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Gardening is hard work and anyone who says it isn’t must know something I don’t know. However, it is good exercise, frustrating, gratifying and many other things.
I love flowers and hate weeding so over the years I have tried to find some easy, colorful and reseeding flowers for my gardens. I like lots of bright jewel-like flowers such as poppies, cornflowers, hollyhocks and Love-in-a-mist and these are self seeding flowers that are easy to grow.
When you think about flowers just think about perennials and annuals. Perennials come back every year and annuals have to be planted each year. We also should include bi-annuals which come back every other year.
As an artist, I tend to think of the flowers in my garden as I would the colors on my palette. These seeds as they grow and bloom become my brush strokes in my gardens.
Foxglove is a biannual that forms the rosettes the first year and the purple flower spike the second year. This grows best in full sun to part shade. It also prefers nitrogen rich soil.
Blooms June - September
Height 2 - 4 feet
Sowing depth surface sow
Germination 2 - 4 weeks
I like Black eyed Susan as it is a very hardy perennial with yellow petals and a black domed center. Nothing stops it. This grows best in full sun. It is a very easy to grow flower and just lovely in your garden. It also is a nice cutting flower.
Blooms June- August
Height 2-3 feet
Sowing depth 1/16 inch
Germination 1-4 weeks.
Another easy to grow, favorite of mine is the Shirley corn poppy. It is just like the Flanders field poppy but in a mix of colors. The blooms are 3 to 4 inches across with red, white and pink flowers and it looks great when planted in mass.
Blooms March - July
Height 2 - 2 ½ feet
Sowing depth surface sow
Germination 1 - 4 weeks
Indian Spring Hollyhocks bloom with mostly single flowers in shades of rose, pink and white. These old-fashioned flowers grow 5 to 7 feet tall and are an excellent backdrop for shorter flowers in informal planting beds. Although a perennial, Indian Spring can bloom the first year if sown early. They can also be planted all summer long to bloom early the next year. Hollyhocks love the sun and heat. Space 4 inches apart to start with and thin to 2 feet apart once they have grown to 2 feet tall.
Blooms March- September.
Height 5-7 feet
Sowing depth 1/8 inch
Germination 2-4 weeks.
Bachelor’s button is an annual with white, pink, red, and blue flowers and the one I especially like is the dwarf polka dot mix that grows to a height of 24 to 30 inches. These are my all time favorite. These flowers work great in flower arrangements or as a dried flower.
Blooms March - June
Height 2- 3 feet
Sowing depth 1/8 inch
Germination 1 - 3 weeks
Orange sulphur cosmos loves the heat and is drought tolerant and this is a very easy flower to grow. Not only do I love the color as it really jazzes up the garden, it also attracts birds and butterflies. Plus it is also great as a cut flower and it reseeds in warmer climates.
Blooms July - September
Height 1 - 2 feet
Sowing depth 1/16 inch
Germination 1 - 4 weeks
Dames rocket is a perennial with lilac-purple flowers. This flower gives off a wonderful aroma in the evening. It prefers full sun to partial shade. I plant mine on the edge of the rose arbor around my house and it looks very nice. Usually these seeds can not be shipped to Colorado.
Blooms May - August
Height2- 3 feet
Sowing depth 1/16 inch
Germination 3 - 4 weeks
Siberian wallflower is a perennial in warm climates and a biannual in colder climates. You should plant these seeds in part shade in warmer climates and in the sun in the cooler climates. This has many bunches of bright orange flowers on short bushy plants and the nice thing about it is it can withstand moist or dry conditions once established.
Blooms April - June
Height 1 - 1 ½ feet
Sowing depth 1/16 inch
Germination 2 - 4 weeks
White Yarrow is another wonderful perennial with clusters of white flowers and fern like foliage. Yarrow can handle just about anything. However, it requires full sun. Mixing in a patch of white yarrow here and there seems to spice up the color scheme in my garden and it will in yours also.
