A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Banter Hall Hello everyone..

Just popping my head in to say hi.. it is that time again isn't it? I am not as into the gardening this year sadly. I am hoping I get in the mood though.

Can anyone suggest some nice easy care flowers.. annuals, that I can plant and just let go. I know I will need to water.. but I want low maintenance this year.

Thanks.. hope everyone is doing well!!!

It's Pink Horse......of Course!!! Try Zinnias or Marigolds. Not even a DIRECT nuclear strike can prevent them from growing!

Aww thank you for that exuberant reply!!! It is nice to be remembered.

Also thank you for the flower ideas! Marigolds I am familiar with.. not so much with Zinnias. I will have to look them up.. lol

Nasturtiums are a good choice too. Colorful, beautiful, no fuss and you can eat them, also!

My personal favorite is Portulaca which some call "Moss roses".

These two easy care flowers bloom and bloom without quitting!


Merme

Not familiar with Nasturtiums either.. Portulaca I know and LOVE. Thanks Merme!!

Jennifer, hello--nice to see you again---

The Zinnias might be a nice choice because there are so many varieties to chose from---many different colors, & sizes.

Hi Jennifer!

I was also going to suggest zinnias! I have grown the dwarf sized ones for the past few summers and they form a very nice sized mound full of flowers the entire season. I prefer them to the "regular" sized zinnias which can get very tall and fall over at times.

I can't wait for the local stores to get them in again - I am going to plant many more than I did last year, also because I want easy maintanence and lots of color.

Walmart has Lilliput Zinnia seeds for 25 cents a pack! I bought two packs the other day for my Hummingbird patch. Hummers like Zinnias.

what did you decide Jennifer?

Well I haven't really decided yet. I have been kind of down and depressed. I went to Walmart today.. and browsed the flowers they have out. Nothing really struck my fancy. =( This is what I was afraid of.. I am just not itching to get started like I usually am. *sigh* I will definitely do Portulaca.. I do it every year.. it was a favorite of my mother's. Other than that, I love pansies/violas/johnny jump ups but I don't usually have very good luck with them. I used to love petunias too.. but the last few years I have had them, they end up straggly and thin looking by mid summer.. so I am not doing something right. I don't have much of a green thumb unfortunately. =( I am not really ready to plant yet anyway.. my flower beds have weeds and grass growing. I am not looking forward to dealing with that either. I need to lay down more newspaper and get more mulch to keep the weeds out..

Seems like your down in the dumps. Maybe you should do a few containers this year and let the other stuff go. I'm sure you know containers are easier to work with and give a lot of enjoyment.

As far as petunias, mine get straggly too.

Yes, you are right. =( I am hoping I will pull out of it.. but so far.. I just feel bleh. =/ That was kind of why I wanted to post here.. I was hoping maybe I would get some motivation/inspiration. =) And I have considered the container thing.. but I know it will drive me nuts seeing all the weeds and grass. I have lots of perennials planted but I haven't seen much coming up yet.. other than my hostas. They are pretty fool hardy.

Hmm... wonder what the deal is with the petunias.

I also have that problem with petunias, Jennifer. I have given up on them completely! If it's not the squirrels and slugs when I plant them in the ground, it's the Japanese beetles when I plant them in pots. And they get terribly straggly.

As for pansies - they are so short lived here, that I don't bother with them anymore either - even though I just love the "faces" on them!

A new to me plant last summer, that I really liked and bloomed for me all season into frost, was "gaillardia oranges and lemons". They are bright yellow and orange - a real mood picker upper - believe me - I really needed that last summer and know just how you feel! If you have a chance to get any this summer go for them! I've already bought 9 of them and planted them, even though it was a bit early for my planting zone - I just couldn't resist! Had to buy them when I saw them or I might not have seen them for sale again this summer. Though they are supposed to be perennials here, the 2 I had last summer have not returned yet, but I had to get more anyway!

Jennifer, I agree with Lynne about the gaillardia.(Blanket flower) But I loved the looks of the burgundy ones as well--and the arizona sun are shorter and bloomed all summer without me dead-heading much at all.


I also think that container gardening is easy & rewarding.

good luck

Isn't that just so frustrating?! I LOVE petunias.. when they are healthy.. but for some reason I can't keep them that way. The greenhouse next door always has gorgeous HUGE baskets of them.. and I just can't help myself most times from buying at least one. But am usually disappointed by mid summer. =(

I am familiar with Gaillardia. I actually had one last year.. I don't remember the name of the color but it was orange and red.. it was very pretty. I wonder if mine will come back. I need to get out there and start looking a little harder. Hubby has already been out with the weed eater. NOT GOOD..

I need to just start browsing around and seeing what all I can find. =) Walmart has been a disappointment for the most part the last couple of years. I have NEVER tried to start anything from seeds. I am too intimidated. *blush*

Thanks Carol! You posted as I was typing. As for the container gardening, I was hoping to find more on that topic.. but there isn't much over on that thread.

I want to see pictures. I think that might help get me inspired a little more. I am looking through recent posts now. Though I realize it is early for full blown bloom pics.

Have you looked in the Blooming Fine section? A lot of those pictures of beautiful flowers Diane posts are in pots. She finds the best containers and has unusual containers too.

I'll post some pictures this afternoon of some of my pots. They're not full because it's a little early but you can get the idea.

Do you have a patio or deck or porches or what? I've got a few pots out in the yard but Diane is the Queen of cute pots I think.

Sheri is right Jennifer ,, many of us have posted pictures already..
Dodge has posted several as well in the Plants and flowers Forum, She lives in Pennsylvania , and Lynne has posted several in Blooming fine,, and their climate is similar to yours

For container potting You'd be surprised what you can use out of the norm for potting up plants, I've used old clay pitchers I've drilled holes in the bottom ,, I've planted sedums on one and a blue blooming ground cover in another ,, eventually they both will cascade over the top.
A Large broken terra cotta pot layed on it's side looks nice too,, just fill the largest piece with soil layed on it's side and plant wave patunia's in it,, or some plant that will give the appearance of flowers flowing out of it,, a flowering succulent,i.e Ice plant would look cool in it or even the
Portulaca that you love would look cool like that.
I think once you see some color out side it will inspire you and you'll feel better. Go get something colorful to start out with and plant it,,, once that is done and you see it in the ground you'll want more and more and more. Something about seeing color outside after a long winter helps dust off those ol' wintery blues

* about petunia's, I always have dead headed as soon as the flower is 'spent' it seems to prevent legginess and promotes faster blooms*

For all the gardeners I know from NJ, NY through PA and OH, pansies are for all practical purposes a spring and early summer bloom. The intensity of the sun wipes them out later in the season. Up here though, they are surefire bloomers throughout the summer. My family can't believe it when they come up here in August and see my pansies blooming to beat the band!

Some of the hybrid petunias, such as "Wave", perform very well with minimal care.

There are so many truly lovely and easy care choices for your area, though, I think your plan of looking at photos is a good one.

Merme

Pinkhorse, I posted a bunch of pictures in the Container Gardening Thread. Check it out and get that dirt.

Pansies bloom all season here too. Wave petunias are one of my favorites because they are so easy and they spread nice and are pretty.

Thanks everyone!! I now know why I have been feeling so blah.. see my new post in the banter hall. =)