Flower Gardening

Flower gardening is likely the most popular form of gardening. Why do we love flowers? Flowers make us happy! Who isn’t drawn to colorful fragrant blooms? Flowers attract butterflies and birds to your garden.

You could plant rows upon rows of sunflowers for a lovely sunflower patch (the birds will love you, too!) A couple of clay pots on a patio could hold some colorful annuals. And indoors, even a cheery African violet plant in a pretty pot on your office desk qualifies as flower gardening.

Annual flowers are pretty easy to start from seed. Seed packages are usually inexpensive, maybe a few dollars per package, for a great bang for your buck. You may wonder why there are so many seeds in some packages and not so many in others. Some seeds have a better germination rate. You can order peat pots or seed started trays for planting or you can just start your seeds in pots.

If you prefer to purchase young annual plants, rather than growing from seed, you will have immediate color in your garden. Petunias, geraniums, impatiens, vinca, and marigolds are all annuals that can be planted easily for a quick “pop.” Ensure that you have placed your new plants in an area that has adequate sunlight or shade for the variety.

Petunia "Papaya" is a colorful annual with a sweet scent

I just loved visiting wildflower meadows in the Midwest. Our local State of Virginia road maintenance crews have planted “wildflower meadows” along the medians. Lacey Cosmos, daylilies, black-eyed Susans, poppies and other such plants perk up otherwise dull stretches of road. Signs mark the areas so they are not mowed until the end of the growing season. You can buy cans of wildflower seeds to sprinkle on a prepared bed.

My favorite flowers have always been fragrant roses, short-lived daylilies, and happy daisies. What are your favorites?