The Last Calendula Before Frost

Frost forecast for Thursday night, the first of the year. I went out this morning with the big basket and picked every open flower in the bed — two full screens of them, drying now on the chairs in the back room.

The plants look ragged and tired, the leaves spotted with mildew, as they always do by the end. But they kept flowering right to the last. I'll leave a few heads to set seed for next year; calendula self-sows so generously that I barely need to save any, but I like to.

Note for next year: sow a second batch in late June. The July sowing in this bed was the most productive by far.