When it comes to flower gardening, the options for what to grow in are limitless. However, what are the best flowers to plant for beginners? There are many types of flowers that are ideal for those new to gardening. These flowers typically flourish with minimal maintenance, while filling your garden with beautiful blooms. In this article, we will go over the top selections for easy to grow flowers.
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What are the Best Flowers to Plant for Beginners?
The best flowers to plant for beginners can be broken up into annuals or perennials. These are the best annual flowers for beginners: marigolds, zinnias, petunias, calendula, sunflowers, and morning glories. The best perennial flowers for beginners are carnations, black eyed Susan’s, daylilies, and peonies. These options are some of the best choices of low maintenance flowers that are exceptionally tolerant and produce abundant blooms.
Annuals
Annuals are plants that complete their lifecycle within a single year. This means that it grows from seed, matures into a developed plant, produces flowers or fruit, and grows new seeds in one growing season. At the end of the season, the plant will die until new seeds are grow a new plant.
Marigolds
Marigolds are among the best flowers to plant for beginners due to the fact that they are extremely easy to grow. These flowers thrive with minimal care, so long as they are given 6 to 8 hours of sunlight a day and regular water. Remarkably, marigolds are able to deal with many different types of soil and can handle heat and drought pretty well. These beautiful blooms will thrive in the ground or even in containers. Not to mention, pollinators will frequent your blossoms to enjoy the bountiful nectar and pollen this flower produces.
These flowers will grow quickly and continue to bloom throughout the entire growing season until frost. You can encourage more blooms to occur by deadheading the dried flowers on your plant. Marigolds make for excellent companion planting flowers because they deter many different types of pests, including spiders, nematodes, aphids, whiteflies, and more. All while attracting beneficial insects, such as ladybugs, bees, butterflies, hoverflies, and many others. Marigolds produce tons of seeds from each flower, allowing for you to easily harvest a lot throughout the season for future plants.
Zinnias
Zinnias are beautiful flowers that have a large array of styles and looks. If you are looking for a flower that combines being easy to grow with breathtaking beauty, this is the flower for you. Zinnias are quick to germinate and grow quickly into thriving plants. These flowers require minimal care, so long as they get water and sunlight. They love full sunlight of 6 to 8 hours a day and will respond by providing you with flowers all season long. You can expect your zinnias to continue to give you flowers until the first frost.
Zinnias will make an excellent home in both garden beds and in containers. This plant has many different varieties that range from short and compact to several feet tall. This will give you plenty of control and flexibility over what you grow in your garden. Additionally, you will be able to collect a lot of seeds from these flowers once they dry out for future seasons! On top of all of that, pollinators, such as butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds love these flowers.
Petunias
Petunias are a shining star and one of the absolute best flowers to plant for beginners. These flowers come in many different varieties, ranging from wide spreading to compact bushy varieties that are great for container planting, all the way to cascading or wave varieties. The cascading and wave petunias are very popular hanging basket flowers, as they produce tons of consistent flowers to enjoy all season long until frost.
Petunias can thrive with basic care and grow quite fast once they are planted. They are adaptable to many different soil conditions and do not require an excessive amount of water. The more sunlight that your petunias get, the more flowers that they will produce for your garden. These flowers provide an amazing display of color and will impress anyone who sees them.
Calendula
Calendulas, also known as English Marigolds or Pot Marigolds, are another beauty of a flower that is perfect for beginners. Though they are known by names that make them seem like traditional marigolds, they do not belong to the same species. The flowers that are produced are colorful and vibrant, offering a gorgeous pop of color in your garden bed that will make you look like a pro.
This is a hardy flower that is known to handle a variety of growing conditions. The calendula is a great plant for beginners because it germinates quickly and grows very easily. This flower doesn’t require too much care beyond water and sunlight. The pest repellent abilities of this flowering plant keeps it safe from harassment and damage from insects or animals. You can expect this plant to continue to produce beautiful flowers all season until frost, especially if you deadhead the dried flowers to allow for new growth.
Sunflowers
Sunflowers are well known for their stand out beauty and how well they attract pollinators to the garden, especially bees. This flower is a great choice for the best flowers to plant for beginners because these are very easy to grow. Sunflowers come in many different varieties of heights, sizes, colors, and looks. The heights vary from the towering 12 foot varieties to the dainty 2 foot tall sizes. You will have a lot to choose from with this flower.
