Without a doubt – zinnias belong in your vegetable garden. This year, and every year. And will they ever help it to not only look better – but grow better than ever!
When it comes to adding color, life, and usefulness to a garden, few flowers can compete with the amazing zinnia. The bright, bold blooms are more than just beautiful – they’re also a hardworking, multi-purpose flower that bring a whole slew of benefits to your garden space.
From their ability to bring in waves of pollinators and helpful insects – to their easy care and seed-saving potential, zinnias truly are a garden game-changer. We have been planting them in and around our garden for years now – and simply can’t imagine our garden at the farm not including them. And as you will see below – it’s easy to see why!
Why Zinnias Belong In Your Garden
A Burst of Color That Keeps On Giving
One of the first things anyone notices about zinnias is their incredible color. From deep reds and pinks to fiery oranges, sunny yellows and bright whites, when zinnias bloom, they bring a bold and beautiful look to any garden bed. And do they ever bloom a lot!
They’re available in so many shapes and sizes – from tall, dahlia-like blooms to smaller, compact varieties. One thing is for sure, there are plenty of options to mix and match to create a rainbow of color all season long for any garden size and shape.
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But here’s the thing – all of those gorgeous blooms don’t just add color. They also play a huge role in bringing helpful visitors to your garden, which is one of the main reasons we love growing zinnias. They truly are the perfect garden companion plant.
Bringing Pollinators Into Your Garden With Zinnias
Zinnias are absolute pollinator magnets. Every summer, our vegetable garden comes alive with butterflies, bees, hummingbirds, and even the occasional moth thanks to zinnias. It’s not just a few here and there -it’s a constant stream of movement and life as pollinators bounce from bloom to bloom.
We plant our zinnias in a few different ways. First, we sow seeds in a lot of the growing rows of our vegetable plants. But we also seed large areas around the gardens perimeter to help call all of those bees, butterflies and birds in.
The great thing is, all of those visitors aren’t just pretty to watch. They also play a vital role in helping our vegetables grow. Cucumbers, zucchini and a long list of other vegetables rely on pollinators to set fruit. And by planting zinnias nearby, we’ve seen a clear increase in our yields over the years. See our article: How To Use Companion Planting To Grow A Better Garden
The more pollinators that visit, the more produce we harvest. It’s truly a win-win that makes zinnias an essential part of our growing strategy. Especially when you consider how easy they are to plant and maintain. Even better, by saving their seeds each year – they are extremely economical!
Simple To Plant & Maintain – Another Reason Zinnias Belong In A Garden
Zinnias are one of the simplest flowers to start from seed. In fact, we plant them directly in the soil by hand. There is simply no need to grow from expensive and time consuming transplants. In fact, zinnias grow better from seed than transplants.
Once we begin to plant our tomato, pepper and other transplants, we plant the zinnia seeds right along with them. There’s no need for babying the tiny seedlings – we just sow them and let them grow. For us, sprinkling seeds every inch or so is perfect. If a few grow too close, we thin – but it’s a rarity to do so.
Even better, zinnias are tough. Deer do not like them. And, they can handle heat, drought, and all the challenges that summer throws at them. In fact, they often seem to thrive in it. With hardly a bit of care – they’ll start to bloom steadily from early summer right up to the first frost. And those blooms are perfect for bringing indoors too!
The More You Cut Zinnias, The More They Bloom
One of the most delightful things about zinnias is their “cut and come again” nature. That means the more flowers you cut, the more the plant produces. It might sound too good to be true, but we see it in action every single season. It’s just another reason zinnias belong in your garden.
Once the zinnias start blooming, we regularly go out with a pair of snips and cut long stems for arrangements. Each time we do, the plant sends out even more stems, each one producing new blooms. It’s like getting a refill on beauty every week, just for taking the time to enjoy the flowers.
This also keeps the plants tidy and encourages stronger stems and bigger blooms. It’s such an easy way to keep your garden looking great while also filling your home with the beautiful colors of summer.
Saving Seeds
Another major bonus of growing zinnias is their seed-saving potential. Once the blooms begin to fade and dry out on the stem, they form seed heads filled with next year’s flowers. All you need to do is let a few flowers fully mature on the plant, clip them off, and allow them to dry thoroughly.
Once dry, you can crumble the heads apart and collect the seeds inside. We’ve been saving our own zinnia seeds for years now, and it’s not only satisfying – it’s also incredibly economical. A single packet of seeds can turn into years of blooms if you make seed saving a habit.
It’s a great way to keep your garden going without constantly buying new supplies. Plus, by saving seeds from your healthiest, most colorful plants, you can slowly improve your own zinnia strains over time.
So, as you can see, the answer is yes – zinnias do belong in your garden – and for a long list of reasons! Happy Gardening, Jim & Mary.
Old World Garden Farms
Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. The two are frequent speakers on all things gardening and love to travel in their spare time.
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