"I shall be telling this with a sigh, somewhere ages and ages hence," ~ Robert Frost

Another year and I find myself wishing--again-- I'd planted more annuals. I say the very same thing every year but somehow just don't learn from my mistakes. Mid August and most of my perennials are about bloomed out and ready to rest and gather strength before the bitter winter sets in. Annuals have no such schedule programed into their subconscious. They are determined to live life to the fullest. Party like there's no tomorrow;)

I'm dedicating this post to my tithonia, Fiesta del sol, which I'm madly in love with. This is one annual I actually followed through and planted.

In the past I've grown tithonia Torch which is a big, five foot tall plant that always lists and then breaks whenever the wind blows. There simply are not enough stakes to keep Torch upright and its brittle stems in one piece through an Illinois summer.

Fiesta del sol is a much studier plant, two feet tall, compact and dense. Try as they may, summer thunderstorms with 40-mph winds have been unable to break Fiesta or even tip her a little;)

The blooms are two plus inches and a dark, bright orange, almost red. Normally monarch butterflies love tithonia blooms but this year there have been no butterfly visitors. Of course, it's not Fiesta's fault, there just aren't many monarchs in the area this summer.

Next year there will be many more Fiestas planted in my garden. Very, very easy to start from seed. So far no pests on my plants. The leaves are perfect, without a speck of disease and no insect holes.

Went with sister, Vicki, to see the movie Julie and Julia. We both enjoyed it a great deal.

The screenplay was adapted from Julia Child's autobiography, but the idea for the movie came from a blog by Julie Powell. Unhappy with her job and her new home in Queens, Julie P. began to post online about her attempts to cook all 524 recipes from Child's book, Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Julia Child was such a larger than life character (pun intended). It was a pleasure to glimpse her exuberant personality and learn a little about her life. You'll also come away wondering how in the world they made Meryl Streep six foot two inches tall.



A fellow blogger called the movie a chick-flick. Maybe. I'd say it's a foodie flick. The very next day I began my search for a used copy of Julia Child's cookbook. Go see the movie and prepare to be inspired to whip up some French cuisine when you get home.

Mexican Sunflowers, non stop bloom and a butterfly magnet

Another annual I'm excited about trying this year.

(Fiesta del Sol from Park Seeds)

The Mexican sunflower or Tithonia is a plant I've tried to grow for years with limited success. It isn't really a difficult plant needing very little water, average soil, and thriving in heat and humidity. In my garden I always grew the tall 4-6 foot variety Torch. Just as the plant began its spectacular bloom display a summer thunderstorm would blow in and snap the brittle stems in a dozen places. The rest of the summer I'd be left with misshapen, stubby plants that continued bloom but lost stems in every wind.

This year I' m hopeful again. There are a couple smaller varieties on the market that are under 3-feet in height. Fiesta Del Sol the AAS award winning dwarf vaieity produces heavily from mid summer till frost on 28-inch plants. There aren't many flowers Monarch butterflies love more than Tithonia. If that isn't reason enough to try it, deer and insects do not like it, and it isn't bothered by disease. One of those rare win-win situations in the garden world.

I wish my garden had an area sheltered from high winds. Tithonia Torch would make an impressive spectical grouped. I had tried to grow it in a group of three as a screen but the entire group ended up a lopsided mess of broken branches.

It was easy to find seeds locally for both the dwarf and the taller vaireties. I'm really looking forward to trying Fiesta Del Sol. Tithonia doesn't tolerate frost and isn't fond of cool springs. It thrives in full sun and hot summers.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone. May you each find that rainbow that leads you to a pot of gold.