Do | Zinnias Reseed

Clara stood at the edge of the flower bed, hands on her hips. She was a practical woman, a retired botanist who believed in facts over folklore. But every year, the same question tugged at her as the frost crept closer.

Then, one morning in late May, she noticed something odd. Near the back of the flower bed, where last year’s tallest zinnias had dropped their heads to the ground, a cluster of tiny green leaves was pushing through the soil. Not one or two—dozens. They looked like miniature zinnia sprouts, their first true leaves broad and eager. do zinnias reseed

She knelt in the dirt, brushed aside a bit of old mulch, and smiled. Clara stood at the edge of the flower bed, hands on her hips

Clara brushed a strand of gray hair from her face. “Nope,” she said. “They planted themselves.” Then, one morning in late May, she noticed something odd

The first hard frost came in October, turning the stalks to gray lace. Snow followed, then rain, then the long gray sleep of winter.