Bachelor’s Button (Centaurea cyanus) is a blue flower that looks like miniature carnations and is an easy way to start growing flowers from seeds. Petunias are the easiest and fastest flowers to grow from seed, taking up to 2-11 hours to germinate. Marigolds are known for their bright yellow color and hardiness zones 2-11. Cosmos are colorful and cheerful flowers that fill the garden with cheer.
There are twelve easy flowers to grow from seed, including sweet peas, sunflowers, and zinnias. These flowers are not only easy to grow but also some of the most cheerful and hardy. Some of the easiest flowers to grow from seed include alyssum, zinnias, poppies, and foxgloves.
Some easy annuals to grow from seed include marigold, bachelor’s button, castor bean, cleome, cosms, purple hacinth bean, larkspur, morning glory, allium, penstemon, hardy ice plant, primrose, sweet willows, hollyhock, Lance-leaved coreopsis, blue wood, aster, penstemon digitalis, and Bradbury’s.
In summary, starting with seeds can be a great way to start growing flowers, and these twelve easy flowers are some of the most cheerful and hardy options available. By following these tips and choosing the right flowers, gardeners can create beautiful and rewarding gardens.
📹 10 of the Easiest Annual Flowers to Start From Seed! 🌸🌻🌿 // Garden Answer
MAILING ADDRESSGarden Answer 580 S Oregon St Ontario, Oregon 97914.
What seeds grow the fastest and easiest?
The Home Garden Seed Association has ranked beans, peas, and pumpkins among the top ten easiest plants to grow from seed. Other plants included are cucumbers, zinnias, cosmos, sunflowers, lettuce, radishes, and squash. Pumpkins have been successful in growing from seeds scattered by squirrels after fruit destruction, and Achillea reseeds itself around the yard. The list includes cucumbers, zinnias, cosmos, sunflowers, lettuce, radishes, and squash. The author encourages others to share their favorite plants from seed before spring arrives.
What flower takes the shortest time to grow?
The California Poppy, a state flower of California, is a beautiful flower known for its orange or yellow hues. Other varieties include Cosmos, Flax, Nasturtium, Sunflower, and Zinnia. These flowers can be grown from seeds and bloom by mid-summer, adding color to gardens and making beautiful floral arrangements. The plant is considered an annual flower but is often treated as a perennial due to its self-seeding ability. It prefers dry soil conditions and is drought-tolerant once established.
Once established, there is no need to fertilize them. The blossoms remain closed when it is too cloudy or the sun is down. They bloom from April through June. To ensure successful growth, keep the seed moist until it germinates, which usually takes around two weeks after planting.
What is the best seed for a beginner?
Beginner-friendly garden seeds are quick to germinate, easy to handle, and not too picky about temperature. Crops like radishes, lettuce, spinach, sunflowers, beans, peas, pumpkins, corn, and garlic are easy to grow from seed. To track the expected germination date, record the sowing date and check the “estimated days to germination” on the seed packet. If seeds don’t sprout within the right time frame, adjust soil, seed depth, light, moisture, or temperature.
Beginners often make mistakes when seeding, such as planting too deep or shallow, too early or late, and giving them too much or too little water. Finding a happy medium ensures happy baby plants ready to grow.
Which seed will grow in 2 days?
Pak Choy Green is a rapidly germinating seed with a high germination rate, capable of germinating within a period of 2-3 days following sowing. It demonstrates tolerance to high humidity environments and exhibits a rapid growth rate. The optimal harvesting period is 6-8 weeks, although this may vary depending on local weather conditions, care, and fertilizers, with a potential extension to 40-60 days.
What is the easiest flower to keep alive?
Zinnias are a low-maintenance, sun-loving plant that attracts butterflies and comes in various colors and sizes. These easy-to-grow flowers are perfect for those with limited gardening experience. Impatiens, a resilient annual flower, thrive in both shaded and sunny conditions but can be sensitive to water scarcity. Regular watering is essential, especially in warmer conditions. Petunias, heat-tolerant with minimal watering requirements, offer a wide variety of colorful flowers without complex care.
They prefer five to six hours of full sun per day but don’t require constant watering. To avoid root rot, allow the soil surface to dry between watering sessions. For the best blooms, add fertilizer to the soil every few weeks.
How long do flowers take to grow from seed?
