Growing May Flowers: Easy Picks for New Gardeners

The April showers should be winding down now, as it’s time for May flowers, as the saying goes. The reality is that when you plant flowers really depends on where you live. Before you try to plant anything, you should talk to someone at your local nursery or at least look up which agricultural zone you live in! The temperature can make or break your garden. Some of you will still need to wait another month or so before you can safely say that you’re past the point of frost. Still, most of the country will be ready to plant flowers this month, which makes May a great time of year to get outside and get your hands dirty with the kids in your garden! Do you consider yourself to have a brown thumb? Here are some tips for planting flowers:

• Choose varieties that are known for being easy to grow. The easiest way to grow flowers with kids is to plant seeds in the ground and avoid the hassle of transplanting seedlings from other containers. Flowers that tend to do well when planted from seed include sunflowers, sweet peas, marigolds, pansies and fuchsias. Again, you’ll need to check to see which tend to do well in your particular area, as well as when you should plant them for the best results.

• Follow the directions on the seed packets. They will give you a lot of information, such as whether the plant in question should be planted in a pot or in the ground, how far down to plant the seeds, and how far apart to keep each plant. They’ll also tell you whether the plant needs full sun or just partial sun. If you plant a shade-loving plant in full sun, it will wither and die… and the same thing will happen if you plant a flower that requires a lot of sun under a tree. Also follow the directions as to how often and how much to water the flower; in some areas, you won’t have to water at all because it rains often, but in others, you will need to be out there every day with the garden hose.

• Pick a good place for your garden. If you have an area of the yard that tends to accumulate big puddles after a rainstorm, this is probably not the best place to plant your flowers. Also, if your yard tends to be very sandy, ask an employee at a nursery or a greenhouse which plants will likely do well in those conditions.

• Consider a growing kit if you don’t have room or time for a garden. This time of year, you can often buy kits that have everything you need to plant a sunflower or a strawberry plant. If your child wants to try her hand at gardening, start with one of those! The soil should have the fertilizer included (be sure to wash your hands after handling it!) and following all of the directions should make it possible for success.

• Keep your sense of humor and keep the learning experience in mind. Sometimes gardens simply don’t grow. Even if you follow all of the directions to a tee, something could go wrong and your flowers could fail to germinate or die before they bloom. Remember that the important thing is spending time together and learning about what plants need. You can always try again another time!

Do you have a flower garden? What are you planting?