| | A Guide to Buying Flowers for Your Garden Flowers are a great addition to any garden or yard?s decor. They add color, fragrance, and elegance in what might be to an otherwise, boring and drab home. Nothing can offer quite visual flavor as much as a great floral arrangement, especially a mixtu re of different colors. Annuals and perennials can do just that for your garden.
Large or small, formal or information, bold or subdued; whatever your have in mind for your garden, annuals can fit pleasantly into the plan. Bright, exciting colors make your garden appear smaller than it actually is. Cool tones, which are more soothing to the eye, will make your garden seem larger. While, a mixed spring border pops with bright, warm tones of red, yellow, and orange.
Planning and setting up a diverse flower garden may initially seem like a daunting task, but learning a few flower basics will set you firmly on the path to joy and beauty. Here are some tips to choosing and planting annuals and perennials this summer:
Annuals
- Remember that annuals grow, bloom, set seed and then die in one growing season, which typically runs from spring to fall. In milder climates, some annuals grow and bloom through the winter. Popular examples of annual are petunias, marigolds and zinnias. They generally produce maximum bang for the buck, but require seasonal replacement.
- Choose cool-season annuals, such as pansies and Iceland poppies, for spring and fall displays.
- Select warm-season annuals, such as marigolds and impatiens, for flowering from late spring into fall.
- You can purchase seeds from catalogs or nursery racks, or buy them as seedlings sold in flats or small packs at nurseries. Starting from seed is less expensive but takes longer and requires a little more work and TLC. Some annuals grow better when sown as seeds directly in the ground; others, such as begonias and petunias, take a discouragingly long time to grow from seed. Start your own seedlings at home for inexpensive and satisfying garden additions.
- Give a plant what it needs in terms of sun or shade. Most annuals prefer full sun. A few, such as impatiens and begonias, do better in the shade.
- Make sure you choose strong nursery seedlings. Examine them for healthy green leaves just sprouting out, and avoid seedlings with yellow leaves. Select plants with mostly unopened flowers. Avoid any that are root-bound, with wads of brown roots coming out the bottom of the container.
Perennials
- You should choose perennials if you want a plant that will live for several years or more. Some die back to the ground in winter and reappear in the spring. Others may remain green all year round in milder climates.
- You can easily shop for perennials nearly year-round, generally in nursery containers or small pots. Starting perennials from seed takes time, and some seeds germinate only with special care, so these can be an advanced plant for new gardeners. During late fall, winter and early spring, many perennials, such as phlox, display no top growth, so it looks like you're buying a pot full of soil.
- Try to plant most perennials in early spring or early fall. The earlier in the growing season, the smaller the container and the less expensive the plant will be. Perennials in four inch pots may look small, but they are actually easier to establish in the garden than larger plants.
- Neighborhood nurseries and garden centers may offer limited variety. Check out specialty perennial dealers with mail-order or direct-mail catalogs. Specialty perennials include daylilies, geraniums and salvias.
- Look for signs of vigor in a nursery plant. Healthy green leaves just coming out, either right by the soil or on a branch. Avoid plants with yellow, limp leaves or those that are root-bound.
- Buy perennials in bloom if you want to be sure of the color.
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