Flowers for Mrs. Thompson

Updated 6/30/10--see below the picture...

It started last year when I had too many flowers with small, daisy-like blooms taking over a vegetable bed. I cut them and gave to our neighbor Mrs. Thompson just because. She thanked me so much, although I was just trying to get rid of something that did not belong in a veggie garden... yet putting these cute flowers in compost pile would not feel right either. Since then I gave her some flowers now and then.

Mrs. Thompson lost her husband this spring. Putting together a small bouquet and taking it to her gives me an excuse to visit and see how she is doing. Here are the flowers I gave her tonight. UPDATE: Last night I could only name three of six flowers from the bouquet and in a limited amount of time I had, could not find what I needed on the web. But after some further research this evening, here they are:

• gladiolas--came with the house & garden; I have three varieties: pink, salmon and red
• zinnia--started from seed packet 'Carnival Mix' this spring. Just started to bloom and promise to produce flowers until early fall.
• daisy--clone of a plant I bought at a nursery maybe six years ago. Grew it in my old house, then gave it to a friend before we moved. Last summer I got a division from her garden and I have my daisies again.
• blazing star (liatris spicata)--another plant left in the garden from the previous owners. Did not know it's name until today. In my mind I called it "drumstick". Latin name is noted just because it came up during the search, but I will not even try to remember it; neither the two following ones. I much rather prefer the common names.
• feverfew (Tanecetum parthenium)--self-seeding and fast spreading annual also inhabiting the garden before our time. This was the flower I had to pull out. I have to treat is as a weed sometimes, although its small daisy-like flowers are so cute. And I love that self-seeding part, too, about it. Turns out, this plant can be a powerful home remedy for migraines, but I hope I never have a need to use it.
• mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum)--got this one last August at a nursery for $6. Expensive! But it's doing very well and has spread three-fold. It has an annual look-alike, but they are two different plants.