Gardening may seem as an intimidating activity to take on. People would say that you need to have a “green thumb” to be able to properly create and maintain a garden but it’s actually just all about understanding the kind of plants to grow and enjoying the planting process.
There are many beautiful low maintenance plants available in your local nurseries and to get you started, here are the top 6 easy to grow flowering plants.
#1. Daylily
Day lilies are some of the tough lilies able to grow in different kinds of soil and tolerate drought and shaded areas. As the name suggests, the flowers bloom in the morning and fades by night but there are always new buds that await the next morning sunshine.
According to the professional horticulturalists at florgeous.com, some of the prettiest daylily varieties you can grow are crimson ‘Red Volunteer’, red and peach ‘Strawberry Candy’ golden ‘Happy Returns’, and burgundy ‘Indian Giver’.
#2. Rose
In the old times, roses bear the most beautiful flowers but they are very difficult to grow too. Thanks to cultivation techniques, newer roses today have become fool proof, more tolerant of different environments but still remain exquisite.
Although the modern rose is an easy option for the garden, it still needs recommended conditions for optimum growth such as well-drained soil, full sun, and an ample supply of water during the hot summer days. It also needs pruning to control its size and allow more flowers to bloom.
#3. Geranium
The colorful geraniums are one of our favorite garden plants. They can be grown as flower beds or potted plants indoors. Although they are not true geraniums, they still provide striking flowers in an array of colors such as white, pink, yellow, red, orange, and purple.
There are many kinds of geraniums showcasing different floral colors and growth habit but some of our best choices are the scented ‘Chocolate Mint’ and ‘Lemon Balm’, the cascading ‘Summer Showers’ and ‘White Mesh’, and the regal, multi-colored ‘Ace High’ and ‘Coral Sea’. All these geraniums are easy to grow but they will flower best with plenty of sunlight.
#4. Bird of Paradise
The bird of paradise bears spectacular crane flowers and remarkable large foliage. Planting them in the garden will instantly create a tropical vibe. Caring for them is also fairly easy but since it is native to South Africa where the temperature is warmer, you may consider planting them under full sunlight or pot them and bring indoors when days are chilly.
The plant needs alternate watering periods and a good draining soil but aside from these, the plant does not require much else. Pests like mealybugs and spider mites can easily be controlled by horticultural oil sprays.
#5. Marigold
The marigold plant is truly a garden treasure, not just because of the attractive golden flowers but also for the incomparable convenience of growing them per se. Once the marigold plant is established, not much care is needed.
Marigold’s popular composite flowers easily bloom in summer so best if the seeds were sown as early as spring. The plant is also prone to powdery mildew when planted in cool, moist areas so these should be avoided.
Tagetes and Calendula are two types of marigold that produce two distinct flower heads which can definitely add texture and variety to the garden.
#6. Sweet Pea
Aside from being gorgeous cut flowers, sweet peas are also popularly grown in gardens where its crawling habit brings about a spray of color among the other plants. They are convenient plants to grow since they thrive in almost all kinds of soil, light condition, and water availability.
Some easy techniques that will help improve the performance of the sweet pea plant are pinching out the tips of the growing seedling to enhance growth of side shoots and tying of the creeping tendrils to stakes that will provide support as the whole plant grows. In choosing what kind of sweet peas to plant, it also helps to know that there are annual ones which only grow for one season and perennials that are longer lasting.