Overrated for ease, underrated for beauty — Cosmos

People describe Cosmos as easy and I'd push back on that slightly. scarifying or scratching the soil before sowing for seed contact needs consistent attention and rabbits and slugs targeting young seedlings can undermine progress quickly if ignored.

Where Cosmos is genuinely underrated is the beauty. self-seeding and naturalising without annual replanting is extraordinary when you see it in person. I display it in a container with a meadow mix for a balcony and it gets comments from everyone who sees it. seed setting and dispersal in late summer is the time to really understand what this plant offers. Not for the truly neglectful gardener, but absolutely worth the attention it requires.