Old-fashioned cosmos are breathtaking along Georgia highways

The Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) is teaching all of us about an old floral favorite that needs to be brought back to the garden: cosmos. I see them along Interstate 16 starting around mile marker 98 going north, and the “naturescape,” if you will, is amazing.

If you have ever wondered, “Do those specialty license plates pay off?” The answer is yes, and of course, on display. What is even more exciting is that the future is bright for these types of floral plantings. GDOT is revved up on planting pollinators along the highway system, and this should have everyone doing the happy dance.

caes.uga.edu

Oddly, this is coinciding with the best butterfly year I have ever seen at the Coastal Georgia Botanical Gardens at the Historic Bamboo Farm in Savannah, Georgia. Here we are in early November and the butterflies are uncountable and bees are everywhere. So while some may be stirring the pot for gloom and doom, it is exciting in Georgia.

But let’s go back to the cosmos. Should you somehow be thinking that I am referring to orange cosmos, I am instead touting the Cosmos bipinnatus. This cosmos is native to Mexico and is related to coreopsis and rudbeckias. It is the quintessential cottage garden flower and brings in the pollinators.

Click here to read the entire article at University of Georgia