Annual flowers typically take about 95 days from seed to flower, with some blooming in 60-70 days when grown under spring conditions and tolerant of light frost. To start seeds indoors in late winter, use cloches and start seeds indoors under lights. Sweet Alyssum, a low-growing plant favorite of hoverflies, is perfect for softening bed edges or walkways. Calendula, a pot marigold, has a long history of use as a skin-healing herb or a saffron substitute in cooking. These fast-growing flowers have broader leaves, filling quickly and can even be used as a flowering cover crop. Cloches can help ease the plants’ adjustment to outdoor conditions.
What flower is hardest to grow?
The orchid, a plant renowned for its resilience, is notoriously challenging to cultivate.
What is the fastest growing flower seed?
Garden experts at GardenBuildingsDirect. co. uk have identified the 7 fastest growing flower seeds, including Nigella, poppies, sunflowers, sweet pea, and marigolds. These plants grow steadily in cool spring weather and bloom in early summer. The California poppies can grow from seed to bloom in only 60 days, while sunflowers, sweet peas, and marigolds take only a fraction of the time to germinate and bloom compared to more challenging plants.
These seeds are essential for novice gardeners who may not have the time to spend hours pruning and preening their backyards. The team encourages novice gardeners to choose these seeds to enjoy a blooming backyard this summer.
Which seed grows fast in 3 days?
Pak Choy Green is a rapidly germinating seed with a high germination rate, capable of germinating within a period of 2-3 days following sowing. It demonstrates tolerance to high humidity environments and exhibits a rapid growth rate. The optimal harvesting period is 6-8 weeks, although this may vary depending on local weather conditions, care, and fertilizers, with a potential extension to 40-60 days.
📹 15 Annual flowers you should grow from seeds. This is why!
Grow from seeds. Do you like to grow beautiful colourful flowers beds filled with tons of everblooming annual flowers? Me too.
My dad was an avid zinnia, aster, mum, cosmos and marigold grower in his organic veggie garden, and when he died in August in New Jersey 1985, I did the flowers for his funeral home showing from his garden. Baskets of zinnias and marigolds, it was so touching to everyone that his own flowers were with him, keeping him company in the funeral chapel … makes me tear up.just telling y’all. Yikes most of the seeds are unavailable, sold out or discontinued!!😥
You are such a Godsend! I smile the whole article each time. Since my husband died two and a half years ago, I have had to downsize from a wonderful green house, and an acre to play with. Now, a new day dawns, and hopefully, a new garden. You and your abundant grounds, enthusiasm, and just plain prettiness like your garden, with the eagerness to share, has been medicinal….showering the hope that is in every seed, or corm for a future joy. God bless you, and your “ministry” abundantly !
Hi, Laura: I love these types of articles because it helps me plan for spring. One of the challenges I have is fitting everything into my garden that I want to try. Have you ever thought of showing how a small area of a flower garden can be utilized to its fullest, from early spring until fall using seeds, perennials and plants? I would sure help us gardeners get some ideas on how to try out different flowers for an entire season when there is limited space. Thank you!
Thanks for this list of flowers. My sister works with special needs children, the school has a garden and the teachers and helpers show the children how to care for plants, vegetables and flowers. My sister won’t be able to start their little plot until January (Southern California, very warm in winter), so I got a small greenhouse and started some seeds so she can have an early start. By the time they go on vacation in May, they can take bouquets of flowers to their mothers. Already gave her some Espoma Starter Fertilizer!😆
Hi, thank you for consolidating these into one article. Last spring my 10 year old granddaughter found several varieties at the dollar store and poked seeds here and there in my veggie garden. We had zennias, cosmos, etc. Coming up through out the garden. The pollinators loved them. The tomato cages and cattle panel helped support them. Beautiful!
Laura I want to tell you what a joy it is to watch your articles each morning. We are in Zone 6b here in southeastern Pennsylvania. I am home all day due to a disability but am was looking for something to do outside. My father-in-law started a garden in our backyard 40+ years ago and faithfully fertilized it and took wonderful care of it. Since his passing, we have move into the house and my husband has utilized a very small portion of the garden to grow onions, lettuce and peppers. This coming year, I am going to get him to rototill the other end of beautiful ground and I am going to attempt to plant a flower garden that I can enjoy. Thank you so much for sharing knowledge, inspiration and joy of everything gardening. Hoping it can get me outside more & enjoying what the good Lord has given us!
Such a good list! This year with the budget being tight I decided to gift my family (who are spread across the country) with flower seeds. I researched (googled) their growing zones and selected appropriate varieties. Additionally I added a note with tips (mostly from GA) and the reasons I chose that flower for them. The color was one of their favorites or drought resistance, sometimes it was planting space or sun exposure. My brother in AZ got Mexican sunflower seeds. The seeds and note were slipped into this year’s Christmas card. They were all so excited and 2022 we will be sharing our gardens together.
