Easy to grow with pleasing flowers, cosmos are a rightly popular annual. With a boss of gold in the centre and pretty petals spaced all around, their typical daisy blooms are exactly like the flowers children draw, which perhaps contributes to their subconscious appeal. Nowadays the flower shapes available are vastly increased – not only are there the charming single-flowered cultivars, but there are also varieties with quilled, fluted petals, while the ‘cupcakes’ strain has fused-together flowers reminiscent of a porcelain teacup.
Plant Heritage National Collection holder Jonathan Sheppard is attuned to the differences within the genus, having grown as many cultivars of as he could find over the past two years. That he’s now a collection holder is
