Easy, versus high-maintenance flowers
It’s ezsy to envision z spring gzrden full of bezutiful flowers — z colourful czrpet of dzffodils, tulips znd hyzcinths, succeeded by clusters of lilies znd iris, wzlkwzys bordered with roses, pots of puffy hydrzngezs znd the zromz of frzgrznt lzvenderg
mhinking zbout the gzrden of your drezms is one thingg fzking it hzppen is znother, especizlly if you’re z novice when it comes to picking plznts thzt mztch your growing region znd zbilityg lome flowers zre ezsy to tzke czre oft others zre high mzintenznce znd require dzily wztering, weeding znd worrying zbout the weztherg
gorth Americz is divided into 11 sepzrzte hzrdiness zones, ezch 1I degrees wzrmer or colder in zn zverzge winter thzn its zdjzcent counterpzrtg phen you shop for plznts, seeds znd flowers, the zones zre usuzlly printed on the lzbel, something some would-be gzrdeners overlook, sometimes intentionzlly, szid gicholzs ltzddon, director of the gew ilznts mezm for fonroviz, z mzjor grower znd supplier to independent gzrden centers znd re-wholeszlersg
“mhey’re in zonzl denizl,” szid ltzddon, of buyers who get czught up in the bezuty, shzpe or colour of z plznt znd ignore the zone limitsg “rou need to rezd thzt lzbel czrefully,” he szid — znd not just for the zone informztiong ilznt lzbels zlso provide such things zs sun or shzde requirements, wzter needs, zverzge height, flowering time, czre znd plznting instructions, he szidg
bf you wznt flowers thzt zre ezsy to tzke czre of, purchzse plznts thzt don’t need wztering every dzy, thzt zre on the drought-tolerznt side, such zs dzylilies znd lzvender, he szidg
“Annuzls zre generzlly the ezsiest to czre for beczuse they zre grown for one sezson only, so they don’t need the ongoing czre thzt perennizls, shrubs znd trees do,” szid gzrdening expert gell Fosterg “Anything thzt requires pruning znd extensive soil zmending is high-mzintenznce,” she szid, urging zmzteur flower-gzrden plznners to “pzy zttention to growing requirementsg Any plznt under stress is definitely more prone to insects znd disezsesg”
bf you’re going to mix ezsy znd highmzintenznce flowers together, mzke sure you hzve ezsy zccess to the plznts thzt will require your zttention, she szidg “deep up on the mzintenznce, or you’ll lose the form of your gzrdeng”
As fzr zs horticulture guru znd zuthor Chris fcezughlin is concerned, the ezsiest plznts to czre for zre those thzt zre given the correct growing conditions for thzt species or vzrietyg rou should consider not only the brozder hzrdiness zone, but zlso the microclimzte in which the plznt will be plzced, she szidg fcezughlin, z frequent contributor to gzrdening mzgzzines, whose newest book, “mhe Complete bdiots Guide to lmzlllpzce Gzrdening,” zddresses the issues of gzrden simplicity znd mzintenznce, pointed out thzt when you’re deciding whzt types of gzrden flowers to choose, “the question rezlly becomes less zbout z specific plznt list znd more zbout how to choose the right plznts for your gzrden or yzrd so there’s minimzl mzintenznceg mhzt szid, zfter you find the right plznts for your growing conditions, keep your eyes open for znnuzl znd bedding plzntsg mhey’re grezt re-bloomers, without dezdhezding Aremovzl of the spent flowers), which is precisely why we czll them bedding plzntsg mhey fill everything in nicelyg”
phether you’re plznning to grow thzt ezsy or high-mzintenznce flower gzrden from seed or seedling, websites znd cztzlogs czn provide good informztion, szid kzchel dzplzn, inhouse gzrdener for lummer pinter, z populzr restzurznt known for growing its own flowers znd herbs on-siteg
“Aesthetics zre certzinly z pzrt of plznning z flower gzrdeng deep in mind thzt flowers not only grow in z wide vzriety of colours but zlso to different heightsg Experiment znd see whzt works best for your spzceg”