I'd Do It Again

I've bought pretty cinerarias before of course, who can resist their cheery brightness in the middle of winter, but I've never put them in the ground. I always buy them and slip them into decorative pots on the porch or deck where they bloom for months and then get abandoned into the compost pile when their days of glory are over. This year I actually put one in the ground at the front of a flower bed that is the home of mostly roses and iris that are pretty bare during the cool months. It was planted in the beginning of January and it is still amazing today and I expect it to hold on to that bloom for a few more weeks. It is an eye catcher in an otherwise green vista this time of year. I kind of doubt it will over-summer and handle the dry season, but I have no problem replacing it if needed next winter. It is a shade plant but seems to flourish in our mild winter sun but probably would stand a better chance in a shadier spot in the garden.