MY FAVOURITE GARDEN FLOWERS

We now come to the end of yet another list and with it the lovely Zinnia.

My mother invariably had zinnias growing in her garden although I can't really remember her ever picking them to put in a vase.  Perhaps leading the busy life she had, she felt it better to let them put on a show in the garden where the blooms probably lasted longer than as a cut flower.  As with sweet peas, when I see zinnias I immediately think of mum.

ZINNIA is a genus of plants of the sunflower tribe within the daisy family.  They are native to scrub and dry grassland in an area stretching from southwestern USA to South America, with a centre of diversity in Mexico.  Members of the genus are notable for their solitary long-stemmed flowers that come in a variety of bright colours.   The genus name honours German botanist Johann Gottried Zinn (1727-59).

Zinnias are annuals, shrubs, and sub-shrubs primarily in North America, with a few species in South America.  Most species have upright stems but some have a lax habit with spreading stems that mound over the surface of the ground.  They typically range in height from 10 to 100 cms tall (4" to 40").  The leaves are opposite and usually stalkless (sessile), with a shape ranging from linear to ovate, and a colour ranging from pale to medium green.  The flowers have a range of appearance, from a single row of petals to a dome shape.  They may be white, chartreuse, yellow, orange, red, purple or lilac.

I hope you have enjoyed this series of garden flowers.  I know there are many I have missed but I was mainly looking at those of which I was familiar.