A year of growing Cosmos — detailed seasonal notes

Here are my notes from twelve months of growing Cosmos:

Spring: peak flowering from early to midsummer. This was the moment that confirmed the whole venture. I focused on avoiding any fertiliser which would favour grasses over flowers during this period which set up the rest of the year.

exceptional wildlife value for bees, butterflies, and hoverflies developed steadily through the warmer months. rabbits and slugs targeting young seedlings appeared in summer and required prompt treatment. The plant in a wildlife pond margin planting performed better than I'd expected for the position. Overall: a rewarding year. The investment of attention is paid back generously.