August 31, 2011--small marigolds

This is just a tiny pot with a mix of marigolds in it. The whole thing isn't much bigger than a tennis ball, It seemed to take forever for the marigolds to get going in the garden this year, but, in truth, I guess they're always at their best in late summer, early fall. This year I have a row of one variety, from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, that looks like shrub border it's so lush. The foliage is as useful in arrangements as the flowers. The ones in this little pot, though,came from seeds I collected last year. I was pleased to see I'd saved some seeds from red ones (and that they had come back true to color), because reds seem to make the yellows and oranges look richer (and sometimes it seems the reds revert to yellow or orange with open pollination).