Flashback Calendula

Where do our garden heirlooms come from? Sometimes from the hands and minds and tastes and hearts of visionaries. Heirlooms are a flashback in time, but they're not static. One of the people that future gardeners will be telling stories about is Frank Morton. For over 25 years, Frank has been selecting and crossing, discovering, and creating new open-pollinated varieties of lettuce, kale, broccoli, herbs, and flowers. Rather than seek to control, patent, or license these exciting crosses, Frank releases them to the public, encouraging what he calls "Ecological Crop Improvement." One of his creations is this colorful Flashback Calendula, so named for the splashes of deep red color on the backs of the petals. It's destined to become an heirloom of tomorrow! Select seed from your favorites and create your own artistic interpretation.

Direct sow around last spring frost or 10 weeks before first fall frost. Calendula is hardy and can stand cool weather in both spring and fall. Grows easily and self-sows. Sow in succession 2-3 weeks apart through August for continual blooms until a hard frost.

Artwork by Valeriya Volkova. In a psychedelic gouache interpretation of this multicolored calendula mix, Valeriya takes the viewer on a trippy journey into a fanciful floral hallucination. Its style is reminiscent of late-60s hippie wall art—truly a flashback!