Zinnias are the happiest flower on Earth.
I planted them in my garden every year when the kids were little. They brightened my entire summer and gave me vases filled with beautiful color year after year. They are hardy, easy to grow, and prolific.
When my daughter was four, she had her own beautiful zinnia garden in an old tire that was sunk into the ground in the backyard of the parsonage. That year, we also put in a huge vegetable garden, and an L-shaped flower garden that had cosmos, nicotiana, globe amaranth, and three heights of zinnias. I was pregnant with my son that year and it felt like the garden had been inspired by my womb. Lush and fecund. I loved to watch the cosmos move on the air and the fragrance of the nicotiana carried on the breeze. Loved to cut and arrange all the colorful zinnias.
When I moved here, ground hogs ate every zinnia and cosmos I planted. I haven't planted them since. But while running errands with my mom a few months ago, we found gorgeous zinnia plants at a local hardware store. I think that we both remembered the zinnias of my childhood and happier times that were punctuated by vases of the colorful blossoms. They are such a simple pleasure. We bought several plants and put them into a garden box she has in the backyard. They've been blooming ever since, profusely, and every time I visit they welcome me and make me smile.
As we've been talking about it, Mom has said that her sweet and cheerful zinnias make her happy. Really bring her joy. She's been cutting them and filling vases, little colorful touches around the house. I love that we share an affinity for these flowers, and I suppose she was the one who introduced us and encouraged the love affair.
They've become my happy flower again.
A Hundred Days of Happiness is a daily writing practice that opens a landscape of discovery into my own human experience.
Katherine Cartwright has been blogging since 2012, and each year brings new wonders. She asks big questions of the small things in life.
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