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If you’re a first-time gardener or have kids who want to grow flowers, it’s best to start with annuals that are easy to grow. Nothing will dampen a gardener’s enthusiasm faster than plants that ‘fail to thrive’ or just won’t even sprout.
Location is important as the plants I will suggest need at least six hours of full sunlight a day. Remember also that what is six hours in May or June may not the same as the sun exposure in August and September as it shines lower in the sky, so hills or tall trees may block the light later in the season.
Next make sure your flower bed is tilled up and all grass, weeds and rocks are removed. My suggestion is in the fall, mark out a small section for your new flower bed. I’d start with a small bed, maybe three by four foot in size. Cover the area completely with newspaper (about eight sheets thick). Soak the newspaper (to help hold it down) and then hold it down with the rocks and stones you dug up. By spring you’ll have an easy time of tilling the soil and the newspaper will have composted into the earth to help the plants. Newspapers now use soy ink, so no need to worry about that.
These days six-packs of baby plants are almost cheaper to purchase than a packet of seeds. So, I suggest you purchase plants the first year and harvest the seeds for the following years.
Plants:
Alyssum - low growing mounds of tiny white or purple flowers. These sometimes sew them selves for the following year.
Marigolds - Marigolds come in several heights, so pay attention when you choose them. They also repel pests and I often plant some among my veggies for this reason.
Salvia - These are medium height. The come in red, white and blue, so if you have a patriotic streak they are perfect for an “American” theme garden. The blue are sometimes harder to find and often aren’t blooming when they are sold, so check the name tags.
Zinnias - Zinnias come in many shapes and sizes, from some that grow only five inches tall to giants that shoot up two feet tall or more. These are the easiest to grow and are very colorful.
Cosmos - I grow some of these every year as they are very beautiful and make wonderful arrangements. The flowers are white, lavender, pink or burgundy.
Coreopsis - They are usually a deep yellow color, but there is a pink variety as well.
Sunflowers - Although we usually picture Van Gogh’s large sunflowers, they also come in shorter varieties that have many blooms on one plants. I plant several kinds as the smaller deep maroon or white varieties are great for arrangements and very prolific.
All of these plants produce seed that you can collect at the end of the season. I put mine in letter envelopes (make sure they are completely dry) and label them.
Keep the height of the plants in mind and make sure the taller ones don’t shade the shorter varieties. A flower bed against a south-facing wall is ideal as you can plant the taller sunflowers and zinnias in back and proceed forward with shorter plants.
The most important part is ‘have fun!’. Take note of which ones you like best or are most successful so you’ll have an easier time choosing plants next year.
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Author Bio Box: Pat Merewether
Experience
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