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Tucsongardener.com |
The Zinnia
Patch
Sometime during the winter of 99 I happened
to find a large package of fantasy mix zinnias while perusing a seed display. I'd
grown them in the past because they happened to be trouble free and they made nice cut
flowers. I started the seeds in pony packs and transplanted them into a fenced 5 by 7 bed
when they were about six inches tall which happened to be in May. The fence was needed to
keep the local bunnies away and discourage the troublesome javelina that passed in the
night.
As it turned out, the patch of zinnias became more than just another pretty bed
of flowers. Over the summer it turned into a unique little environment where nature ran
its course. I had a concrete bench not far from the zinnias where I could sit and watch
the comings and goings. It's all quite amazing if you take the time to look and listen.
And since the plants were a good three to five feet tall I didn't have to get on my hands
and knees to get up close and personal with the wildlife. The zinnias are now compost for
the garden but I'll remember them fondly. Below are just a few of the many
photographs I shot while watching the zinnias grow.
The zinnias supplied a bed of color all
summer long. |
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Individual flowers were
masterful works of nature. |
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In the evening the sphinx moths would
flutter like hummingbirds over the zinnias. Note the long proboscis taking the nectar.
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There was no shortage of grasshoppers
feeding on the leaves and flowers. They came in all sizes from small to extra large. |
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It was an incredibly good summer and fall
for butterflies in the zinnia patch.
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The swallowtail butterfly was a regular
visitor. |
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The praying mantis often hung out under
the flowers waiting to catch its dinner. I watched one devour the body of a butterfly
leaving only the wings. |
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I don't know what these are whether, bees,
wasps or flies, but I have a pretty good idea what they're doing. |
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Above are just a few of the photos I took during the past summer. There were spiders,
bees, lizards, hummingbirds, and plenty of other zinnia patch visitors I didn't even see.
Who knows what went on during the night and on the ground beneath the plants?
Too often I'll have a visitor to my front yard garden that will comment on
the "pretty flowers" not realizing there's so much more to the pretty flowers.
You've got to take the time to look and listen to watch your garden really grow.
(2000) |
