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I always find spaces that need color and I always like annuals that do well with little care. Plus I always like a plant that can be grown from seed in my green house or sown directly into the ground after the last frost. So let’s have a big hand for the little marigold as it is all of the above and much, much more because even the blackest thumb rarely kills off a marigold!
You can plant them in containers, in your window box, in your garden, as a border plant or acres of them as long as they are planted in the sun and are watered at least once a week.
The marigold is one of nature’s most cheerful annuals and if you buy some in your garden center a marigold should be chosen with the most leaves and the least open buds or flowers. This way when you plant them into the ground they will give most of their energy into developing a good root system as opposed to blooming. They will bloom so do not worry about that but they do need a good root system to get nice and bushy or to give you better flowers. Matter of fact it will help if you pinch off any early blooms so they can direct their energy into their root system.
As I said they need full sun and they need fertile soil and they need to be planted about eight inches apart. Organic gardeners usually work in plenty of compost at planting time so they do not have to fertilize later. Once planted spread about three inches of mulch around your plants so you will be able to conserve water.
If you are sowing marigold seeds directly into the ground just cover them with about ¼ inch of soil, gently water and thin out your seedlings so the plants you want to grow are about 8 inches apart for your small marigolds and up to 18 inches apart for your large ones.
It is said that marigolds originated in Central America and most likely Mexico and were first discovered by the Portuguese in Central America in the 16th century and were brought back to South Asia. India and South Asia use marigolds in just every part of their daily life welcoming the red and bright orange of this flower. The Aztecs used it as a magical flower and they developed larger and larger varieties. Since 1920 many breeders of Marigold in the United States have developed hundreds of varieties among the African and American Marigolds and even the French Marigolds.
Often Marigolds were shunned for their odor which many growers did not like, but many of today’s varieties have had the odor bred out of them. Their colors run from off white to cream to yellow to orange to bright red and some have blooms as big as 5 inches in diameter.
Frankly I do not mind their pungent fragrance because they tend to keep insects at bay and I often plant them among my tomato plants.
Take a minute this winter when you select your Marigold seeds for planting and check out the seed companies on the internet and you may find some really lovely and interesting Marigolds to plant in your spring garden. You will be truly rewarded.
“Tread the Earth Lightly” and in the meantime… May your day be filled with…Peace, Light and Love,
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Author Bio Box: Arlene Wright Correll
 For more gardening or cooking information click http://www.learn-america.com/
To see Arlene’s Gardens and to read her gardening diaries and to take a walk through her pictorial garden or click on Arlene’s Books where you can download or buy her gardening & cook books, including her new book, “The ABC’s of Wine and Beer Making”. Many of her articles written for Greenthumbarticles have paintings she has created of the subject and they can be seen at her “How to Do It” site. Remember to check out her artwork, especially of her fruits and vegetables. Many of her paintings are sold internationally and many of her works of art have been reproduced on note cards, post cards and other functional items and you can get Giclee prints of her artwork starting as low as $11.89 Arlene says, “All my royalties from the sale of my books, art, etc. go to the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and I thank you for visiting my sites.”
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