Flower growing can be intimidating and for those with busy schedules the yearning for pretty blooms might be shoved aside by the reality of life. There is hope! If you want to dip your toe into the flower-growing pond without the commitment of farming infrastructure here’s a quick primer.
Scatter seeds in an empty flower bed, bare patch or pile of compost. Seeds are cheap and scattering them is easy. The key to getting good germination is keeping the seeds moist until they germinate and making sure the temperature is right. I’ll explore this a little further:
-- If you’re in a cool growing zone (6 and cooler), wait until the ground isn’t frozen and scatter some Nigella, Larkspur (pictured above), Bupleurum, Bachelor’s Buttons, Ammi, and Poppy seeds into the ground. Cover them with a little bit of dirt. It works well if you plant before a decent rain, but a warm spell works too if you water the seed. Be sure there’s still time for a couple frosts (snow is fine too) before your spring arrives. These seeds like a bit of cold to get started.
--If you’re in a warmer zone (7 and up) try for a warmer week in January and do the same, though anytime in winter will generally work. Often these seeds will sit for weeks in the dirt and pop up when the temperature is right.
For seeds that don’t like frost, whichever zone you’re in, wait until the temperature outside is reliably in the low 70’s then scatter Zinnias, Celosia, Amaranth, Cosmos, Basil, Gomphrena (pictured below) and Sunflowers into the ground, cover with dirt and water until they pop up. You can generally sow these seeds until the temperature reaches into the 90’s.
Enjoy your foray into the world of flower-growing without all the professional farming headache. Caveat, your results will be hit and miss (we are dealing with nature here!) but the hits will be well worth the little effort it took to grow them! And if you’re hooked on growing, there’s plenty of free resources here about taking your growing to the next level, without the misses and twice the beauty.
Happy Growing!
Sarah Jo