Funny story…my family has all taken notice of my newfound love and knowledge of gardening over the last several months. (Of course I’ve learned SO much from this website!) When I refer to Laura, I always say Laura Garden. It just stuck. Everyone knows who I’m talking about. After months, my mom said one day, ” It’s really funny that her last name is Garden and she’s a gardener.” 🤣
Who else can captivate me but Laura just talking for 35 minutes!!! You are a wealth of information and so fun to listen to! I am going to try calendula next spring. I’m in CT so we don’t have the dry climate as you do but I believe we are the same zone 6. Which is interesting how different the climate can be. Love love love your website!
Thanks for this list! I live in southern Manitoba, Canada, (zone 3) with a short growing season and terribly cold winters, so we usually buy transplants, to get blooms by the fall. However, Cosmos, cornflower, annual Candytuft all come up faithfully from the previous year’s seeds. Also, Viola and dwarf Snapdragon, Sweet Columbine, pinks and mallow will self-seed under my hostas.
I love love love your website Laura. I’ve been following you for years now but it seems that this passed year I couldn’t wait for you to drop a article to sit down and watch it. I am obsessed!!! …And I also LOVE how Russell always finds you wherever you are. I love how he is always in your articles. I always look forward to see him it’s like “the Russell show” 😂🤣😂🤣 ❤️❤️❤️❤️
Good morning garden family! Yes Laura I need any and all flower information I hate winter and looking at my yard right now is depressing! Question have you ever grown tropical plants if not why? I’ve always pictured some tropical hibiscus on your property somewhere… love you and all the Garden fam! P.S. You and your family and articles have gotten me through some of my darkest days so if you ever wonder if you make a difference in the world you do!
Just had to comment, probably someone else has said this before but, I was happy to see workers in the background on this article. Your success as a YouTuber, and expanding your gardens, has created jobs in your community which is huge! Plus, it gives you time to make more articles for all of us–and time with your family. Kudos! And, keep up the excellent work.
boy, did i need this!! the weather’s been yucky, so i focused on Christmas – i’m ready for Christmas but now sort of in a slump, lol… and bingo! here’s your article, now i’m excited to go through my seeds and think about what and where i want to plant spring/summer flowers 🙂 ❤ i am so ready to get outside, cut everything back (soon, just be patient, soon, lol) and start prepping for spring!! 🙂 ❤ thanks for the article!! 🙂 ❤
You inspired me to plant flowers from seed for the first time this year Laura! As well as agastache, echinacea, sunflowers and gomphrena, I have a bed of zinnias which were meant to simply fill a space but quickly became my favourite – they’re so colourful and cheerful! However I’d been too scared to cut them for vases in case I ended up with no flowers outside, but not now!
If you do other articles in tandem with other southern gardeners (Jenny -Creekside, Linda Vater, etc), I’d love to see a top ten seeds/plants article where you each share three that do well in your climate, but not necessarily so great in the other’s and then 4 that do equally well in both climates. It has been wonderful being able to learn so much from your content and I am grateful you have shared not just your gardens, but also your family with us!
Great info. I live in a zone 5/6 in New England. TOTALLY different environment than you. Wet, rainy spring. No New Englander worth their weight would plant an annual outside (except veggies) before Memorial day. Nice to know some flower seeds can go in early too. BTW I put sweet peas in my garden once to grow over an arbor. It was so invasive. I pulled it for years. Don’t know what variety it was but it definitely self sowed.
My husband thinks I’m spending these January days just lying around or sitting in my favorite chair. What he doesn’t know is that I am learning all about flowers. I have done vegetable and fruit gardening for 50 years. I also have started many vegetables from seed in my conservatory under grow lights. Now I’m hooked on Laura and other sites and so enjoying it. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone at Johnny’s knows my address by heart. Before 2021 I had never heard of them. Thank you Laura!
Thank you for great info in your articles. Enjoy the weekly recap with both of your input. We have 3 generations that watch with all size yards. I like that we take ideas and scale to our landscape. My mom has a farm, I have a suburb yard and our daughter has a town yard. We appreciate all your work and your enthusiasm about each project!
I’m brand new to gardening and really like perusal your show. I’m learning so much and you are a very charming and pleasant person to listen to. I wish I had space to grow things like you. I’m jumping right in to flowers, Dalias, Sunflowers, Begonias and Sweet Peas. Oh, and some wildflowers and milkweed for the Monarch Butterflies that nest near where I live. The only thing I have had luck growing before now was sweet potatoes, which are so easy.
