Sunday, May 26, 2013

It was her favorite flower....

It was her favorite flower....

This is a picture of the Cosmos, my Mom's favorite flower...which says a lot in her garden filled with so many other beautiful flowers. I never knew why she loved this one so much, when she had so many other...s that were far more beautiful and more fragrant. And then one day she told me why.

She said the word Cosmos in Greek is translated as, beautiful and ornamental. The Greeks called it the "love flower." It is the flower of October. The month that I was born. They believed this flower illustrated one's deepest feelings of love, and when it was handed to someone it meant, "walk with me hand in hand for the rest of our days and share this beautiful life."

In the spring and summer when the Cosmos were in bloom, my Mom would go to her garden and pick the most beautiful pink Cosmos she could find and put it by my bedside so that it was the first thing I saw when I woke up in the morning. And when I was older I understood.

My garden is full of them now, in every color. I always cut them fresh when I honor her memory at the cemetery. I am certain that she looks down and smiles.

How to Grow Cosmos

Cosmos are annuals that need to be planted by seed or by small plants each spring. One of the easiest to plant seeds in the world are Cosmos seeds. They will reseed themselves and come up again the following year in places where winters are mild. They usually grow to about 18 inches tall, but I have some that grow as high as 4 feet. The secret is to remove the dead flowers as often as you can so that they will continue to bloom through October or until the first frost. Do not over fertilize or over water, as this reduces the flower production. These plants are tolerant to drought, but make sure you water them during a long dry spell.

Photo: From my garden Spring, 2013
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