No Fuss Perennial Flower Gardening2 10

America has become hectic. Most people work well over forty hours each week to make due. With all this time spent working, it's only natural not to have the time to garden. Or maybe, you have the time, but just don't want to spend your days digging in dirt in order to have a great looking garden.

There are easy ways to have a good looking garden without working hard or maintaining it. If done right, your garden will largely take care of itself. Instead of poring over it day in and day out, you'll be able to leave it alone. The most you'll have to do, once planted, is leave the sprinkler on every once in a while.

Perennial plants and flowers are perfect for the busy person's garden. Perennials keep growing back every year. Once you plant them, you can just leave them alone. Annual flowers have to be replanted every year. This makes perennial flowers and plants ideal for those of us who don't have the time to work in the garden, but who still want our yard to look nice.

The first thing to do when making your no fuss perennial garden is to prepare the space. This can be a flower box, pots, or just a patch of land. Dig at the soil in your designated area to make it loose enough for planting flowers. This is just about the only preparation you need to do. Make sure that there aren't any rocks or weeds in that area of land. If there are, they can hinder or halt the progress of your plants. This step shouldn't take more than a half an hour depending on how big the plot of land is.

Can't think of where to put your garden? There are some beautiful spots that look perfect on anyone's lawn. For a nice accent to the front of your yard, surround the base of your mail box with plants and flowers. Just dig a little circle around the base and plant there. Another good planting area is around the border of a walkway. If you have a little walkway that leads from the driveway or sidewalk to the front door, this could be a good idea. Dig up an area about a half a foot wide on each side of the cement walkway and plant your flowers and shrubs there.

Once you have your area ready and the soil aerated, now is the time to plant seeds. Go to a flower or hardware store and pick up some seed packets. Make sure that they say 'perennial' on them as opposed to 'annual.' Some good choices for low maintenance flowers and plants are poppies, shasta daisies, and lamb's ear. Once these are planted, you won't have to worry about them. Plus, they spread like crazy, filling up empty spaced in your garden.

Once you purchase the seeds or plant cutting, simply follow the directions that come with them in order to plant them. This usually comes down to digging a few inches deep, setting the seeds in the hole, and covering them back up. Easy! After the seeds and plant clippings are planted and covered in soil, set up the sprinkler to water them for about a half hour. Now your perennial flowers and shrubs are planted. Most of the work is already done. Now you just need to worry about maintaining the garden.

Maintenance can be pretty easy if you picked the right plants. Most of the perennial flowers, especially the ones I listed above, will do well with just the annual rainfall. If your area is experiencing a bit of a drought, turn on the sprinkler for a while. Mostly, you should be able to leave the plants alone. If you notice a bunch of weeds in the garden, pull them. You may even get by without doing that.

Imagine pulling into your driveway, stopping the car, and stepping out into a beautifully flowered lawn. Daisies and poppies line your walkway, ushering you in to your home. Do you stop to water your flowers or pick some weeds? No, you have more important things to do.

This can be the kind of garden you have if you follow the steps listed above. By choosing perennial plants, you'll only have to do the planning and planting process once. The plants will stay in your garden year after year. Happy gardening! Or, more accurately, happy watching your garden grow without you.




By Trisha Bartle

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Flower Identification Guide

Comprehensive flower identification guide for flower lovers and the bride-to-be. Flowers have such exotic flower names, their hues range from paper white to yellow, orange, blue, purple, pink and red.

Flowers are even more stunning in the form of bridal bouquets held by a beautiful bride wearing her magnificant bridal gown.

Before you set your heart on any type of floral arrangement, you should take into account; Fairy Godmother tip! choose flowers that are in season, they are less expensive, are readily available and do not need to be imported.

The perfect colour can enhance your mood and help you find balance physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Things to consider when designing your bouquet;
1. What's your favourite flower?
2. What colour does it come in?
3. And is the flower in Season?

If you already know your wedding colour scheme, check out the colour flower guide links below to find which colour your favourite flower comes in and whether the flower is in season.