Blooms May - November
Height 1 - 3 feet
Sowing depth surface sow
Germination 3 - 6 weeks
Mexican Hat is a drought tolerant perennial. The flowers are bright red outlined with yellow with a long black cone in the center. They prefer full sun. This is also a great cut flower which will last up to 10 days. These are fun flowers that just perk up any garden.
Blooms June - September
Height 2-3 feet
Sowing depth 1/16 inch
Germination 2-5 weeks
Zinnias are my all time favorite annual flower as they come in all heights and are just brilliant in all kinds of colors.
Zinnia Lilliput mix is an annual that blooms quickly. Usually in 6 to 8 weeks after planting. It blooms until frost. These flowers bloom in yellow, white, pink, red, and orange. Zinnias are the easiest flower in the world to grow in my personal opinion.
Blooms May - frost
Height 1 ½- 2 feet
Sowing depth 1/8 inch
Germination 1 - 3 weeks
Red corn poppy is another great annual. It has 2- 4 inch bright red flowers with almost black centers. Also know as Flanders fields poppy. It grows best in full sun to partial shade.
Blooms March- July
Height 2- 2 ½ feet
Sowing depth surface sow
Germination 1-4 weeks.
Love in the mist is an annual that will re seed every year on its own. Just plant the seeds in full sun and in well drained soil. White flowers are great for cut flowers and dried flowers. The seed pods look like little watermelons where the flower used to be.
Blooms June - August
Height 1 ½- 2 feet
Sowing depth 1/16 inch
Germination 1 - 3 weeks
Zinnia California giant mix is an annual with flowers nearly 5 inches across. These flowers are red, yellow, purple, white, and pink. As I have said before these plants are easy to grow and reach 3 feet in height. They make a great back border. Zinnias of any kind make great cut flowers and they will continue to produce if you keep dead heading them.
Blooms May - frost
Height 2 - 3 feet
Sowing depth ¼ inch
Germination 1 - 3 weeks
Candytuft is an annual with white, pink, and or lilac flowers that bloom most of the summer and into the fall. Theses work great as a border or in pots so if you are a container gardener, then this one is for you. It is also a good cut flower and attracts birds, bees and butterflies.
Blooms June - September
Height 1 - 1 ½ feet
Sowing depth 1/16 inch
Germination 3 - 4 weeks
Gloriosa daisy is an annual or short lived perennial. It has huge 4 to 9 inch yellow flowers with a brownish red tint on the petals as you get closer to the center cone of the flower. This flower prefers full sun and is heat and drought tolerant. Nothing stops it! You will find that as cut flowers they will last up to 2 weeks.
Blooms June - September
Height 2 - 3 feet
Sowing depth 1/16 inch
Germination 1 - 4 weeks
Here are some planting tips for the Morning glory, perennial lupine and Moonflower seeds. Soak the seeds in water for 24 hours just before you plant them ¼ inch (morning glory and lupine) or 3/8 inch (moonflower) deep. Keep the soil moist until they are up a couple of inches and after that water when the topsoil looks dry. A good thing to remember about morning glories is to never put them where they can get at your other plants or they will chock them out. They will come back year after year, looking beautiful every morning, but they will raise havoc with any thing they can snake out to reach and twist their vines too. Think about where you are putting them. I put some in the wrong place and I spend a great deal of time taking them off my roses etc. They are coming back each year in the darndest places.
Blanket Flower seeds need sunlight to germinate so do not cover the Blanket Flower seeds completely with soil.
Seeds like Shirley corn poppy, red corn poppy, and foxglove and baby snapdragon are very small and should be sown on the surface of the soil. You can then roll them with a roller or walk on them to make sure they come in good contact with the soil. No additional soil on top of them is needed. Water gently so they don’t get washed away. I sometimes cover mine with burlap to prevent this from happening from the rain. Remove the burlap as soon as they sprout.
