Picture waking up to a garden blooming with lovely pink and purple flowers. Your day starts off wonderfully with the sweet scent of flowers, much better than a coffee kickstart, I'd say. However, creating a flower garden can be challenging, especially if you’re plan is to plant flower seeds indoors. You can always buy saplings and plant them, but creating a garden from scratch is a great achievement. If you are up for this great gardening experience, make yourself a tea and read how to plant a flower garden from seeds. Although the steps are simple, we are offering some interesting advice and suggestions that you can use to turn your lawn into a lovely flower garden.
Decide the flowering plants you want to plant
Well, to start we need the basic raw material. Let's start with deciding on the seeds. There are a few things that you can do. Either you buy seed packets from the local nursery or collect your own seeds from the flowering plant and begin germinating seeds. The latter can be a bit difficult, but it's fun saving seeds and trying to extract seeds to grow a new plant. Buying a seed packet is easy, just go to any local store and they shall guide you with what flowers are best suited for your region. You can also buy flower seed packets online.
The seed you select should be based on the climatic conditions of your area and the nature of the soil. You can send soil samples for examination, or you could just experiment with different types of flower seeds to see which ones grow well in your soill. You must also consider how much light your lawn receives and for how long. Also, if you usually have a water shortage, plants that grow with less water should be your preferred choice.
Types of plants
Hardy
Hardy plants don’t require a lot of sunlight; about 3-6 hours would be enough. They grow best in a cold environment. Planting them in the early springtime or in the summer would be the best decision.
Examples: Love in a mist, Shasta Daisy, Gaillardia
Tender
Tender plants require more sunlight and a warmer climate. Too much cold can kill the plants, so plant them after the last frost or towards the end of winter.
Example: Morning glory, Brugmansia, Lantana
How to collect seeds on your own?
Collecting your own seeds is the cheapest method but not the easiest one. An easier route would be to buy seed packets, but they can get pricey. But it is fun to carry out the whole process of growing a new plant right from collecting seeds. Not all seeds are easy to grow, but if you follow these steps to collect your own seeds, you’ll be able to grow flowers and plants of all kinds.
Before that, here's something you need to be aware of. The seeds you collect may or may not look exactly like their parent plant. The offspring of hybrid seeds do not resemble their parents. Even if you have not chosen hybrid types, placing multiple plants close together increases the likelihood of cross-pollination, so the plant you cultivate may not end up being like its parent. There's nothing wrong with that, but if you're trying to coordinate the colors in your garden, your design can fall apart.
Process
- Identify the matured flowers. I’m sure you can identify a perfectly bloomed flower. The next stage is where the flower petals shrink and look completely dry. The seeds must have matured well to be harvested. If your seeds look white, then it's a sign that you need to wait. You can shake the flower body a little and if you hear some sound inside, it means that the seed is ready to be removed.
- Collect the flower body that contains the seed in a plastic bag or a bowl.
- Most of the time a little shake will be enough for all the seeds to come out of the flower’s body. Some flowers like Sunflowers have their seeds exposed to birds; hence cover these flower heads with a paper bag to protect your harvest.
- Store the seeds in a safe place.
Some easy-to-collect seeds are-
Some flowers you can plant
These seeds can be sown directly into the garden
- Sunflower
- Marigold
- Cosmos
- Poppy
- Morning glories
Plant these seeds indoors until they germinate and then transplant them into the soil
- Petunia
- Salvia
- Amaranth
- Nicotiana
- Snapdragon
Use a combo of Annual and Perennial seeds
It is recommended that you plant annual and perennial plants together. Before we get into the reason behind this, do you know what annual and perennial flowers are? Let us understand that first.
What are annual flowers?
Annual plants are the ones that will give you flowers the whole year and will die after that. They will leave seeds for you to plant more plants. Many people prefer annual plants because your garden looks bright and colorful throughout the year until the frost. Moreover, it is temporary so you can change things whenever you want. Some examples of annual flowers would be Sunflowers and Cosmos.
What are perennial flowers?
Perennials are plants that live for many years, but they bloom only at a certain time. Once you plant a perennial, you don’t have to worry about collecting seeds and planting them again; they’ll grow into a pretty garden on their own.
Why do they go well together?
