After mediocre, or worse, results with coneflowers in prior years, it suddenly seems I’ve gained a magical touch. In recent years, only a lone white flowered ‘Coconut Lime’ has survived, which is remarkable since it must peek out for sunlight from beneath an ever spreading cypress.

A year ago, after repeated failures with purple coneflowers that any novice can succeed with, I planted a second white, ‘Powwow White’ (above), with the reasoning that if one white can succeed, perhaps a second will also. And, it has.

In fact, ‘Powwow’ has now spawned several vigorous seedlings, all in shades of purple. These are thriving, and in truth it is clear that I have done nothing except plant this coneflower in an ideal situation. Which is, of course, as many of the notable successes of this garden are, a complete accident since the coneflower was planted in one of very few spots open at the time.

Most remarkable, it is now the first of November and all coneflowers are again flowering. Certainly, some extraordinary care has been necessary to bring this about, you must say. But, I’ve barely been able to keep coneflowers alive in recent years. I cannot say if this late bloom is unusual or not, though I expect that unusually warm temperatures through October are the cause. Be assured, no special skill should be attributed to this event.