throwing down and thrown over an embankment is where I’ll toss the whole lot… oh well sometimes the PTSD can kick in and I get tired of fighting against animals, weather, wind, rain and hurrinadoes. Since I’m preparing to move, it all must go and soon. It’s sad but the breaks…there’s no wrong way to garden and wherever you want to stick some seed, go for it!!! You’ll be glad you did! I planted several peppers and 3 or 4 tomatoes together with sunflowers etc in the holes too and you talk about the fattest plants you’ll ever see with fruit so heavy my plants fall over even with rebar poles…they’re something to see. My cabbage is plumb pitiful, but I have really put in a sorry effort on the cabbage so it shows…
I love your post, Sadie. You reminded me of my Mother, she had such beautiful flowers every year, but sometimes got aggravated when fighting the weather….wind & rain. She would just say, “Oh well, we’ll just let the Good Lord take care of ’em….he knows more than me”
But, then the sun would come out, and they would straighten back up somewhat and she would just laugh, and say ” See, I’m just gonna love ’em the way they are, thank you Lord”
Sadie, there’s one part of your comment I can relate too. It is not from PTSD but from depression. The life I once knew and enjoyed was destroyed a little over 4 years ago. Many times I feel like giving up, throwing in the towel and just trying to go somewhere I can’t be found. I have talked with my doctor about this and tried several different medications, I didn’t like the way some made me feel and the side effects from another one. I feel like there is no difference between trying to cover my feelings up with a pill and another person covering theirs up with the bottle. My doctor told me I saw my granddaddy do and feel just like you after grand mother died. Unless you have been there, I don’t think you can really understand these feelings. You pray for me and I will pray for you.
Zinnia has been the mainstay in my garden for years. Not only do the bumblebees love them, but also the American Goldfinch, who love to pick off the petals. I’m not quite sure why they do this, but I get a kick out of them sneaking around. I have plenty for ber and bird.
I love zinnias too! I have a small flower bed on one side of my house that I call my “pollinator garden”. I can see it off the side of my front porch and when i pull in the driveway. Zinnias are a favorite part of that garden always, as well as sunflowers, which draw the little yellow finches that I just can’t wait to see each year
I love old maids too! Our 4 o’clocks have just taken one bed over and there doesn’t seem to be anything that can be done other than dig them up to stop them.
I have zinnias growing around our garden fence along with black-eyed susans, cosmos and marigolds. We love how they look up there and how they draw pollinators into that part of the yard.
Tipper, I have really enjoyed your yard & garden this year! After last night’s Q&A, I realize the price that is paid when one opens up their life to strangers…there are some rotten eggs out there; but since you are trusting in the Lord, I’m sure He sends you some “angels unawares” too. Wilson Holler is a living example for all to see of His faithfulness.
Was interesting to learn what a “gazania” flower is. I had only ever heard it as the African daisy. now I know, thanks!