My short zinnias are starting to open. I planted mostly mixes this year, and so far the flowers popping open in my flowerbeds are all heavily weighted toward one color or another which is a little frustrating (e.g four of the 5 plants in a clump are all yellow making the red one look like a mistake).
In the front flower boxes and pots, however, I have a nice mix of colors.
But there’s a different issue in the front yard. The goldfinches have already started plucking off the flower petals. (!) Usually they wait until mid-July to start defacing my zinnias. Because of the timing (they nest later than most songbirds that visit my backyard), I’m wondering if perhaps they use the petals as nesting material?
This year I’m growing Short Stuff, Preciosa and Zesty series zinnias.