The Magic of Making a Flower Garden

Whatever age you are, whether it’s a hobby, or a family project, planting flowers seeds and planning your own arrangements of garden flowers is one of the most enjoyable and healthy outdoor activities. Seasoned gardeners still say that the magic never ceases to amaze them after pushing some flower seeds into the soil and seeing what new and delightful colors and sweet smells are brought forth, open up and grow and blossom. Planting seeds, especially flower seeds is one of the best ways to feel that you are a partner to some of nature’s most perfect beauty. This is one way to see that rainbow colors are not just a rare sighting that shortly fades in the sky, but colors that spring forth from the earth, bloom and enjoy a season with you. Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful. They are “sunshine, food and medicine for the soul” said Luther Burbank a famous botanist. Your flower garden is your personal rainbow.

Love butterflies or birds? There are garden flowers that butterflies and birds actually come to visit and feed on. One gardener refers to her butterflies that visit her garden flowers as “flying flowers”. Butterflies prefer pink, purple or white flowers, and single flowers rather than double. Some of butterfly favorite flowers include: asters, black-eyed Susan, day lilies, hibiscus, lavender, goldenrod, purple cone flower, cosmos, daisies, impatiens, petunias, phlox and zinnia.

To get your flower seeds you might look through one of the many seed catalogs available through mail or online. You’ll probably find yourself surprised at the thousands of flower seeds available in any seed catalog. Maybe you’ll start out by looking at colors-and maybe you have some favorites already. But even in just one color, any seed catalogue will have too many possibilities. So how do you choose? You’ll want to be aware of a few things. Do you want garden flowers that come up every season? Do you want tall ones or short ones? Which flowers is your climate best suited for? Do you want flowers that blossom early in May or in August? To answer these questions you need to know the following few things about garden flowers and flower seeds.

Annual garden flowers are fast growing and easy flower seeds for growing. Nasturtium zinnia, morning glories, and sunflowers are some that germinate fast and will be flowering just weeks after you plant the flower seeds. These are great for parents and kids as a family activity because the flower seeds are large and easy to handle and they grow fast.

Perennial garden flowers bloom year after year, after the second year. So you have to be a little patient the first time you plant these flowers seeds. But then, each summer you will enjoy long living garden flowers over several months. Achilla, Black-Eyed Susan, Cerastum, Chinese Lantern, Columbine, Hollyhock, Salvia, and Shasta Daisy are some favorite perennial garden flowers.

You will find out information on which flower seeds are best for your climate, when to plant them, the heights of the flowers and how long it takes for them to germinate in seed catalogues and also on the packets of flower seeds.

Many of these seed catalogs also offer mixtures that can help make a selection easy. The mixtures are already planned for great color combinations, varying heights, and flowers that work well together.

Even if you don’t have a yard to make a flower garden for yourself, it is still possible to be planting seeds, flower seeds or vegetable seeds, in some area of your neighborhood as a group parent and kid activity. For example, some parents and kids got together to create a raised bed garden on a part of the school playground. They put in stepping stones in their little garden and a cut log to sit on.

For a personal rainbow of colors, and a fun project for you or you and your family, try planting a flower garden.