Fleur du Jour - Bright Yellow Zinnias in only 4 more months

I feel like all I have doing this winter is staring at spreadsheets, as I plan this upcoming season, and staring at snowflakes. Add in a bit of shoveling to make pathways for the dog, and that just about sums it all up. This is what makes it so hard to believe that in only 4 months I will likely be looking at some amazing rows of zinnias - true summer flowers. One of the hardest things for me to do is to wait to start all of the seeds.  Some seeds, including zinnias, simply do not take very long to get going. Starting seeds too early is counterproductive. There is no benefit to having a seedling waiting unnecessarily for warm enough weather to be planted outside. It is best to be patient (and finish up the paperwork while you still have time to think). Once the season starts, thinking time is all but nonexistent.

Zinnias are Coming!

Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous.

I choose today's Fleur du Jour - beautiful and bold Zinnias - to brighten up this white, wintry landscape. I cut thousands of Zinnias each year. They are one of the best cut and come again flowers going for summer and fall. Last year's first Zinnias popped open on June 10th and continued to frost, gracing bouquets and arrangements for a good 4 months. In 2014 I cut 3,242 stems of one variety alone (many different colors). It was not the best year for "zins" but I would say that was certainly good enough! Based on last year's first cut date, only 128 days to beautiful show-stopping Zinnias! Wow!