The last of the cosmos

I'm so happy with these photo's, I'd wanted to photograph in my greenhouse before the garden finished for the year and I managed just in time. If I was to recommend one plant to grow it'd be Cosmos. You can start the seedlings off as early as February and they produce an abundance of flowers from early August all the way through to November. If I'm being honest, I was always put off by the harsh magenta colour in classic cosmos mix but after realising there was more one type - I decided to try a few different varieties this year. Candy Stripe was my favourite followed by Purity, Pop Socks and Pinkie Sensation. I still grew a few classic white and magenta (which I have come to appreciate) and they have happily danced away in the garden for months. Because of the cold late start to growing season I grew all mine from seed in pots rather than direct sowing and staggered  throughout February and March and maybe early April - I can't quite remember.  I found some really great advice on @SwanCottageflowers  which I really recommend taking a look at if you're new to growing like me. 

It's bittersweet cutting the last of the flowers. Whilst it's exciting to gather seeds for next summer with so much more knowledge behind me its also a little sad to say goodbye. This year has been challenging and on the days when I've felt the full weight of motherhood lay solely on my shoulders its these (and all my plants) that provided so much support. Their joyful colours gave me the energy I needed after long nights, their softly curving stems calmed me down after particularly testing mealtimes. 

I'll miss them for sure but nature doesn't stop during winter, it changes and slows but is no less beautiful. I'll continue to take a daily trip around the garden - chatting to the worms and looking optimistically for signs of spring. I've started to make a list of all the plants I want to grow next year and I have to say cosmos are right there at the top. I hope you enjoy these photo's as much as I do, I'll put some more garden links at the end of the post. x

The Garden Before
A beginners guide to growing flowers
A simple guide to growing sweet peas
My dahlia experiment 
Dancing Flowers