Don’t worry if you haven’t yet discovered your green thumb; these 12 lovely plants will reward you nicely for a small amount of effort.
Make your garden stand out with these easy-to-grow plants, whether you’re a complete newbie or too busy for high maintenance. Some species suggested by experts are:
- Sunflowers
- Marigolds
- Phlox
- Iris
- Sweat Peas
Read our article to find out the rest!
Gina Harper from Harper’s Nurseries
Sunflowers
Sunflowers are one of the easiest flowers to grow. Your entire family can get involved and reap the rewards of working together to make something grow.
They grow fast and have been seen to grow up to a height of 13 feet or higher under the right conditions.
As the name suggests, they need a good sunny place and plenty of support as they reach their necks high, and they add a lot of color and character to your garden!
Jeremy Yamaguchi from Lawn Love
Humble pansy
These flowers are associated with feelings of happiness as they just look like bright, cheerful blooms. They come in a variety of colors, so you can always find a pansy that’s to your liking.
They’re also relatively easy to grow. They prefer cooler temperatures, so you’ll want to plant them in the fall or early spring. If you’re in Zone 7 or further south, you’ll need to plant them in partial to half shade, as well.
Their soil should drain well, which means it needs to be free of big clumps that constrict water flow. They also do well with organic matter, so composting makes it almost foolproof to grow them.
Jacob Hubbard from The Goody Pet
Marigolds
These plants are easy to handle, and they grow fast too. There are many types of marigolds available to suit the tastes of everyone.
While growing, they do not need deadheading; however, removing dead flowers can promote better growth and beautiful flowers. Also, avoid over-fertilizing your plants. You can add fertilizer once a month, and that will be enough.
Ashley H from MomLovesHome
Geraniums
Also known as pelargoniums, these flowers come in many hues and varieties, which you can mix for a prepossessing explosion of colors.
The most popular variety of Geraniums include the upright kind-ideal for dressing up borders and the trailing kind-suitable for decorating windows.
Although they do need a lot of sunlight, these flowers are straightforward to grow if you live in an area with sufficient sunlight.
For the best flowering results, place them fertile, well-drained soil in window boxes facing the sun.
Phlox
These highly fragrant flowers need additional plant support until they mature but are low maintenance and don’t require much after they bloom.
Available in various colors such as lavender, pink, rose, and white.
These flowers are best suited to colder climates and can thrive in moist, fertile soils in partial or full sunlight, making them easy to maintain.
Spiked Speedwell
Available in blue, purple, pink, and white color tones, the Spiked Speedwell grows to around 2 feet in height with tall flower spikes that stand erect above the leaves.
While a repeat bloom does require them to be cut back, these flowers qualify as low maintenance as they can stay in bloom for weeks. Its volunteer seedlings are also easily managed.
For the best results, the Spiked Speedwell should be divided close to every 3 years. They also thrive under lots of sunlight and mediumly moist, well-drained soil.
Kelly Martin from Urban Garden Gal
Echinacea
Echinacea, also called Purple Coneflower, is an easy flower for beginner gardeners to grow. You can start echinacea plants from seed, and they’ll come back year after year.
Echinacea flowers grow best in a sunny spot in the garden, and they’re ideal for attracting bees and other beneficial insects to your garden.
Iris
Irises are beautiful perennial flowers that are easy to grow and care for. They grow best in cool, shaded areas, but they will do well in sunny spots as well.
Irises are usually blue, violet, or purple, but you can find pink varieties as well. Irises bloom from spring through fall, and the flowers can stand alone in the garden or be planted with other perennials.
Lavender
Lavender is a low-maintenance, fragrant perennial plant that is easy to care for. You can plant lavender in the garden or containers if you have limited space. Lavender grows best in full sun, but you can also plant it in partial shade.
Ronnie Collins from Electro Garden Tools
Sweet Peas
This beautiful annual plant has highly fragrant blue, pink, purple, red, and white flowers. It blooms spring through early summer in the hottest regions and may bloom up to early fall in cooler areas.
The plant thrives in full sun and moist loamy soil. You should also put a trellis nearby to help it climb up. That’s all it needs to become gorgeous. You shouldn’t eat its fruits, though, as they are very toxic!
Mattias Magnusson from NordicLavender
Hostas
This easy-to-grow and care-for perennial pop-up grows quickly and spreads out year after year, giving good ground cover.
Hostas come in many pretty varieties, with their large leaves being anything from deep green to a creamy yellow. Choose your favorite variety carefully as the different leaf colors require different amounts of the sun for optimal growth.
Here are some general guidelines:
- The blue-green leafed variety like full shade or part shade to thrive.
- Bright green hostas enjoy life in the sun or shade
- White variegated varieties generally like the shade as the leaves can burn more easily. This is great as this beautiful creamy white color can liven up an otherwise shady part of your garden.
- Yellow leaf hostas like part shade or sun, and the more sunlight they get, the brighter yellow the leaves become!
While hostas are easy to grow in most soils, well-drained soil is always preferred for optimal growth. Mix some compost into the soil where you are planting and water well.
Keep hostas well watered. They do not like to dry out and water the soil surrounding them rather than directly onto the leaf surface. Occasionally throughout the seasoning mix, some liquid feed into your watering can give them a boost.
Relating hostas in your garden is easy without damaging them, preferably in the spring or fall. If the plant has become very large, you can even divide the root clump to propagate more plants. Plant each separated piece immediately.
Patrizia Pisani from Voinix Studio
Coneflowers
They have a variety of colors – orange, pink, red, purple, and white. They bloom in summer and fall. It requires good nutrient-rich and well-drained soil. It can even tolerate drought, making it suitable for people who can not regularly water their plants.
Conclusion
If you use the pull-and-shake method of replanting, all of these easy-to-grow blooms will return for a second season.
Simply pluck out the old plants, move them to the location where you want flowers next year, and shake them vigorously. The seeds will know what to do from there.
Try it out and let us know your result!
