Zinnia and sunflowers, an over-the-top amount of both.
The garden had to be planted and maintained by a neighbor. This is not a city planting.
Finaly getting closer I expected to see stems cut down...
By the person who planted it or some passerby who felt a right to the blossoms. But that was not the case.
Such riches, stems and stems and stems....
A few of the sunflowers had been cut down, whether by nature or the gardener.
The odd thing is they all had this foil band around them.
What does it do? What does it mean?
I wish I knew who to thank for this glorious floral celebration, their generosity has definitely benefited the surrounding community.
All material © 2009-2016 by Loree Bohl for danger garden. Unauthorized reproduction prohibited and just plain rude.
There is nothing nice than a garden planted for others to enjoy.
ReplyDeleteSo true!
DeleteI love how colorful this planting is. I wonder if someone just threw huge handfuls of seeds there, or if they started them elsewhere and planted them out. The foil might be some kind of bug deterrent? Thanks for sharing it with us.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, turns out the foil is an ant deterrent -- and since the environment seems a little less than ideal I'm guessing they started them elsewhere? But who knows...
DeleteFoil as ant deterrent is one thing I read. I don't know why you'd care about ants on your sunflowers. Beautiful planting though! (Around here sunflowers get pecked by finches well before the seeds are ripe.)
ReplyDeleteThat's what I was thinking...what problem do the ants cause?
DeleteCheery planting and I love the house behind in the first shot. Did we pass this together once when we went nursery hopping together? The foil is actually a complex antenna to pick up signals from the mother ship.
ReplyDeleteWe may have driven past on our way back from Portland Nursery in August - but this is also near where Patricia used to live, so it may look familiar because of that. You did attend the swap at her old house didn't you?
DeleteNo, I didn't attent the swap at Patricias old house but I remember you pointing out the neighborhood when we drove through.
DeleteGreat idea. It's so nice that someone took the time to have such a pretty display for the neighborhood. Since most of my flowers are native and wilt the moment they're cut, I've occasionally thought of posting small flower vignettes from the garden instead of actually cutting them for a vase.
ReplyDeleteI think that's a great idea Shirley, plus I am a fan of arrangements done entirely from foliage too.
DeleteI'm thinking the foil is some sort of rodent deterrent. I've seen mice scaling my coneflowers to get the seeds, so perhaps the slippery, sharp foil prevents small rodents from being able to scamper up to the seed heads?
ReplyDeleteJust a thought.
That's a definite possibility. Others are saying ant deterrent as well.
DeleteWhat a great bit of community gardening. I wonder if it needed watering.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, quite a bit I'm sure. Our summers are extremely dry and it's surrounded by asphalt on all sides! There was a hose curled up on one end, no doubt connected to another coming from the home of the nearby caretaker.
DeleteThat's one amazing display! The stop sign behind it neatly provided height perspective.
ReplyDeleteGood point! Glad I got it in a couple of the images.
DeleteHooray for neighborhood flowers!
ReplyDeleteFor all to enjoy!
DeleteOh, that is wonderful, isn't it?! I'm thinking maybe the foil is to deter the birds? Or squirrels or chipmunks? What a beautiful view they're sharing with the neighborhood at that corner.
ReplyDeleteI thought maybe birds too, but wouldn't it be left to move in the wind? Sort of a "flag"?
DeleteOur neighbor, Virgil, has created a dense Zinnia border like this along the roadside for two years running. I'm guessing it is about 1 and 1/2 city blocks long. It's a cheery thing to pass by every day. I've been watching for him, to lavish thanks and pump him for info on his approach to achieve such success. Glad you have such a generous person in your neighborhood too.
ReplyDelete