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Tropical Series - Blooms just 3 months from sowing the seed! The flowers are huge but the plant is small -- just 2 1/2 feet high! Great for containers as well as the garden. These come in red, pink, yellow and salmon.
Nasturtium (annuals seeds)
You may think of Nasturtium as a big, rangy vine, but there are compact varieties that need no support and look terrific in hanging baskets, window boxes, tall flowerpots, and the sunny garden. Nasturtium loves heat and dry soil, and actually flowers better if given little to no fertilizer. (If you feed it, you will get lovely foliage but fewer blooms!)
Rake or dig up the top few inches of soil and sow the seeds deeply, because they need darkness to sprout. Scatter them or set them 4 to 6 inches apart, then thin the sprouts to about 8 to 12 inches apart when they begin to look crowded. And if you ever tire of looking at your Nasturtiums, just eat them! Flowers and foliage are edible, and the blooms make lovely additions to salads!
Morning Glory (annuals seeds... but this plant does not know it!)
Anyone who has ever seen Morning Glory blooming in ditches along the side of the road or in piles of dirt beside new construction knows just how easy this carefree vine is to grow! And although I think the wild varieties have their own beauty, today's new varieties are unbelievably showy, with bigger and brighter blooms than ever. The new colors are pure jewel-like. Years ago I planted one pack of seeds which contained a variety of colors. "Katie bar the door" after that. They are all over the place.
Sow the seeds after all danger of frost is past, and before you do, soak them in warm water for 24 hours. Choose a spot in sunny, loose, but fairly rich soil (add growing mix or other humus-rich mixture to the soil before planting if necessary) near a support such as a fence or trellis. As the sprouts grow, thin them to about 8 to 12 inches apart, and feed them during spring and summer.
One thing about Morning Glory is that they have a big tendency to range. So they might go where you don't want them to be. But they are beauties and they come back again and again and again even without feeding them.
Don't put them near anything you don't want them to grow up on or they will strangle the plant they attach to.
Sweet Pea (annual seeds)
A cool-season bloomer that flowers in winter in the deep south and southwest, in spring and fall everywhere else, Sweet Pea is fragrant, colorful, and lovely! It likes rich soil, so work plenty of grow mix or compost into the ground before planting.
Plant Sweet Peas as soon as the soil can be worked in spring, even if it's still very chilly. Soak the seeds for 24 hours before planting, to soften the hard seed coat. Then set them deeply into the soil, because they won't sprout without darkness. As the sprouts emerge, thin them to 8 to 12 inches apart, and make sure they have a support to climb as they are a heavy plant and need to go upward and sometimes need a little help by tying them up. They are a perennial and will give you years of joy, so make sure you put them where you want them the first time.
Hyacinth Bean (annual seeds)
This is an edible bean very popular in Asian cuisine, but I have to admit I grow mine just for the flowers and the showy purple bean pods! It springs up in no time, blooming and fruiting heavily. Find a sturdy support and let Hyacinth Bean twine!
If you've ever grown Beans before, Hyacinth Bean is cultured exactly like a Pole Bean. If you haven't, you're going to see just how easy it is (and maybe next year your garden will be full of green beans as well as flowers!). Just find a sunny spot, wait till frost is past, and sow the seeds just an inch or so apart, covering them well to keep out the critters. When they're a few inches tall, thin them to about 8 to 10 inches apart, and let them twine through fences or up trellises!
Black-Eyed Susan (annual seeds)
No American garden should be without this vine! It symbolizes the essence of the summer cottage garden, draping itself over walls, through fences, and up railings. Until just a few years ago all Black-Eyed Susan’s looked pretty similar, but suddenly the breeding exploded and now there are colors galore and lots of showy new combinations.
Wait until all danger of frost is past, then sow the seeds in sunny or lightly shaded soil that is rich and moist. If your soil is poor, work in some grow mix or compost before planting. Give it a support and watch it climb toward the sky, setting blooms every inch of the way!
White Lace Flower (annual seeds)
This is a bushy, colorful sun-lover, about 30 to 40 inches high and less than 2 feet wide. It sets clusters of blooms all over the plant in early and midsummer, and when the blooms pass, they are replaced by clusters of interesting green fruit. If you like Queen Anne's lace, which I do, you'll love White Lace Flower! These are more well-mannered and less sprawling like you get at the end of each season. These are very popular in Europe, especially Germany and the flowers arise in big, rounded clusters 3 inches wide, and are indispensable for fresh or dried arrangements. They bloom for about 2 months, followed by charming ridged green fruits held in the same big bouquets. The fruit is perfect for indoor arrangements and adds a second season of color to this hardworking plant!
To plant these seeds, rake or dig the top few inches of soil in the area to be planted. Then "broadcast" (scatter) the seeds, cover with a thin covering of more soil, and water. You're done! As the sprouts arise and become crowded, thin them to about 12 to 15 inches apart. That's it -- one of Nature's easiest and most rewarding plants!
Four o’clock (annual seeds)
Named for the time it opens its blooms (of course, if you live farther south, Four o'Clocks really need to be called Seven o’clock!), this delightful plant is perfect along pathways and near areas where you entertain in the evening. It is a simple, old-fashioned garden delight, with silken blooms dotting the entire plant over a long, long summer season.
To grow Four o’clock, rake or dig the top few inches of soil in any sunny spot and sow the seeds about 6 to 9 inches apart. When the sprouts have at least 2 sets of leaves, thin them to about 1 1/2 feet apart. Pinch them several times during growth. And at the end of the season, dig up the plant and you'll find a knobby little bulb that you can store indoors over winter and replant next spring!
So what is your excuse now! Unless you totally hate to get your hands dirty, there is none and not even that because you can wear gardening gloves.
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Author Bio Box: Arlene Wright Correll
 Resources: Excerpted from “Arlene’s Garden 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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