The Marigold Forest

I think I mentioned in a newsletter that the marigolds have grown in prolific fashion this year. I plant the corner stone bed in the back garden the same every spring. There are a few perennials which appear as expected each year: the lilies, the foxglove toward the back, coral bells and aubrietia at the front; among these are planted the annuals for predictable, long lasting color except this year the marigolds were very unpredictable! I grow them from seed for the variety, so the plants are healthy when placed into soil, nevertheless!

 Poor little periwinkles, which are usually the show cannot be seen, except for an occasional flash of magenta, forget the petunias altogether, well actually, just forget it all. It is as I said, simply a forest of marigolds. One positive result is that the bunnies have a haven. The gardener has seen more than one rabbit nest there. Actually, it could be a rabbit version of “Sleeping Beauty”! Asleep among 100 years’ growth of marigold vines!

I was at a loss at what to do with all these yellow wonders besides accommodating the bunnies. There’s dandelion wine, I wonder if marigolds turn into wine as well? But that, at best, doesn’t sound too appealing. Finally, the obvious--- who needs a cutting bed? There are now marigold bouquets in every room of my house, they are beautiful!

I cut hydrangeas, why not marigolds?