I was pulling up the most pitiful looking of the zinnias and I saw this one laying on the ground. The sun was hitting it just right and to me it looked so beautiful. It was much prettier on the underside than the topside.
Being from the south, I really, really hate winter and it grieves me to be pulling up my plants knowing that it will be a long time before I'll get to enjoy their beauty again. At the same time though, it feels good to get things cleaned up.
While out cleaning today I collected seeds from a few of the plants.
This is an almost black and white picture of the seed pod of the balloon flower. I let the seed pods dry on the plant and then I broke them off and poured out the seeds.
There are a lot of seeds in those pods. I've never grown my own balloon flowers before but I thought I'd give it a try this winter.
It is a bit of a let down when we have to start ripping out tired and worn out flowers for the season. However I am usually ready for a short break from the weeding. I guess if I didn't have so many weeds I wouldn't feel that way. Ha... This year it was the watering that seemed endless due to the drought here. We have had 2+ inches of rain here so I can no longer whine about lack of rain.
ReplyDeleteI'm from here so I don't mind the fall clean up. I guess I'm used to it and don't know any other way to garden. I enjoy the mid-winter break, and have a clean slate to start with each spring.
ReplyDeleteCarol at May Dreams Gardens
The black & white format really shows off the form of the seedhead - very neat!
ReplyDelete