One of my favorite cut flowers is Celosia Chief Red Flame. Easy to grow, long vase life, unique texture that mixes well with many flowers, particularly nice with Zinnia Queen orange lime.. I usually give the young plants a pinch do the stems become sturdier. Purchased my seeds from Botanical Interests.
I like to scatter cosmo and zinnia seeds in my perennial flower bed in the spring so when there is a blooming lull later in the season, these annuals bring much needed color. You have inspired me to look for different varieties and colors for a fresh new look! Especially looking forward to trying sweet peas in the garden. Thank you for this list!
this past season i did zinnia and sunflowers for the first time – as much as loved the zinnia, i didn’t love the powdery mildew that eventually found them (NC7b). this past season i learned so much as a first year gardener! the biggest revelation – READ the back of the seed packet! my favorite annual was marigolds – i saved a ton of seeds from the ones i grew.
this will be my 3rd year growing a raised bed veggie garden and I will try some of the flowers you speak of. Last year I planted Zinnia plants for the first time and fell in love with them…. it was a tall variety that grew large bloosoms. I tried to save the seeds but might have harvested them too soon from your article description. I will test a few in paper towels to see if they germinate and if they do will sow them in my veg garden again after frost. Great information….. thank you Laua
I grew my first flowers from seed this past season. I got some sunflower seeds from a friend that grows sunflowers and a zinnia packet from The Dollar General. I had a bare spot in the middle of my yard that I literally threw the seeds in and scratched around with my hands. I kept them watered and they bloomed! They were absolutely beautiful and very easy.
Okay, now I am excited about seeding these plants! Thank you so much for reinvigorating my gardeners gene! I have been a gardener for many years but have moved so much and lived over seas for years and did not have time to work in the yard, except to weed it when I was home. I appreciate so much the details and encouragement you give all of us and also the challenge for us to do something different with each new planting and even how to use our time wiser with zoning for maintenance. Thank you again and have a blessed Christmas.
I’m learning so much from you! We recently moved to the lake and, having recently retired also, I’m finding time to garden…YEA! I haven’t done much through the years and living in the Ozarks by the forest, I’m dodging deer and wildlife! However, it’s all good and will be a fun adventure to discover what I can produce! Thanks so much!
Excellent topic!! Last year, I started growing all types of Marigolds to repel the squirrels. It worked so well that I am increasing the quantity and variety, this year. I am including plants from the Narcissus genus, including Alliums. I will definitely add some of the ones you suggested. Thanks a bunch!! 🌻🌼🏵🌾☘
I have been loving and growing flower gardens for years. I thought this was a wonderful article for those young gardeners who do not know where to start and do not have the equipment that gardeners purchase over time. Grow lights etc. I also loved seeing the variety types that you enjoy. New varieties are always interesting. I have grown bachelor buttons for decades but am now excited to try out the varieties you suggested! Cosmos too! Fun! These varieties are also great for colder zones. I am in a zone 3 in Canada and am often envious of what you can plant. Thanks Laura. Merry Christmas to you and your family! 💐❤️🇨🇦
Xanthos and apricot lemonade were my favorite cosmos this year but check out Rubenza as well. Pro cut sunflowers white nite and white lite go with everything. I grew Tithonia for the first time and underestimated the final size it would be. There is also a yellow with green center. Flowers are great to grow in a garden landscape, for cut flowers and also added to a veggie garden to bring in pollinators!
Thank you so much for this list, Laura! I am going to try to direct sow my sweet peas too – just to see what happens! Just a quick note: I have found (and I think Laura has talked about this before) that calendulas attract aphids in my garden (NY, zone 5), which can be good and bad. A bummer if I want to harvest the calendulas for arrangements or salves, but also good because they act as a host plant and the aphids leave my other plants alone!
I have a tall bearded iris garden in different varieties of purple. Iris is my favourite flower but they don’t last very long so I havent known what to plant with them. Ive tried several perennials like daisies and phlox and some others but I don’t like having perrenials mixed in. Ive decided this year to mix in Zinnias in my iris garden. It’s my first time growing zinnias and im super excited. I got a mix of orangey, pink and yellows and also some zinderella peach. I think these colours will really compliment the purple of the irises. Started winter sowing them and cant wait to see how it turns out 😂😊. I like the thought of doing annuals in with my irises because I can change things up and as the irises grow I can do less annuals.
