Marigolds & Summertime~

The Gathering Place~

After seeing the beautiful Marigolds at the Gathering Place last year, I was determined to try them myself.  Linus was so kind in sharing his seeds & expertise with me.  I decided that I wanted to plant a row along our south fence, where we could enjoy them from the deck.  I carefully followed Linus's directions & it was fun to see them sprout.  The blooms began to appear the first week of June.

By July 3rd~

By early July, you could easily see the short hedge of growing marigolds!  I was so excited, my first time planting from seed & the first time I've had the opportunity to grow them in such numbers.  I started out with just two fence sections, but soon headed to the store to buy more seed & increase the size of the row.  One packet was $1.79 & contained about ten seeds.  I asked Linus if he had any more to share & he gave me enough for two more sections & for another bed of the Tiger colored seed for the east end of the house.

Linus's flowers - 4th of July

 I mentioned my marigold planting to  Aunt Shirley in Sheridan.  Soon, an envelope arrived full of seeds from her plants!  I shared with Linus & put mine in a large planter.  Even though it was a little late in the season, they started to bloom by the end of July!  All are a beautiful dark color that Linus calls Tiger.  Since they reproduce true to the color each year - they're a heritage seed.

These are the Tagetes Genus Marigolds from Sheridan, WY~

 There are only a few with yellow blooms in the row

The yellows!

 The package of seeds I'd bought to fill in the gaps are a blend of light & dark oranges.

Dwarf Bolero

 I walk along the row & enjoy all the colors, along with the distinctive marigold smell.  So far, we've had hardly any mosquitoes.  Is it still to early for them, is it the rainier than normal season, or the marigolds?  The only downside, is that the Japanese's Beetles do eat them.  I pick the pests off the blooms several times a day...  I'm hopeful that following generations may develop a resistance to them  I've used Sevin on the the plants from Wyoming.  For whatever reason they seem to be attacked more than the one's that grew from Linus's seed.

For the pot out by the mail box, I found a last flat of those in the photo below at the local hardware store.

By our mailbox~

I've given up trying to find the actual names of all the different colors or varieties.  Instead, I'll spend my time enjoying them. I fertilize once every week or two & hope that the color lasts well into fall.

In full color~

I'm collecting seeds too.  I toss some over the hillside.  Maybe they'll go wild in that area.  The weeds, vines etc. that I spent so much time cutting, pulling & spraying are finally under control, so having color there would be grand!