My South Florida garden, being perverse as usual, produced Zinnias for Christmas. I have been trying to figure out when to start seed for a couple of years and bought some fancy seed from Floret to try this fall. The seeds were Macarenia Zinnias – the red and gold flowers are Macarenias, most of the rest came up from the same seed pack and are solid pinks, apricots and oranges. I actually like those better, the Macarenias look like weird Marigolds to me.
The small tree is a European Cypress, I forwent a big Christmas tree as my younger greyhound, Fiona has been suffering from dietary indiscretions. First, I caught her trying to eat a CD?! They are very crunchy. And then she gorged herself on Cabbage Palm berries resulting in a trip to the vet and a special diet for almost two weeks. I make an excellent canine chef and have cooked vats of rice, pumpkin and turkey for her. The food and medicine has her running laps in the backyard again. Here she is reclining on the porch.
Some close ups of the Zinnias. I am not sure what they are at this point. Mixed Christmas surprise Zinnias. The vase is a sugar bowl; the white flowers from Juba Bush (Iresine diffusa) and Asparagus Fern greenery that just floats around in my garden until I cut it for flower arrangements.
The back side of the vase, more surprises. I planted some other Zinnia seeds – 4 cells out of about 20.
My older, more discreet greyhound, Alan Alda – under a past Christmas tree.
Thanks to Cathy, at http://www.ramblinginthegarden.wordpress.com for hosting this weekly event. Visit her blog to find links to vases from all over the world.
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah to all.
The Shrub Queen 
I am always amazed at what a dog will eat. Have a great Christmas.
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Miss Grant I hope you and the family have a Merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year. Keep these cool vases coming.
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Bored dogs equal trouble! Always leaves me fantasizing about a canine treadmill to dispel the excess energy. 😉
Lovely gifts from the garden – zinnias at Christmas, so nice! Have a great Christmas, A!
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Zinnias at Christmas – whatever next?! It’s always interesting to experiment with sowing times and it seems to have paid off with these, to a degree. Best wishes for the season
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I think the next thing will be Celosia at New Years! The flowers should be interesting.
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Look forward to seeing them 😁
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Lovely scene Queen. Fiona has issues. I hope Alan can set good examples for her to follow.
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Thanks, Flower. She indeed has issues, plastic issues,
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Poor Fiona! I wonder what it was about a CD that attracted her. In any case, I’m glad she’s feeling better and that the older, wiser Alan didn’t follow her example. That you can make zinnias bloom at this time of year speaks volumes about the differences in our sunny climes. Best wishes for a very happy holiday, Amelia!
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Well, Fiona tried to eat another piece of plastic today, I think she is just goofy. The Zinnias are as well. They flower but are kind of dwarfed, from day length, my guess. Hope you have a smorgasboard of a holiday!!
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Christmas zinnias, now there’s exotic. Years ago I had a Great Dane and one year for a whole Christmas period his poo was tastefully decorated with bits of tinsel and glittery stuff. All very festive. Happy Christmas Amy.
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The Zinnias are oddly small. I don’t know why. The poo was not tastefully decorated! Happy Christmas, Liz.
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So excited to see your zinnias today! Have a happy holiday season!
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Thank you, Susie. Happy Holidays to you. I cut them all back by creating the vase, should be interesting to see what happens next.
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That should encourage them to produce more.
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Zinnias at Christmas is great, whatever the colour! Happy Christmas to you and your doggies and I hope the younger one will get through this phase of eating strange things soon! (My first dog – a Cocker Spaniel – ate just about everything from socks to Scrabble letters!)
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Thank you and Happy Christmas to you.
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Love Fiona and Alan! Zinnias in December…and January too, I bet! How can your heart not sing?
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Thanks, they would love you too! Yes, more Zinnias are on the way. Singing.
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Oh . . . they do look like weird marigolds. They also look too summery for winter.
European cypress still makes me laugh. They are cultivars that have been bred primarily from species of Chamaecyparis that are endemic to the Eastern and (to a lesser degree) Western edges of North America. They are about as European as the African flame bush from New Zealand (with purple bloom – not orange) is African.
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