I was just thinking of you as I premoistened my seed starting mix for indoor grow light starts I never thought I’d ever attempt. I have learned SO much from you, as have my mom and sister, and I have come to rely on your steady warm presence and comforting “hey guys!” as I have become immersed in my garden to get through the many monumental challenges of the pandemic. It occurred to me that you are a masterful teacher of millions of people. As an educator that blew my mind a little. You inspire and enable us to be connected to the land and our food, as well as joy in everyday things. I feel genuine heartfelt gratitude for you and your sweet family. Thank you.
Awesome informative article. Your articles give me so much inspiration and very informative. I also like the fact that while perusal you it feels as though I am literally sitting with you having a morning tea and talking about gardening. Absolutely love it. Thanks for the amazing articles and have a great day.
I love zinnias too! I grow Benary’s Giant in almost all the colors plus three Queeny series (Red Lime, Lime Orange and Lemon Peach). I like to let folks know here in San Diego/Zone 10a that the Zinderella do not produce double blooms here. I learned about this in the Floret Flowers blog and so I’ve stopped buying Zinderella Lilac and Peach and have opened up more space for other flowers. I’m glad to see some cosmos appreciation here. I see a lot of the cut flower farmers say they’re not growing cosmos anymore because of the difficulty in harvesting. I love the Rubenza cosmos. In sunflowers I love the ProCut White Lite. The ProCut are so amazing! I plant them six inches apart so the flowers don’t get too big for vases. I also like the Starburst Greenburst fluffy kinds. Pollenless sunflowers have been a game changer for me as I have so many allergies. For sweet peas, here in San Diego we plant them in October. They grow incredible roots over the winter and then bloom in March to May and then it’s too warm and they die off. Thanks for your article and guidance here! I’d add rudbeckia and scabiosa. Here in 10a, they’re perennials and add so much to bouquets.
So thankful for you and what you do, lady! Look how much you crammed into one article. Worth every minute. Thank you! What an inspiration. I’m a former Oregonian (salem) never gardened. Now a north Texan (zone 8a) and 2nd year gardener. There is so much to try!! Eeeeee!! Cheers and blessings on your awesome work!
This is so helpful. I haven’t even started to plant this years seeds and I already have a long list of seeds for next year. I might have a problem….. In zone 9 we plant sweet peas in the fall for spring blooms. They usually do not last through our hot summer. Glad to know about the Mammoth series. I have Mammoth mix planted already on a trellis in the backyard. I look forward to seeing how the do.
Laura, thanks for a great list of annuals. My wife and I are planning our flower and vegetable gardens now so that we can be prepared for spring planting. We planted Zinnias for the first time last year and enjoyed them and provided cut flowers for home and friends as host/hostess gifts when we visited for event. Looking forward to putting seed to dirt and perusal the plants start shooting up! Thanks for all you do to help us have great looking gardens!
Great list Laura, I just bought seeds at our local Home Depot in Northern Alberta, Canada(zone 3). This is the earliest I’ve ever seen seed pkgs, usually in January. It was such a nice surprise…it stopped in my tracks while I was Christmas shopping. Lol Of course, I had to buy a few pkgs, I picked up some white Marigolds! I’ve never seen white before, I’m soooo excited to try them. Looking forward to trying all sorts, I tried Brussel Sprouts last year as a companion planting with Calendula to try and repel aphids from my Snowball trees. They were a fun experiment, will definitely try them again next year but much earlier. They only produced little Brussel sprouts but was a very interesting plant.
I find I can easily watch your articles a couple of times! So much good information! Thanks for the great articles. You can never have enough flowers and information about them. I would love to see you yard in late summer with so many flowers in bloom!😍 I would be in heaven growing all the different flowers you grow, absolute heaven!
Thank you for sharing with us! I am gardening in 7b and my go-to annuals are sunnies, cosmos, zinnias, and marigolds. I have found them to be super easy to direct sow. This year, I am trying different varieties of annuals. I am so glad to have found this article because I was stressing over transplanting! I don’t have the proper equipment to start transplants (grow lights, mat, greenhouse, etc). It is nice to know that some of the varieties that indicate “transplant recommended” can actually be direct seeded! I thoroughly enjoy your content and have learned so much from your experience. Please keep on sharing 💕
Love your program! I have learned so much in the year I’ve been perusal! Self-watering pots have improved my flower hobby! Can’t wait to try winter sowing. I’ve gardened for over 50 years! My grandmother let us help transplant seedlings in her greenhouse when I was 9 years old. My mother also cherished the growing seasons & shared her love of raising produce & flowers in our acre yard. I have the joy in retirement of living in my childhood home & have inherited her daffodil & lily collections. I’ve added to the beds & find your articles very helpful! Today’s article on new annuals was exciting! I planted Supertunia Vista Bubblegum for the past two years in abundant array! May change it up this year & add some of those new variety!
