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Among the Flowers – Cascades of Cosmos

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A hand holds an assortment of cosmos of different varieties and colors a wooded area is in the background

The butterfly is a flying flower, the flower a tethered butterfly.

-Ponce Denis Écouchard Le Brun

Cascades of Cosmos

One of the most cheerful flowers in the garden, they often grow 4-6ft high and their blooms dance in the breeze. If you top them early in the season they branch out into even bushier plants, thus the cascades of blooms by end of season. They are also beloved by pollinators I regularly finds bumble bees napping on them. It’s relatively easy to collect seeds in the fall, flowers will be hybrids of whatever varieties you have grown.

Some of my favorite cosmos varieties

  • Picotee – the outer edges of the petals are dark purple or pink and fade to white on interior
  • Seashells – unique folded petals in multiple shades
  • Double Click/Double Dutch – stacks of petals, these get weighed down by rain
  • Xanthos/Kiiro – Yellow/White
  • Apricotta/Apricot Lemonade – apricotta is overall pink/peach, whereas apricot lemonade is yellow blending into peach
  • Rubenza/Rubinato – more yellow undertones than the purple in sensation blend
  • Sensation Blend – different shades from white to pale pink to magenta with blue undertone
Cosmos of different varieties grow in raised beds along side of house. View towards front of house, lawn, and wooded area.
Cosmos of different varieties grow in raised beds along side of house. View towards raised ned with blooms and foliage. A metal planter on a concrete stand
Pink cosmos of different shades grow in raised beds along side of house. View towards front of house, lawn, and wooded area.
Cosmos of different varieties grow in raised beds along side of house. View towards stone pathway, picnic table, grass, and woods. Foggy atmosphere

Garden to Vase

Cut deep into the plant to promote stronger stem growth and strip leaves and buds on any section of the stem to be submerged in water to prolong vase life. Cut often to promote new blooms and keep the plant from going to seed too soon.

Large bouquet of flowers in an ironstone pitcher sitting on a mantle, surrounded by brass candle holders and candles. In front of a black painted wall
A hand holds an assortment of Cosmos of different varieties and colors mixed. A stone path, raised beds, and wooded area are in background

Want to find all my favorite flowers in the garden? You can find the whole series at link below
Among the Flowers

Among the Flowers – Limelight Hydrangea Hedge

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A large bouquet of hydrangea blossoms in an ironstone pitcher, sitting on a golden wood tray on a stone top dining table. Chairs and a black painted wall with artwork is in the background

Limelight hydrangeas are beloved for their giant blooms that work in both fresh and dried arrangements. They flower so profusely that even if you cut heavily it will not affect the plant’s size at peak bloom. They start a beautiful pale green and transition to pink and cream going into fall. When dried their blooms last all through winter and even into subsequent years.

Planting and Spacing

I cannot emphasize this enough with Limelights or other large panicle hydrangeas – Plan for their mature size! It is easy to see the plant as it is now and not realize how quickly it will grow but these will be a pain to dig and move so plan accordingly. We spaced ours about 8 ft apart with the last two a few feet in from the sides of the house.

Worth noting – we did use landscape fabric under mulch when we first planted to suppress the grass but removed it and the trim in later years.

Limelight hydrangeas in plastic pots from the garden center are spaced next to the side wall of a house. Grass is in the foreground
Three Limelight hydrangeas are planted in a an in ground garden bed next to the side wall of a house. Grass is in the foreground
A view looking along the side of the house with limelight hydrangeas planted along the full wall, spaced 8 ft apart. Mulch and metal edging define the line between the garden bed and grassy lawn.
A view looking at an angle along the side of the house with limelight hydrangeas planted along the full wall. The rear of the home with rain barrel and bilco entrance can also be seen.
A view looking along the side of the house with limelight hydrangeas planted along the full wall, spaced 8 ft apart. Mulch and metal edging define the line between the garden bed and grassy lawn. A downspout crosses the bed and a small fig tree in a pot sits next to the downspout
A view looking along the side of the house with limelight hydrangeas planted along the full wall. The rear of the home with rain barrel and bilco entrance can also be seen.

Here’s how much the hedge grew between year 2 and year 4. They haven’t even reached their max size and they already reach the lower portion of windows and blend together into a hedge. Consider installing some sort of support for them as they mature the giant flower heads will flop over when wet.

A view looking at an angle along the side of the house with limelight hydrangeas planted along the full wall. Growth in the first two years is shown with the plants reaching 4-5 feet tall.
A view looking at an angle along the side of the house with limelight hydrangeas planted along the full wall. Growth in the first four years is shown with the plants reaching more than 6 feet tall and partially covering the row of windows in the side of the house. A raised garden bed with flowers is in the foreground

And finally the mature the hedge after a few years and the importance of maintaining proper spacing

A view looking at an angle along the side of the house with limelight hydrangeas planted along the full wall. Full growth is shown with the plants reaching more than 6 feet tall and partially covering the row of windows in the side of the house. With size the plants flop over from the weight. A raised garden bed with flowers is in the foreground

Garden to Vase

Adding hydrangeas to your landscaping or cutting garden also means dried hydranges blooms for wreaths, and arrangements for both indoors and out.

