Now that autumn is officially here I think it might be time to resurrect "Plant of the Week". Over the summer months there's so much in bloom to choose from that you don't really need a Plant of the Week, but lately I've found that familiar feeling of gratitude has been returning, whenever I see something looking particularly dandy amongst the piles of fading foliage.
This week I've especially noticed Cosmos doing its girly Barbie pink thing in the bursts of autumnal sunshine. Cosmos is a half-hardy annual, so it needs to be grown from scratch every year. You can't even think about planting it out until frost is a thing of the past, so it's a start off-on-a-windowsill job, and it'll be gone the first night the temperature dips below freezing.
Despite all this tenderness, though, it's still looking gaudy and delightful in gardens at present. Varieties that people I know approve: Sarah Raven's Dazzler, and T&M's verging on the Ku Klux "Purity". But actually most mere mortals buy it in £2.99 trays from Homebase as far as I can make out, with roughly similar results.
There was talk (a few years ago now though mind) about Cosmos being unreliable : my anecdotal wandering around Ealing evidence says otherwise. But there are two important things to know: shorter plants flower more quickly (so try dwarf varieties); and also that you can strike cuttings and overwinter them if you've got a greenhouse. It's a girl's world you know.
Looking good!
Posted by: Simon | Sunday, 26 October 2008 at 05:52 PM
I did my usual trick of just throwing cosmos seeds directly into the border and hope for the best. I thought my luck was out this year and the snails had got them but suddenly one plant appeared and started flowering in September and is still going strong.
Masses of huge white blooms and all the better for being unexpected. I had no idea they flowered so late.
Posted by: Arabella Sock | Monday, 27 October 2008 at 11:40 AM
My experience is that Cosmos seeds germinate very easily - I think taking cuttings would be a real faff especially as you can just as easily collect seeds from your current flowers. Mine grew to about 3ft this year and were covered in flowers for months even when I gave up deadheading which was quite early on. Sadly I decided that they had to go this weekend as they had been really buffted by the rains and with a heavy frost forecast later in the week it was only a matter of time. I do miss my girly pink front garden though!
Posted by: Helen | Monday, 27 October 2008 at 03:00 PM
can we have harvest of the week too?!
Posted by: MarkD | Monday, 27 October 2008 at 08:42 PM