I love perusal your articles, and all the great information you give! I too love gardening and especially growing flowers! It’s a lot of fun learning from someone that doesn’t just teach you about plants, but loves what she’s teaching! Its great to see someone else that gets excited about about plants like I do! You make me smile💖😁
Thank you for that. Like you said winter is the time to think about the plantings for next year. And it’s very helpful for me since my garden is a blank canvas and sewing seeds will help fill in the spaces without having to spend a fortune on all new plants. Also since we’re renting we might not want to invest too much in a garden that isn’t ours. ❤️
I love and heartily recommend Marigold Strawberry Blonde. Last year Burpee was out of them (crop failure?) but this year they are back in the catalogue, also in John Scheeper’s Kitchen Garden Seeds. I love the variable colors–love the rosy glow to the blooms and how a single plant can have several shades on it.
Just found your website and love it I don’t have any flower’s but I love to look at other peoples flower beds Yours is amazing do you grow all these to sell or just for your own personal use also you have a great way of speaking I’ve tried to watch other garden website’s because I enjoy looking at how people can make beautiful beds but I loose interest in what their saying I have been going back to look at your older article’s and you can keep my interest to the end I saw all the houses when you were showing your garden I hope they can’t build any closer to you your flowers are beautiful and I can’t imagine the amount of time and work you put into them and it shows
Hey Laura! Thanks for all of the education and entertainment. I also live in the high desert. We are in northeastern California. We have finally installed our irrigation and hope to start more serious landscaping in the spring. I would like to find a ground cover for a steep hillside but, because the area is not very accessible, it must crowd out weeds. Any suggestions? While we will have drip for the hillside, bonus points for plants that will tolerate overhead water from sprinklers as well.
Laura, I LOVED this article. I learned so much about the flower varieties and also loved your tips on when to cut them for arrangements and their vase-life. Here in Minnesota, we often edge our gardens and flowerbeds with marigolds to keep the rabbits, squirrels and deer from grazing on the rest of the plants. They don’t like the smell. Allium and lavender work as wells.
Darn! A lot of varieties of cosmos are discontinued and several other seed varieties are not available until April .. My mind like yours is already into spring and summer planting 🌸🌺 I had ordered all my seeds,bulbs,and tubers etc.. months ago, but perusal your article and seeing a few varieties you ordered that I didn’t made me want to try them ! 🤗 Will definitely be on the notice when available list 👍 Can’t wait to see all your beautiful blooms 💕
I also put zinnias at the top of my easiest to grow seeds! My dad and grandmother would just deadhead and toss the spent flower heads back into the garden bed. *Question: I see people plant seeds amongst other mid to tall size plants and wonder how the seedlings are getting enough sun. My stems often appear twisted once they get past 3-5″. I do have a tree near the bed, but it does get sun most of the day, 10+hrs. Is this a light issue or possibly something else?
Laura, a great article just took the guess work out of my spring seed order. Trying to work within snow bird months in FL and then start planting in MN in May. Since I can’t transport seedlings from FL due to car space my new go to is direct sow my cut flower garden. Very happy to have this list. 🌻🌼 Thank you
How appropriate that you are talking about seeds on the same day that I received my seed catalogue. Looking forward to spending many hours thumbing through the pages and daydreaming about warmer spring weather. Thank you for your suggestions. Wishing you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a happy and healthy New Year. 💕
Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. You’re so good in front of the camera and easy to follow and I enjoy your whole family a lot so thanks again for sharing. I would like to know if when you present time frames if you could give us rather than months you could refer to season, Spring, Autumn/fall etc. I find it hard trying to translate your months to ours (New Zealand). Do you think that might be possible?
I would add no. 11 as snapdragons. I live in Spokane also zone. I love them because they are deer resistant, reseed themselves, and need hardly any water, and can bloom even after a hard frost (I have them bloom in the snow.) Thanks for other ideas especially the sweet peas. I love them, but struggle growing them. I learned I need to start them much earlier.
So much valuable information! I don’t know how you remember it all! Did you have cue cards? Thanks for making this. I’m going to be more adventurous this season and try some new varieties. I’m not sure we have all those you recommended here in UK, but I’ll explore and see what I can find! Happy growing for the year ahead.