Rocket larkspur seeds need darkness to germinate. Make sure you cover the rocket larkspur seeds with 1/8 inch of soil. If you are starting some in pots you can cover them with a piece of wood also.
Here are some planting tips for your seeds. To plant the seeds start by taking out whatever weeds and unwanted vegetation you have in the area. It is easier before you plant. Use roundup or pick them by hand. (Get all the roots) Remember, like flowers there are annual and perennial weeds. It is best to plant your seeds when the average temperature is 60 to 70 and just before the rainy season, usually spring in most of the country.
Don’t till up the ground deeper than an inch if you can help it because it will bring up dormant weed seeds. Then put one pack of seeds in a container with about ¼ cup of sand. (Use 6 to 8 cups of sand for each pound of wildflower mix).This way you will be able to see where you are spreading them and get a larger area covered.
Keep sand and seeds mixed well at all times so they don’t become separated. Throw out the seed by hand going over the area twice in two different directions. Keep mixing the seeds and sand. When you are done rake the seeds in lightly and walk over the area so the seeds come in good contact with the soil. You don’t want the seed to go down in the soil any deeper than they are thick. There will be a lot of seeds on the surface. This is normal. Or you can plant them one at a time by hand. Then just keep the area moist until the plants come up.
Once the seeds germinate don’t let the soil dry out before the plants come up a couple of inches or they will die. After the seeds have sprouted with leaves water them when they ground looks dry.
Once you have gotten the gardening bug you may want to think towards other things. Remember to keep your thinking simple. In the fall as the leaves start to fall it seems a shame to waste them and homemade leaf mould makes such great compost for the garden.
You can make a small amount in a black plastic sack or a large amount in a compost heap depending on your circumstances.
So if you are busy sweeping up leaves look upon them as free excellent compost for your garden. Should you not have any leaves, just find your neighbors with trees and watch as they blow them, bag them and put them out to their curb for trash pick up. Ask them if you may them. When they say yes, remember them each summer with a bouquet of beautiful flowers from you garden. They will enjoy them and be rewarded for sharing their leaves with you. You might also want to volunteer to sweep up for them in return for the leaves, especially if your neighbor is an older person.
Here is a recipe for making mulch of small amounts of leaves
First you need some black plastic waste bin liners
Next make some small holes in the bottom of the bin liners – taking care you don’t make them too big (or cut yourself) – a small sharp object such as a knitting needle or skewer is fine.
Sweep up your leaves and pop them in your bag – you can do this over several days or weeks. When the bag is full add three pints of water and allow it to drain through.
Pack the leaves down tightly and tie bag top
Leave your bags in a corner somewhere out of the way for a year. Make sure they are somewhere safe – not anywhere a friend or partner will mistake them for rubbish - and put them out with the trash!
When you open them you will have an excellent mulch to put round your prize perennials. You can also use it to enrich your soil if you dig it in. I much prefer to use it as mulch one year and then it seeps into the soil without me having to dig it in!
If you can manage to leave your bags for two years the leaves will have rotted down so much that you will be able to use it as potting compost – not bad for free pickings!
Another leaf mould tip is you can add some grass cuttings to your leaves – add a good thick layer of leaves then a thin layer of grass cuttings then repeat twice.
If you have a shredder then you can shred the leaves before putting them in the bags – this will speed up the whole process.
So here you have the good start of an easy garden to grow. I would recommend any of these flowers for a good starter garden. Lay out a play where you want your garden to be. It would be prudent to draw it on paper and pencil in the places with the flowers names written on those areas.
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Author Bio Box: Arlene Wright Correll
 Resources: Excerpted from “Food For Thought Series” by Arlene Wright-Correll
For more gardening or cooking information click http://www.learn-america.com/ and click on Arlene’s Books you can download or buy my gardening & cook books. All my royalties from the sale of my books go to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and we thank you for your attention to this site.
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