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garden:about:plants:flowers:growing

Growing flowers

Not just for pretty

I wanted more flowers in and around my gardens not just for looks but also for the benefits they can bring as beneficial companion plants. I studied combinations of beneficial plants and chose a selection to go with the vegetable crops I was planting.

What I learned

  • Flower seeds didn’t germinate well in my greenhouse.
  • Some seeds are so incredible small that it is very difficult to seed them appropriately.
  • They take forever to bloom.

Because they take so long to flower, I realize I need to start them as soon as I can in the spring. Only experience will tell when that is.

Intentional

Direct seeded

In the chard/kale/cabbage area I planted chamomile and anise hyssop directly as soon as I transplanted the cabbage. It appeared that a few chamomile had sprouted but no hyssop. When I began transplanting extra chamomile to another bed I found there were over 25 sprouts in the new bed, and a dozen or so where they were sown originally.

Greenhouse germinating

I wanted to get a start on flowers so I attempted to germinate some in the greenhouse. Conditions were right only for 3 puny chamomile, two borage and two calendula. And it took forever - more than a month.

Direct seeding early in the season may be a better choice.

Self-seeded

Some annual plants seed themselves if left to their own habits. When they oblige I allow this assertive behavior because it requires very little effort from me.

Chamomile

Chamomile was prolific seeding itself, the sprouts arriving before the original plants were done flowering. The sprouts formed a carpet of green and spread well beyond the flower bed.

The flowers are pretty and the aroma almost overpowering. I collected quite a few mature blossoms for drying for tea. They brew very nicely and I can make the brew as strong or as mild as I care. I harvested blossoms only after the petals began to fall toward the stem.

Crimson clover

The crimson clover from the previous year was lovely and provided a large quantity of pollen for local honey bees, as well as an early splash of color to the garden.

I thought I had terminated the crimson clover before it had viable seeds, but I was too late. But that meant I had a lot of germinating clover by September.

Marigold

I started these by direct seeding. In the fall I collected a large sack of seeds. Silly me! Those seeds that fell on the ground sprouted in the spring and I had a little-effort stand of colorful marigolds.

Sunflower

The same went for sunflowers. Now, rather than collecting seeds, I shake the flowers when I remove the stalks and wait from the seeds to wake up.

Blanket flower

I direct seeded these and let them go to seed in the same area. I did help them out a bit by spreading some of the dried flowers over a nearby area. These sprouted in the fall. I'll see how they manage the winter weather, hoping some show up in the spring.

garden/about/plants/flowers/growing.txt · Last modified: 2018/12/31 04:54 by davidbac