Loved this article. Thank you. I’m all time favorite seed flowers is morning glory. They are so great at hiding unsightly things in my yard such as my gas meter on the side of my house. I train them up the trellis and the fill out perfectly with a lot of different colors. Thanks again for all your great articles.
Great selection! I used to grow cosmos at my last house very successfully. Last summer, when I tried to grow some at the place I’m in now, I made the mistake of planting them in very high-nitrogen soil. Oh, boy! No flowers at all, but stems that we could’ve climbed; they were so big around and had masses of greenery. This year, I’ll be planting them in poor soil. Do you think that’ll make a difference? Or could I plant them in the same place they were in last year since they must’ve depleted the soil of nitrogen? Love your website! So pleasant and informative. Thanks.
Hi Laura! I paused the article and ordered Zinderella Lilac immediately! I was a little disappointed by Zinderella Peach last year as I didn’t get very many blooms that had that fluffy appearance. Most of mine looked like single flowers. Do you think this had to do with the fact that I seeded them indoors and then transplanted them? Did they need more fertilizer? Giving it another shot next year. Can’t wait!
You’re love for cut flowers is contagious! I started my own cut flower garden and tried growing dahlias last summer—and now I’m hooked! I tried the pro cut series in sunflowers because they just looked so beautiful and my white nite flopped, I’m not sure why!? I didn’t get one single strong stem. I’m going to attempt them again this year.. we shall see!
I grow mammoth sunflowers & velvet queens also. They’re both so easy, beautiful and they seed themselves for next year (be sure to plant them in a place that you’re fine w them returning every year. Or u can pull seedlings out) we do have to stake our mammoths bc they get soooo huge & tall.. and our wind can snap them in half. So we stake them. Then there’s plenty of seeds for next year, the birds, everyone!
Thank you so much for your list. I’ve grown some of these and may try the others. My property backs up to wetlands and I like to plant things in the area where my lawn ends but before the cattails. I haven’t had good luck because rabbits and squirrels like to feast on whatever I plant. Are there varieties that animals don’t like maybe because of the smell? I was thinking marigolds but would love to try some of the others. I’ve tried sunflowers in the past and they get eaten very quickly. Repellsall didn’t help. Love your website and can’t wait to start looking at seed catalogs! 💚💚💚I’m in 5b
I appreciate you producing a friendly environment for our bees, among other creatures. Have you ever considered creating a space for you (or someone else) to raise them? Annuals we’re always my go to as a beginner, especially the ones that reseed themselves. I learned so much with this article and I never seem to tire of learning more. Big Thank You!
Love the sunflowers on the list (so far). We are in zone 9b and have tons of squirrels. I need tons of sunflower seeds for both birds and squirrels. We just moved in and sunflowers are on the top of my annual flower list. (Planning on veggie plants mainly) But some flowers are high on my list just because they deter pests while attracting bees and butterflies. I expect to find other flowers on your list that I’m counting on in lower central Florida.
Thank you!! I always enjoy these articles. I try to catch & recall all the little nuggets of information you share from your experiences or research that may benefit my garden challenged location (z5a cleared micro climate in the woods…problems with animals, limited air flow and shorter sunlight times) There are some of these that will be on my list to try. I tried starting Sweetpeas inside and I won’t do it again either. I will try direct sowing this year to see if I have better results.
Ms Laura during your vid ‘ i was listening for you to mention something new you’ve tried. rather than let the season end and take all your flowers with them … to dig some up, pot ’em, set inside under led lights and see how they do. after all, if you hit pay dirt then you will have those fab’ colors / fragrances inside to enjoy. this idea has arisen just about every summer. to save some of the mixed color petunias. and this recent ’21 season i finally took action. early october some 20 plants were selected from the garden frames where they’d been in since may. and put in black gal plastic pots. they all took a lot of root trimming to fit. the lights are 48″ ones from wal mart that sell for 12 – 14 ea. on black friday. 12 fit nicely under 2 side-by-side 48’s on a table in the kitchen big surprises, not only did most of them survive the transplant but they continue to flower. with a timer the light was set to 16/8 . how long they will continue to grow inside like this is the question. no matter tho as its planting time now for arugula and spinach that do well in late winter out in the greenhouse with natural daylight. the aru’ seeds are up in only 5 days. and are they ( the pet’s ) ever beautiful. many color combo’s. and picked flowers put in a small foam cup for the other rooms stay alive for 4 days easy. often i will just stand there in a state of wonder. being with the incongruity of garden flowers indoors during the cold months. they add something new to the environment. that has you smile and play your role as their care giver.