If you plant only perennials most of the time your garden will have empty green patches because they don’t bloom for the whole year. Instead, you can plant an annual along with perennials to keep the colors in your garden from fading. You can choose perennials that bloom in spring, summer, and fall and some annuals to accompany them so that you have some perennials blooming in the garden every season. Annuals are temporary plants, so you can change things up according to your preferences or the weather conditions.
Find the ideal place
Once your seed has been selected the next task on hand is to find a place. It is entirely up to you whether to scatter them in different areas or create a nicely organized landscape. However, be certain that the location you select has sufficient room, decent soil, and sunshine for all plants to develop evenly. Some plants must first be nurtured in a container before being placed in a garden. You will need to wait for the seeds to germinate for a few months before planting them in the ground.
Planting the seeds
Planting in a pot
For some plants, you will need to take special care. They may not be able to survive outside while they are young. You will have to plant the seeds in a pot inside your house. Once they are germinated, you can move the young plants into the garden.
So, what kind of pot can you use? You can use any pot made of mud, clay, or plastic, just make sure there are wholes at the bottom for the excess water to drain out. Add the starting mix and plant the seeds with some distance between them, allowing some space for the roots to grow.
How to make the seed starting mix?
The next thing you need to do is prepare the soil. Making the starting mix is easy. You need to have 3 equal parts of perlite, vermiculite, and coir. You can use some store-bought seed starting mix if you want to, but make sure it contains compost so you don’t have to add any other fertilizer. You can even use Peat moss instead of fertilizer.
Use some water to moisten the potting mix and press from the top to flatten it. Wait for all the excess water to drain out before you put the starting seeds.
Care before transplantation?
It should be at least 2 months before the seeds germinate. Once you can see some small seedlings and young plants growing out of the soil you can take it outside. Though there is no harm in taking care of it at home for a little longer. Just don’t wait till the roots suffocate inside the pot.
Planting in the garden
Dig a deep hole (not too deep) into the soil. Carefully extract the plants out of the pot, try to be gentle, and then transplant them into the soil. Add more soil to fill the hole and moisten it a little.
Manure and fertilizers
Any growing organism would need some nutrients and minerals to grow properly. So do the plants. The manure and fertilizers that we use act as food for the growing plants. They contain important minerals like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium along with other nutrients. Manure made from animal waste is ideal as it basically contains the remaining nutrients of mature plants.
You can prepare compost at home. However, try not to use homemade compost while the seed is still germinating. Once they are grown a little, using homemade compost may not be an issue.
You can also mix Peat moss with your soil mixture. It acts as a great fertilizer for the plant. Make sure you use warm water when making the starting mixture if you are using Peat moss.
Take care of them and wait till they grow
Take good care of your plants. Water them regularly. If you have planted a plant at home rotate the pot every day at a small angle. As you know plants grow in the direction of sunlight. Mostly you will be receiving sunlight at home from one direction only. If you don’t rotate the pot, the plant might grow only in the direction of the sun and weigh heavier on one side.
Keep an eye on bugs. If you notice pores in the leaves, it is probably because of some insect or worm. Use pesticides to take care of the bugs. Try using pesticides with fewer chemicals or use organic pesticides.
Be patient with the perennials. Also, some plants may die, if you are an absolute beginner. Don’t let it break your heart. Keep trying until you are able to grow pretty plants.
Special Tips
- Consider putting the taller ones in the rear, but watch out that they don't obstruct the window or the entrance. Make sure that the higher plants don't hinder the amount of sunlight reaching the smaller ones by impeding their path.
- Applying grass cuttings, shredded bark, leaves, or pine straw to the plant base. In addition to preventing dehydration and unwanted weed development, it aids in regulating the temperature of the soil.
- If your plant has thicker leaves, it indicates that it stores water. I understand that your love for your new plant is overflowing, but that doesn’t mean you need to water them too much.
- Install a small brick or stone fence around the flowers to prevent people from stamping.
Bottom line
Enhance your curb appeal by building a pretty garden bed or a well-designed flower garden. Plant flowers from seeds with pretty colors in a well-arranged manner following our step-by-step instructions. Make sure to provide nutrient-rich soil and use organic material if possible. Artificial fertilizers and pesticides can be harmful. Water them regularly and patiently wait for the beautiful blooms. Your house will look no less than a palace with a pretty garden outside. Have fun gardening!