Answer ... the  cosmos, a member of the daisy family, which derives its name from the Greek ‘kosmos’ meaning beautiful … and that says it all, for cosmos are so elegant with their large, vibrant, cheerful flowers in shades of white, orange, rose, pink, maroon and purple in double and single forms set in graceful, feathery foliage.    

Of the twenty six species, we usually tend to only grow three in our gardens. 

Cosmos bipinnatus, a native of Mexico, is an annual producing  pink, red, purple and white  large, long stemmed flowers.  

The Sonata Series is a dwarf  type and comes in shades of red and pink through to white. 

 ‘Picotee Double’ is a double form with medium pink petals surrounded by a contrasting deeper pink.  

Cosmos sulphureus is another annual and comes in lovely shades of yellow to red.

Cosmos atrosanguineus is a perennial with dark maroon flowers, sometimes called the black cosmos.  This plant has a distinctive chocolate-scented fragrant and is fairly frost tolerant. 

Cosmos mandarin is another popular variety with brilliant orange semi-double flowers growing to about one metre tall.

The annuals have fine, ferny leaves and produce large, showy flowers though the summer months.  

The perennials have broader leaves and smaller, sometimes scented flowers and tuberous roots resembling those of dahlias. 

Keep trimmed to promote new growth and to prolong their flowering season.   

This is done during deadheading by cutting the stems back to the first leaf.

Annuals are usually sown from seeds in spring, and perennials are usually propagated from small basal cuttings. Annuals seed freely. 

Its probably still too cold and wet to plant potatoes in most districts but you can prepare a bed for them.  

Choose a sunny position with well drained soil and  dig in  plenty of aged compost.

‘Certified seed’ potatoes are in nurseries now so choose which variety suits your area and family needs.   

There are early, mid and late season varieties to extend the harvesting period.

To plant, cut the tubers into sections about the size of golf balls with two or three strong eyes and place in furrows about 15cms deep and 45cms apart with the eyes facing upwards.  

When the plants reach 25cms tall, hill the soil up around the stems to prevent light from reaching the tubers.

September 3:  Westbury Garden Club will hold its Spring Flower Show at the Westbury Town Hall in  Lyall Street 2-4pm.  The official  opening is at 2.30pm.  A country style afternoon tea is available for $5.  Admission $2. 

September 15:  The Launceston Orchid Society will meet at the Newnham Uniting Church Hall, George Town Road, Launceston at 7pm. 

September 20:  The Australian Plant Society will meet at the Max Fry Hall on Gorge Rd, Trevallyn, Launceston  at 7.30pm.  Speaker for the evening is Dr Nigel Swarts who will talk on the Tasmanian Orchid Conservation Programme at the Royal Botanic Gardens of Tasmania.

Visitors are welcome to attend the meeting at no charge and  will be able to gain expert advice on gardening with native plants from the  friendly members over a cup of tea or coffee. For information on the APST visit www.apstasnorth.org