Laura thank you for sharing the information. I have already started dreaming about spring so some of the flowers on your list are on my list for the 2022 season! 🤪🤪 My plan is to have cut flowers indoors from spring to fall. Can you do a article about Winter sowing flowers by the best month to start them? Laura, you and Aaron are a true blessing. Have an awesome Christmas holiday with your beautiful family!!🎄🎄💙🌝💙🎄🎄
Hi thank you for your article! I stumbled across Zinnia’s a couple of years ago and was totally surprised at how easy they are to grow. I just love them! One question though: my Zinnia’s start to fall (lay down) over after a period of time. I really wish they wouldn’t do that. Can I do something to prevent this from happening?
I grew the Alumina Vanilla Cream in several spots, at the front of the beds. Despite color descriptions I read last year, they are not the least bit cream in color but a clear bright yellow. A prettier color than the more brassy typical marigold yellows however. They seemed to have FAR less of that marigold odor, which I appreciated. In a couple spots they actually died out after their leaves got sort of bronze/silver in color, but in most areas they grew nicely. I collected a large amount of seed for this year. This marigold got a bit taller than the stated height on the package of seed. I grew them with a Zahara mix of zinnia. The yellow of Alumina Vanilla Cream was the exact same shade as the yellow in the Zahara mix of zinnia. Have plans to grow many cosmos, zinnia and these marigolds come summer. Every time I’ve tried to grow sweet peas, the rabbits find them and eat them, including jumping up into barrel sized planters. Frustrating!
Is it time to start our seeds ???!! 😳 Kinda not much luck on the few I’ve tried . Not sure I’ll do winter sow this year ? Maybe I’ll revisit this in January ! After Christmas decor ALL put away !!. I was proud of my first productive sunflowers Last year. If I get that again this year with some good tomatoes I’ll be more than thrilled !
What great timing!. I decided to try growing some things from seed next year and just placed an order with Johnny’s Seed this morning. Enjoy your extra time with your family! One less article a week means I have a little more time to go back and re-watch your spring and summer articles so I can see your beautiful plants and yard and dream of spring 😊😊💖💖💖💖
Hi Laura & Aaron!! I have a question: I watched your front porch decorating article, when you mentioned you needed to take your heucheras in. I don’t have a greenhouse or heat lamps, so we bought them indoors. We potted our 2 plum heuchera plants in some indoor potting soil. I placed them in our bay window that has a slight tint to the windows. I am hoping they survive. They are so beautiful. Any tips for housing these in-house during the winter?? I am in zone 5b.
I grew Autumn Glory from Johnny’s Seeds last season…didn’t plant until July and had lovely flowers for early fall…however, I didn’t have but one or two that were orange/rust colors, most of them were all yellow. Do you think I had a faulty seed packet or was it because I planted late in the season? Either way we thoroughly enjoyed the flowers.
Quick question about limited space: I have one very large trellised area for cucumbers and tomatoes (I rotate them). Can I grow sweet peas there, and would they be done in time for the tomatoes to be planted? If not, maybe I can interchange them somehow, planting peas every 10 inches and allowing room for tomatoes in-between.
Love this article! I would like to plant every one of these seeds you talked about but since I am living alone I will have to be very selective. I have a huge problem with rabbits and groundhogs that decimate my gardens, so it’s very discouraging. Does anyone have suggestions on how you would handle my situation?
Hi! Love your articles! Can you let us know what camera you use to film when you are walking around filming yourself? Canon G7X still? I try to use my cell phone to take articles of my yard during the summer but the ground is uneven and the article ends up all wobbly. What do you use to hold it while walking? Just the tripod?
I cannot thank you enough for this article. I’m a novice gardener and just last year started an English style Cottage Garden in my backyard. I live in Toronto, Canada which hardiness zone 5a. It gets really cold in winter so I bought lots of frost resistant perennials. My garden lacks the brightness that annual flowers being to the garden. Your selection of the annuals that are cost effective and can be grown from seeds is a very big help to someone like me. A thousand thank yous and keep up the excellent job.
This was inspirational. Definitely going to try some of your recs. I had huge success this year with geraniums and petunias. The geraniums are now monsters. Had to give many away. Also with coleus, impatiens, pansies, larkspur. Many of my coleus also came from cuttings that I just kept in water over the winter. Also I kept pruning the potted ones all summer as they got so huge. I put the cuttings in water and within a few weeks had good sized plants to keep filling in the ugly spaces of August. I am getting more into seeds each year for all the reasons you mentioned. And the home grown seedlings are so much healthier. Will miss my frequent trips to the garden centre lol!