Constant Gardener

California Poppies I'm not sure what happened. I bought several varieties of flower seeds last fall; California Poppies, Vinca, Phlox, and Cosmos. Thought I'd get a jump on the spring and planted a large seed bed. The poppies did well, though they've now generally died back. But they grew nearly twice their average height. The Cosmos are now over four feet tall.

Cosmo Lisa brought home 3 miniature Mums last fall. I planted them in the front flowerbed, along with the Vinca, Phlox, and Geraniums, figuring they wouldn't grow much taller than their neighbors. But they are quite large plants now, each with at least 50 blooms.  There must be something in the soil. Something that doubles plant size. Even the Phlox and Vinca are twice their usual size. The mutations have ruined my landscaping plan, though - I had everything laid out according to relative maximum heights...

Zinnia The Constant Gardener part:  Everything is way too overgrown now. I spent six hours today thinning out, weeding, potting the mutant "miniature" Mums, and replacing thinned plants with new Vinca and Zinnias. The Vinca does well in this climate. Maybe this planting will last through to Fall... About The Photographs The digital photos in this post were made with a Nikon D200. Photos were resized for Web display. The other particulars are listed below. California Poppies - Nikon manual Series E 28mm 1:2.8, 1/200, f/8, ISO 200. Cosmo - Nikon AF VR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 G,  1/640, f/5.6, ISO 400.  Zinnia - Nikon AF VR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6 G, 1/100, f/14, ISO 400.