5 Steady “Old Faithful” Things I Still Love Growing
I’m 9 solid years into this farming thing, and much longer at growing a simple backyard garden. By now, I know what I love and don’t love. Here are 5 steady “old faithful” things I still love growing and will probably grow forever and ever, amen.
Italian large-leaf basil
This Italian girl’s love for basil runs so deeply that I wrote an entire guide on how to grow basil and cook with it. (Get it immediately when you join my email list, or if you’re already on the list and missed it, contact me and I’ll send it to you!)
But I’m specifically in love with Italian Large-Leaf Basil. Because what’s better than a basil leaf? A basil leaf as big as your palm, that’s what.
It’s the middle of January as I type this, and I’m already calculating how many months it’ll be until I have fresh basil in my hands again. In the meantime, I’ll survive on the multiple jars of dried basil leaves I have in my spice cabinet - so I can crumble them up and add them to pasta, soups, and stir-fries. This luxurious Purple Basil too!
I don’t care if it’s one of the easiest flowers to grow - I will grow zinnias for the rest of my life, in all the colors of the rainbow. 🌈 Zinnias are practically fool-proof - you can even just scatter seeds in prepared soil, and they will grow!
I plant my giant zinnias in early spring (mid-late April) into holes in landscape fabric rows - specifically the Benary’s Giant Mix and Giant Dahlia Zinnias. These photos below show their size - on the left, that pink zinnia is one of the largest I’ve ever grown!
I don’t even bother to trellis them anymore - I just let them do what they will. Make sure your soil is good and healthy, and a spring planting will take you all the way through to the first fall frost. If you do another fresh zinnia planting in mid-summer, even better, and you’ll have new, vibrant zinnias growing in your garden while the early spring ones begin to fade.
Zinnias are the cornerstone of every bouquet I make on the farm and a favorite in our Build-A-Bouquet station. They last for a week+ in vases as long as you keep the water full and fresh. They are beloved by all pollinators and birds and bring inordinate amounts of butterflies to the garden. LOVE YOU FOREVER, ZINNIAS.
Unicorn zinnias
For some extra whimsy, try Unicorn Zinnias! 🦄 These are smaller zinnias but with otherworldly rainbow colors. If you’re looking for Unicorn Zinnias, you can check online sites like Etsy where growers save their seeds and sell them directly. I originally got my seeds from Floret, but they have a limited supply and are already closed for the upcoming season.
Cosmos flowers
Oh my heart. Cosmos are just magical. The papery petals are actually really strong, and there’s nothing like a cosmos meadow in the early morning or golden hour sun shines through them. Pollinators love them, and their tall height makes for a great border area or variation to your landscape.
I had to make myself stop uploading photos because I have SO MANY of Cosmos. They’re just so photogenic.
I even added a full page spread of our Cosmos meadow in my book, The Kindred Life (get your copy here if you haven’t already!)
Have I convinced you to grow Cosmos yet? 🌸 If not, that’s okay - I’m planning to grow several kinds this year and sell them by the bucket!
Cosmos & Zinnias mix in the wildflower field
Striped German tomatoes are a glorious golden yellow color, are good producers, and they’re my favorite for tomato/mayo sandwiches on sourdough. The end.
BRANCHING SUNFLOWERS
Branching sunflowers from Johnny’s Seeds are the ones I order every year, because they keep producing blooms for several months as long as you keep cutting them. This is my kinda sunflower. I don’t have time or desire to plant flowers that produce one single bloom in a season and then look sad and droopy until you cut them down.
The above left photo is one of my favorite photos from the 2025 summer growing season. Is it because I’m perfectly posed or polished? UM, NO. It’s a quick shot in the garden, literally in the middle of harvesting, where I’m so sweaty that my hair is soaked. I love it because I look authentically happy. This is how I usually feel when I’m holding sunflowers (and have since 1995 when I chose sunflowers for my high school graduation dress and as the design theme for my college freshman dorm room ☺️🌻).
One more favorite pic from the 2025 summer growing season…our little farmhouse among the sunflowers. If my 90’s self only knew she’d live here one day, it would have bl🌻wn her mind.
