YORKTON – Garden note to self: plant more cosmos next spring. Maybe you might make the same note for yourself! Let’s have a cup of tea and chat about cosmos.
Cosmos are one of those flowers that everybody grows, and they are so easy to plant and easy to enjoy that we might take them for granted. But if you haven’t planted cosmos for a while, I’m hoping I can change your mind for next spring!
Cosmos. From the Greek ‘cosmos’ which means ordered, describing the beautifully uniform shape of the flowers. Despite that image, if you are longing for the carefree, ‘wildflower garden’ look in your garden, cosmos fill the bill, because they are native to what is called ‘scrubland’ in North America, and grow through Mexico, South America and all the way to parts of Argentina.
Cosmos come in a variety of heights from about twelve inches all the way up to three or four feet. Despite that, they never look ‘heavy’ in the garden because of their delicate, fern-like leaves. Cosmos add colour, from white to mauve to delicate pink to vibrant pink and purple, even orange and burgundy shades. There are bi-colour, singles and doubles. And beauty in the garden: they also give gentle movement to a flower patch.
You knew this was coming: bees love cosmos. We plant cosmos because they are great to bring bees and other pollinators to the garden. Bees are so very, very important. We all know that one in three bites of food we eat is made possible because of bees, so we all should try to plant something that will give them what they need. We have a designated bee garden in our garden, and one of the top plants in that bee garden is cosmos.
Cosmos grow easily from seed. They bloom all season, and if we make a habit of picking blooms, they will produce even more. Cosmos may look delicate, but they are lovely cut flowers, and last longer in a vase than we might think.
They don’t require any care at all; I don’t recall reading about any pests that bother cosmos. They’re not fussy about soil, but they won’t like to have wet feet. They like full sun.
Are you sold on cosmos yet? Wait, there’s more! Cosmos “Sensation” is a much-loved favorite, but there are other interesting varieties. A dear gardening friend gave us a package of cosmos seeds that were depicted with very unique petals, each one a delicate cone shape around the yellow centre, similar to the “Double -Click” varieties. Though our friend thought the seeds might not grow, they did and were absolutely beautiful. We will look to ‘expand our cosmos’ repertoire next year!
If you are not on a mailing list for any seed catalogues, and are able to go online, request a catalogue or look at the catalogues online. It is exciting and interesting to see what’s coming for next year! Then you can check out which kind of cosmos you would like to try.
There are several great reliable stand-by flowers that deserve to be in every bee garden. Even if you have only a small patch or flowerbed, please do some homework over the winter and pick out some bee-friendly flowers, giving these valuable garden friends a restful place to stop in their travels.
I chuckled when I read this quote by Bill Veeck: “There are only two seasons – winter and baseball.” That may be true for some, but maybe gardeners have three: “winter, growing season, and baseball.” Growing season can take us from April to September—what do you think? I like it! Visit the Yorkton Hort Society at www.yorktonhort.ca; have a good week!
