iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 19h

😂 you should have seen it in person! Blinding! 😂

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 21h

A fiery Dahlia Mardi gras, Real Jardín Botánico, Madrid, Spain. No photo editing needed, the colours just pop! It takes about 90 days after planting to #flower, typically peaking from mid-summer into autumn, and it thrives in full sun #BloomScrolling #Autumn #Garden #Gardening

A fiery orange and yellow compact dahlia with a background of dark green leaves

261174167

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 21h

They really do! They have these lush flower towers all over the city

000

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 06/10/2026

Do you remove the flowers as they pop up?

000

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

However, the botanical garden is fabulous…Real Jardín Botánico. I just visited today and the dahlias are in full bloom 🌸

010

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Right now it’s behind an inaccessible fabric net

Botanic gardens hidden behind a large white net screen

100

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

They also grow more thickly and abundantly

120

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I feel like the horticultural ministry of Madrid would not be pleased with me if I did that 😳

100

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Yes, you would have to pot them and bring them indoors

010

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

True. I was tempted to pinch them all off but I think the City of Madrid would have had an issue with me 😳

100

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I have on a previous trip but currently it’s closed to visitors for renovation.

100

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I’m in Madrid, Spain this week and am admiring the gorgeous public #floral displays here. Spotted on a #flower tower, this vibrant flowering Coleus kong (Lamiaceae), whose leaves can span 6” across, don’t need trimming, and can easily fill a pot or empty #garden space #BloomScrolling #Gardening

A vibrant green, fuchsia and red leaves coleus with pale blue blooms

241013108

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

Potentilla fruticosa 'Primrose Beauty', a popular cultivar of the shrubby cinquefoil, is a tough, deciduous small shrub known for its silky grey-green leaves and pale yellow flowers. It’s nectar-rich #flowers blossom from early spring to the first #autumn frosts #BloomScrolling #StunDay #Garden

Pale yellow five perales flowers cascading over a stone wall

544455

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

I may. I didn’t realize that such brightly coloured flowers would bloom so late in the season

010

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

An unexpected and shocking bright flash of colour today with a fuchsia and yellow #Garden cosmos I spotted on my travels! They actually thrive in poor soil. Too much rich fertilizer or rich soil causes the plants to grow tall, weak, and leafy with very few #flowers #BloomScrolling #Gardening

Bright fuchsia and yellow cosmos flowers

301214157

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 03/10/2026

Oh wow, that’s so interesting! One more reason to love them 🌸

000

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Marigold, October’s birth #flower, offers natural pest control, soil health, and pollinator support. With their cheerful visual appeal, these low-maintenance annuals bring a bright, sunny autumnal warmth to the #garden #Bloom#Scrolling #FlowersOnFriday #Autumn #Gardening

Bright orange marigolds planted in an autumn garden

1156685

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

Purple top vervain’s tiny, nectar-rich #flowers are a favorite food source for butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds. By inviting helpful predatory insects into the #garden, it acts as a natural defender against unwanted garden pests #BloomScrolling #Pollinators #FlowersOnFriday

737761

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

"Ah say, ah say, ah say now!" Yep, I think I can manage that 🐓

010

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Nooooo, its berries and leaves are toxic. Just enjoy the peanut butter aroma 🥜

130

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Luckily it flowers where pets and children can’t easily reach it

000

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Ummm...has he taken a look at his own boss lately?

000

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The vibrant #flowers cascading from the hanging baskets outside a local cafe in a lovely #autumnal display are double and semi-double #blooms of tuberous begonias (Begonia x tuberhybrida) and Petunias in shades of lemon yellow, apricot, scarlet red, and lilac #BloomScrolling #Gardening #Floral

436443

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

The Harlequin glorybower (Clerodendrum trichotomum) is a striking shrub known for its metallic blue berries, pink star-calyxes, and leaves that smell remarkably like peanut butter that attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. "You had me at peanut butter" #BloomScrolling #Flowers #Garden

1659682

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Handmaid’s Tale attire in 3, 2, 1…

0390

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Earth Echo Seeds, GrowJoy, PlantAddicts, Matt's Farm Market, Cape Gardens, Etsy, Amazon

100

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

I didn't get close enough to smell them, but now I definitely will!

010

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Actually, not all petunias are sterile. Traditional, Heirloom, Grandiflora/Multiflora, Wave and Tidal Wave garden petunias all grow from seeds and readily set seed pods which you can save and plant the following season

110

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Very true. I've seen several documentaries on how they see such a wide range of colour and it's a fascinating super power. They can also see "landing strips" to reach a flower's pollen that humans can't see

110

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

That's a great point about the colour going with everything :-)

030

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Petunia 'Black Velvet' (Petunia × atkinsiana), really not a true black, but a deep maroon colour, spotted in a neighbour's #garden last weekend. Not sure yet if it's my cup of tea, but it would be great in a spooky #Hallowe'en window box or hanging basket 🎃 #Flowers #BloomScrolling #Gardening

521662199

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

A beautiful deep #pink Queen Elizabeth #rose (rosa) in full bloom yesterday. This vigorous rose is celebrated for its extreme resistance to diseases like black spot and powdery mildew, and it can thrive in poor, neglected soils #BloomScrolling #Gardening #EnglishGarden #Flowers #Autumn #Garden

840547

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

They are not only beautiful, but a nutritional powerhouse

011

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

You can grow them in pots indoors as long as you have a sunny window

000

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Yes, they are very pot friendly and will grow prolifically in almost any area or vehicle that you give them. They are incredibly nutritious and provide high levels of vitamins and minerals

110

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

They are also an intensely nutritious superfood with high levels of Vitamins A, C, D and K, lutein, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron, zinc, copper, and manganese and glucosinolates

000

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

In warmer climates, yes, but it is not a hardy plant and can't survive cold winters

100

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Luckily, it is not considered invasive in the UK since most common types are tender and cannot survive freezing UK winters outdoors, so here, we can plant away!

001

The Cottage Garden @simonecannon.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Here in the UK, we have too much shade in the form of constantly overcast skies! :-)

120