sunflowers!

I like the look of my Sunflower row, back behind the pumpkin patch with Cosmos in between making a jaunty wavery line of bright orange faces.

But I'm not so thrilled with the type of Sunflowers I grew this year. The pack had a variety of colors, but most of the ones opening seem to be dark red, and from a distance they don't look very attractive. Also their faces are very wide, with the petals smaller around the edge; I think I like flowers with larger petals.

They do look nice up close

Here's a half-opened maroon one with a visiting bee

and a bud closed like a fist.

In other parts of my garden the Cosmos have gone nuts. There's this one giant cosmos plant that towers over everything; it has huge thick stems and broader leaves, but no flowers. I left it in hoping I'd get some colossal flowers but instead it's just a freakish huge plant.

In my daughter's garden plant, where she grew Cosmos and Green Beans, one of hers is this bigger type, too. You can see the ordinary growth pattern behind it- long thin stems, leaves spaced apart, flowers. I don't know why some have grown huge with just greenery. A freak seed? something in that patch of soil?