Michelle D! How ARE you?
it’s funny, I’ve gone back and forth on the smell thing – when I first met T. lemonii, I HATED the scent – EEWW!!! It reeked. I couldn’t take it. And then, after time went by, somehow its pungency stopped bothering me. I even found myself kind of LIKING it! Huh? WEIRD! But you are totally right – sometimes, the distinct overtones of sweaty gym socks are present when the wind whips the Tagetes foliage!

ESP, old pal!!! You inspired this post, btw, with the lovely pic of the tagetes in your garden! A couple of days later I was doing a check-up on this client’s garden and was blown away with their performance!
Michelle D. totally hit the nail on the head with the gym socks! Even though I no longer mind the smell, I have to admit it has a certain … ripeness! And it DOES tend to cling! Now that you mention ‘Cat Spray’ being an identifiable note, I might have to move back over to the “Hate The Smell” camp! ICKY!!! (Brrrrr, right knee starting to twitch – to coin a phrase from a friend!)
Cheers!

Hi Fern! It DOES look awesome against Artemisia ‘Powis Castle’, doesn’t it? And I think the hellstrip is the PERFECT place to plant a combo like that – but not when the neighbors don’t know the difference between plants and pavers. I get mean with people who step on plants! Especially when they’re planted on the HELLSTRIPS – anyone who plants those areas are donating beauty to the neighborhood! Everyone needs to mind the plants – it takes a VILLAGE, right?

Hey there Summer – great tip! I’m going to plant one in my house to check it out. If the smell is better, I might have a new fav! And if they don’t bloom at the same time, nothing wrong with having a succession of bright beautiful golden flowers!
Here in SoCal, the holidays are always orange – literally! The tagetes hit their stride, and the satsumas and clementines are ripe! Orange globes are hanging from trees in almost every backyard – nature’s answer to mercury glass balls! But these are edible! It kind of makes up for our lack of a real x-mas landscape. Kind of.
BTW, I heard the snow was falling in Houston! That must have been fun! Or did the city go crazy the way we do here when it rains? Either way, snow for the holidays always seems super special!

In any case, re: the weather, I’m always puzzled about how to decorate for the holidays in Houston. (Or for fall, for that matter.) I feel like we should be using more local plants. We do have pines and hollies, but I think I’m going to move toward centering on oranges…

CCD…One of my end of year favorites, though the jury is out for me regarding it’s rather “unique” aroma, oh and what an aroma it has. I am always a little self conscious after brushing up against it then going out in public. I swear, people catch a whiff of it on me and think that a cat has sprayed on my clothes…I can see it in their eyes, their body language. I know what they are thinking…that I am one of those eccentric people with fifty cats all over my house.

I do love how happy it looks with it’s rich golden color, and it is so dependable in the drought and the heat. I planted two more this year, like you, in a “safe” non-traffic area. It looks great up against those large silver agaves. Note to self.

Your hillside garden design looks great G, the owners must be pleased.

ESP.