Growing flowers from seed allows me to plant uncommon varieties. Some selections are old favorites. Others caught my eye as I was putting together my seed orders. Here’s an update on this years’ choices.

Gloriosa Daisy. I wanted Blackeyed Susans but ended up ordering a variety alleged to have double blooms. The petals look to be a little longer than the generic variety and about the same as ‘Indian Summer’. Deer won’t eat the plants but have no problem munching on the flowers.

Flowering Tobacco. This is an old favorite Dad sometimes grew. Bedding varieties are okay, but these grow taller and have fragrant spikes of drooping, long-throated flowers. Deer won’t touch them.

Stock. Dad also grew a super fragrant stock with tiny pink flowers on nearly invisible plants. This evening-scented variety has white flowers. To date, I haven’t caught the fragrance.

Zinnias. I have two varieties: the generic large-flowering type Granny grew in her garden and ‘Color Crackle’, a new variety with eye-catching bi-color blooms. Deer must not like zinnias–I’ve never noticed any damage. The new variety got off to a slow start, but is doing great now.

Marigolds. Deer won’t touch marigolds. I grow an African (tall) and a French variety every year. ‘Climax’ (African) and ‘Queen Sophia’ (French) are both new to me. Thet latter are straight-up gorgeous and quickly reached full size. Africans are nearly always solid orange. ‘Climax’ is yellow, but the plants so far haven’t been nearly as robust as the variety grown in years past (‘Electra’).

Castor Bean. I needed seed for this deer-resistant annual and ended up ordering a variety with bright yellow flowers and dark, reddish green foliage. It’s stunning, with yellow flowers and red seed pods.

Moon Vine. Dad and I used to watch the moon vine buds open at dusk. The pointed buds unfurl into huge, intensely fragrant white blooms in a matter of minutes. This year, the vines are going everywhere.

Wave Petunia. This ground-cover petunia is one of my favorites. The first Waves were purple. Now they come in several colors including red–my choice for this year.

This is turning out to be a great year in the garden. I’m tickled pink with the flowers. Next time, an update on vegetables. As always, thanks for stopping by.