Cosmos flowers in planter by cash machine 28th August 2024 (Macro)

They're a pretty pastel shade.

Yes, they are! As the seeds came from Lidl's they are obviously a very old variety. They were also in our freezer for several months before I discovered them! Even after that they were in our living room for several more months. I only sowed them because the seedtray with the birthday card impregnated with wild flower seeds that didn't ever germinate was doing nothing on the balcony. I wasn't really expecting anything to come from them but they did germinate, except over the card itself!

I let the Cosmos grow as I'm loathe to throw away living plants but really I didn't have room for so many plants on the balcony which was already full & overflowing! I don't know what I would have done with them if I hadn't put them in the planter around the cash machine!

My, haven't those Cosmos seeds had a journey before flowering!

They most certainly have had an adventure, Shirley! While watering them this afternoon I noticed the first flowers had died, in part because their natural cycle would have come to an end & in part because of the 100s of blackflies on many of the flower stems. I saw there were lots more flowers open but also the plants seem very short to me. I once grew 100s on the allotment I had & they easily reached 3-4ft! Whereas these are only a couple of feet high.

David, do you still have the seed packet as it may give you the height of the plants. There are shorter varieties of Cosmos, perhaps that's what these are?

No, I no longer have the seed packet, it rotted away on the balcony, in the seedtray as I took so long in taking them out!

That's a shame, I think we all do things like that!

Still they were a cheap packet from Lidl which my granddaughter chose. They probably have some packets even now. It's not close enough for me to get to easily. When they have a Spanish week our son takes me in his car & so I can buy more from there. It was one of those weeks when we picked up a few packets of seeds.

I got a packet of Carnation seeds as well as they are my wife's favourite flower, she says they remind her of Spain! They have flowered this year but only produced a very few flowers - but not the double flowers we normally associate with Carnations, they are small, single flowers. I shan't be keeping them for next year.

David, they sound just like the ones I grew from seed! I'm trying to remember where the pack came from, free with a gardening magazine no doubt!

I just found the seed packet and they are Dianthus 'Stripes and Picotees' variety. It says the stripes make them very distinct ... clearly my seeds didn't read the packet !!

Perhaps you need to teach them to read then! 🤣 🤣 🤣

Hahaha! :o))