A large bouquet of hydrangea blossoms in an ironstone pitcher, sitting on a golden wood tray on a stone top dining table. Chairs and a black painted wall with artwork is in the background with view towards living room
A large bouquet of hydrangea blossoms in an ironstone pitcher, sitting in an ironstone basin on a marble top patio table. chairs and patio furniture surround
A large bouquet of hydrangea blossoms in an ironstone pitcher, sitting on mantle above gas fireplace. surrounded by brass candle holders with white candles and decorative ceramic pumpkins. Artwork hangs behind on a black painted wall.
A large bouquet of hydrangea blossoms in an ironstone pitcher, sitting on kitchen island cabinet, sounded by pumpkins, fruit, plants, and baskets. View faces kitchen cabinets and outside windows with view to garden.

Want to learn how to make your own dried hydrangea floral wreath: DIY – Hydrangea Wreath

Want to find all my favorite flowers in the garden? You can find the whole series at link below
Among the Flowers

in the garden – bluestone garden path build

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Marking and Selecting Stone

For our bluestone garden path build we went to several local landscaping supply spots to look at the stones available. One of our considerations was whether we would be able to lift and set these stones ourselves. I also had lots of inspiration boards with smaller puzzle pieced stone and the stacking stone palettes were not ideal for this application bc they would require a lot of leveling sand and still not be flat. So we opted for these bluestone palettes which featured irregular but fairly consistent stone. And for a more consistent transition from vegetable garden gravel to grass we added a row of brick pavers.

We used measuring tape and landscaping “marking” spray paint to layout out the outline of the path in preparation for our stone being delivered.

A pallet of stacked bluestone rocks used for the garden path project
A pallet of stacked bluestone rocks used for the garden path project sits on our driveway. A view of raised garden beds, trellis, and a wooded area in. background
Brick edging along the side of the garden and path area. White stones surround raised garden beds.
Pathway is laid out using marking spray paint on the grass along the side of the deck and house.
View from above, showing the path marked out with marking paint, deck with patio furniture, and orchard with fruit trees lined up in rows.

Puzzle Pieces – Placing Stone

I started with laying out the stones, opening the palette and choosing a stone, walking it over and then as the puzzle progressed moving things as needed. At the same time we removed old landscape edging and replaced it with steel edging along where rocks and grass met to prevent grass from jumping into garden beds. We also realized the area in front of our Bilco/Basement entrance might get more worn since we store tools down there so we added an offshoot to the path in front of it.

We also added a stone patio for our picnic table. I used the straight edges of stones along the exterior of path and angled stones to create a mosaic on the interior.

I’ll make a separate post about the patio space bc that was tedious and laborious in different ways.

Stones are laid out like a puzzle on the grass fit together within the footprint of the path running past the deck, side of house, and bilco door.
Stones are laid out like a puzzle on the grass fit together within the footprint of the path running past the deck, towards the bilco door.
Stones are laid out like a puzzle on the grass fit together within the footprint of the path running around to the side of the house between raised flower beds.
View from above of stones laid out like a puzzle on the grass fit together within the footprint of the path running past the deck, side of house, and bilco door.
Stones are laid out like a puzzle on the grass fit together within the footprint of the path between raised beds on side of house.
Stones are laid out like a puzzle on the grass fit together within the footprint of the path. A green cart stands to the side
View from above of stones laid out within the footprint of the path, running by a tree, with piles of stone.
Stones are laid out on the grass in footprint of path, running between two raised garden beds
Collage of three images showing progression of path from an aerial view near back deck.

Digging It In

After letting the stones sit for a few days the grass underneath made a nice outline. Allowing me to lift them and then come through with a half moon edger to cut out the sod and insert stones. It took me about 1.5-2 weeks to lay all these stones in.

Stones sit on grass for a few days creating an outline in the grass to be dug.
Stones are dug into the ground in the pathway. A wheelbarrow is full of removed sod. Shovel and other tools are on the grass.

First Winter

The stones absorbed the heat so there was beauty to the path even on frosty or light snow mornings.

View from above. Finished path in the autumn running between flower raised beds.
View from above. Finished path in the autumn past deck. A light frost is on the ground.

You build on failure. You use it as a stepping stone. Close the door on the past. You don’t try to forget the mistakes, but you don’t dwell on it. You don’t let it have any of your energy, or any of your time, or any of your space.

Johnny Cash

Follow our journey in growing and share in our experience and lessons learned from nature with more posts from In the Garden

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