The sweet fragrance of Summer

Now that was my question too. I never realized the Purple Cone flower had a fragrance, and Lord knows it took ...
F O R E V E R ... for that first bloom to come forth. To be honest, I didn't realize that it was a cone flower. At the end of the 2006 growing season, I was just willing to give the rest of my un-planted seeds a chance to show me what they could do.

Hm mm, 2006? What happened in 2007? That is such a good question.

Well, the pots had little to do but flourish, and to be honest, I paid little attention to them. And by autumn, I was in the hospital; and since that's another story, a very long and involved one, which I refuse to bore you with now; I'll continue with this perfectly wonder tale.

So I just broadcast the seeds, watering them into the soil and let them go.

I did notice the breaking forth of some small and some larger seedlings. But since I was not completely sure of the specie's form or shape, I just let them grow.

This spring, as the base plant shot up the first blooms, I became excited. What seemed like eternity, for the bloom to burst forth...a milky green, but recognizable cone shaped head.

Since I couldn't remember if it would be the purple or white variety. I was thinking it was Burpee's White Swan. A few days later...oh, to my surprise and delight, the majestic Purple Cone flower.

As it developed, I leaned down to see if I could detect a scent. Oh, my, what a rich, but delicate scent. To say the least, I was so excited! You see, I've not had much luck with this perennial in the past, but now was a complete success. So much so, I have begun to harvest the seed heads for future pots next year.

In the background, you see this blond dog aptly named, Blondie! He is such a sweetie. He is so full of mischief. When born, from Red Star, he has all of Red's markings, except he's blond. He, like most of the other babies, stay right with Ma, never straying too far, for fear he might miss something.