Flower identification guide in each flower colour.




by perfect-wedding-day

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Planning a Perennial Wildflower Garden

While I have always loved wildflowers in a garden or just growing wild in the woods, such flowers can help enhance the natural wild setting in your backyard or front yard. A wildflower garden is low maintenance if you enjoy flowers but do not have enough time for gardening should you have a busy schedule. Back east, where I used to live, it was not uncommon to walk through the woods and see purple coneflowers, daisies, black eyed Susans and columbines growing randomly in clusters on the ground. You can of course plant your wildflowers to appear as if they just grew there naturally without any pre-planning. Below is a list of some of my favorite perennial wildflowers:

Columbines. This is the state flower of Colorado but they can grow well in any part of the nation during the summer and fall months. They come in purple, purple-white, pink, pink-white, yellow, white. They grow an average of 18 to 20 tall and they reseed themselves each year. Columbines belongs to the ranunculus family. These flowers are frequently bicolored. Each flower shape resembles a bonnet. Columbines like well drained soil and can tolerate partial shade. These flowers grow in the summer through the fall.

Black eyed Susans. These flowers do not require a lot of care. They likes full sun, and grow well in moderate soil. Black eyed Susans grow from 18 to 25 in height. These flowers have yellow petals with dark brown or black centers. Black eyed Susans belong to the aster family and grow during the summer and fall months.

Daisies. As with the black eyed Susans, daisies also belong to the aster family. These popular wildflowers have pretty white petals with yellow centers. They grow in moderate soil and like full sunlight. Daisies grow an average height of 18 to 22 tall. Daisies will last from the early summer through the fall.

Echinacea, or purple coneflower. These pretty wildflowers have orange-brown centers with daisy-like petals in the color purple. Purple coneflowers grow between 18 to 25 tall. This flower also belongs to the aster family and grows well in moderate soil. Echinacea blossoms during the summer and fall months

Asters. These flowers are a vibrant blue-purple in color with yellow centers but there are other varieties of asters that come in other colors, such as the golden asters and Bigelow's aster. They bloom late in the summer season. Asters grow from 18 to 24 inches tall. The flowers have many petals, that are oblong in shape, forming stars. They like the full sun and grow well in moderate soil.

Lupines. These flowers are a member of the pea family that bloom during the summer and grow from 2 to 3 feet high. In shape, the plants are spiked with the flowers forming round shapes and come in a wide range of colors. Lupines like full sun to partial shade. If you choose to plant lupines from seeds, soak the seeds in warm water the night before planting them to encourage germination.

Gayfeather. This is a spike-shaped flower that grows from 24 to 48 tall. Gayfeathers are purple or white in color, like full to partial sun, and prefers to grow in moist soil. Gayfeathers also tolerate humidity if you live in a climate that is prone to humidity during the summer and fall months, such as Connecticut. The flowers on this plant resemble fine bottle scrubbing brushes. This flower will also attract butterflies.

Blue flax. This common roadside flower belongs to the flax family and grows from18 to 30 tall. Each flower has five petals of a beautiful blue color. This flower likes the full sun, and well drained soil. Blue flax can survive droughts but does not grow well in humid climates. This flower blooms during the spring and summer seasons.

Lance-leaved coreopsis. This flower grows 1 1/2' to 3' tall and has bright yellow flowers. This plant prefers soil that is sandy and dry. Lance-leaved coreopsis can survive droughts and prefers full to partial sun. This flower blooms during the summer months and will attract butterflies and birds.

Moss verbena. This variety of verbena grows to 1 foot tall, and has five-petaled blue flowers clumped together forming a ball. Moss verbena blooms in the early spring through the summer. This plant likes the full sun and well drained soil.

With the exception of the lupines which grow from legumes, these other flowers can easily grow from seeds, or plants purchased at your local nursery. The flowers belonging to the aster family can be combined together along with the lance-leaved coreopsis to create a natural, wild growth look to them. As with any other garden, these can be planted in a designated boundary area with natural grass remaining beyond the boundary. Keep weeds under control as these can inhibit the growth of wildflowers. Compost can be added once a year to your wildflowers. Water the flowers once a week but do not over water those that thrive in dry conditions, such as the aster family flowers. The wildflowers listed above all make beautiful cut flowers for a vase. Best of all, these flowers, once planted, will come back year after year in your garden




By Garna

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