Zinnias and Ten on the Tenth

I have written often here at White Spray Paint about my love of zinnias and the connection they create to my farming heritage and my father,

my wonderful friends and the Sisterhood of the Traveling Zinnia Seeds, and to who I am.

If I may be so bold, I want that for YOU.

To that end, below is a simple, direct invitation in honor of our (Ten on the Tenth celebration today) printed here just for you:

You are cordially invited to join the

Sisterhood of the Traveling Zinnia Seeds

Why?  Because all women need a sisterhood and gardening is the best common ground for that.

The guidelines are simple and the cost is low:)

You do not have to have gardening experience.

All you have to do is say I'm in so I can imagine you planting your zinnias this spring .

How do you proceed? It is so simple:)

Step I.       

Buy a packet(s) of zinnia seeds. I buy my seeds at Home Depot, Lowe’s, Wal Mart, and at any small town local nursery or hardware store I drive past.

Small town hardware stores are the best. I love shopping for seeds!  This is usually the point I realize I bought too many packets, and I share them with friends.

Step 2.      

Read the planting information on the back of the packet to determine the best time to plant. If I am ever unsure,  I call  the county extension office and ask them questions (they may be screening my calls at this point).

Step 3.

Find the sunniest area of your yard and prepare your soil. I enjoy planting in raised beds because I need to be able to mow the grass around the bed.

For preparing the soil in a raised bed, I remove as much debris and grass as I physically can, till the soil with my trusty hoe, cover the area with newspaper or light cardboard that I have dampened, and then pour in bags of gardening soil.

Note:  I am not a gardening purist. I am a slinger.  

This imperfect method has worked for me , and I can physically do this myself.

Step 4.

With my index finger or the end of a trowel, I draw in furrows.  If you have a raised bed, make sure you draw the furrow the direction of your bed that is shortest.

You need to be able to reach the zinnias in the middle of the bed.

Step 5.

I sprinkle in the seeds by hand and once dropped, I spread them even further apart. I tend to overplant spaces.

Step 6.

Cover the seeds with soil by moving your hand gently back and forth over the planted row.

Step 7.

Lightly water what you have planted. Do not over water.

Step 8.

Start buying small vases at the flea market to share bouquets of your zinnias with your extended Sisterhood of the Traveling Zinnia Seeds friends and family.

This is a very forgiving kind of gardening, and I promise you will be successful.

Why did I name this the Sisterhood of the Traveling Zinnia Seeds? 

Because after my father passed away in 2015, I took the seeds from my fathers’ dried zinnias that were left in his garden and shared them with friends:)

Today I am virtually sharing them with YOU.

Are you in?  I hope so, and I hope you will tell me all about it as the spring months progress.

 My El Paso Zinnias, Fall 2017

*****

Using Spring as our topic this month, the following bloggers are all sharing spring inspiration today at 

Ten on the Tenth.

As always, visit everyone for wonderful projects and ideas.

    The Purple Hydrangea
At Home With Jemma The Bookdocks Blog Exquisitely Unremarkable
Pandora's Box White Spray Paint
Patina and Paint
Poofing the Pillows
Cottage at the Crossroads
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