Sunflowers are very beginner friendly because they are easy to grow and not very picky about their conditions. Poor soil conditions are unlikely to stop this flower from growing and thriving. This favorite flower for many pollinators is a very forgiving plant that will be able to handle some neglect, especially if planted into the ground. Not only do insects love this plant but wildlife, such as birds, also will appreciate the seeds that these flowers produce. On top of all of that, sunflowers are frequently used as a companion plant for other types of plants by attracting insects to them and keeping them away from other crops. Overall, this is an excellent choice for a beginner gardener!
Morning Glory
Morning glories are beautifully colored vining flowers that will be sure to give your yard a pop of color each morning. Since these are vining flowers, they will climb up any vertical surfaces that they can grab onto, optimally a trellis or fence. They come in multiple color varieties and are very unique because the flowers open up during the cool morning and close up later in the day as temperatures rise.
Morning glory flowers are excellent for a beginner who wants to grow their own plants from seeds, as they germinate and grow quite quickly. Though they like well draining soil and plenty of sunlight, they are forgiving to many different types of conditions and soil types. Morning glories are moderately tolerant to drought and will not have to be fertilized frequently. You also will not have to worry about deadheading the old flowers to keep the plant blooming. The pollinators will love the frequent and beautiful flowers that grow!
Perennials
Perennials are plants that will live for multiple years. These plants will grow and produce blooms again every year, for several years. Perennials do not die off at the end of a growing season, instead they go dormant until the weather is favorable again.
Carnations
Carnations are one of the best flowers to plant for beginners if you are looking for perennials. What makes these flowers special is that they come in over 300 different varieties and colors. This gives you a multitude of options to choose from to make your garden suited to your own creative needs. These blooms make for beautiful cut flowers that you can fill vases with after they grow.
Carnations optimally grow in nutrient rich and well draining soil. Though, they are adaptable to many different conditions, while being able to thrive in warm temperatures as well as cooler climates. Carnations can bounce back from mild neglect well because they are moderately drought tolerant plants. Not only are these flowers easy on the eyes, they also have a beautiful scent to them that appeals to many people. Carnations are excellent for both garden beds and container gardening, so you will have plenty of options. If you want more plants, you can even propagate it from cuttings, giving you an endless supply!
Black Eyed Susan
Black eyed Susan’s are commonly recommended as one of the best flowers to plant for beginners because of their low maintenance and their adaptability. These flowers are native to North America, so they are an excellent choice if that is where you are located. They are hardy perennials that will continue to come back every year to fill your garden with blooms.
Black eyed Susan’s prefer well draining soil but will grow in many different types of soils. These flowers are extremely forgiving and drought tolerant. This makes them an excellent plant choice for beginners who are just getting started or those that are busy. Black eyed Susan’s will not require much maintenance in the form of deadheading, pruning, or fertilizing. You can expect these easy going flowers to bloom all summer long, providing pollinators with nonstop nectar.
Daylilies
If you’re looking for a simple type of flower to grow, daylilies are a great choice and one of the best flowers to plant for beginners. You will have a large selection of varieties to choose from with this plant. This is because they come in a large variety of colors and types. If you want a reliable flower that grows rapidly and vigorously, give this perennial a try.
Daylilies are adaptable and can handle many types of soils and varying amount of sunlight. On top of that, these flowers are excellent at withstanding drought due to their ability to store nutrients in their large root systems underground. So, these plants will forgive you if you forget to water them every once in a while. While each flower will only bloom for a day, the plant will produce flowers continuously for 4 to 5 weeks of time. Some varieties, such as the reblooming daylilies, have an extended blooming season for even more color. The pollinators in your area will thank you for growing these gorgeous flowers.
Peonies
Peonies, often referred to as the thornless rose, are delicate and beautiful looking flowers that will make your garden stand out. If you’re looking for a showy flower that will impress everyone, this is an excellent option. These flowers come in many colors, however, the main colors that you will find are red, pink, yellow, orange and white.
Peonies are often deemed to be beginner friendly flowers because they do not require much maintenance. Once a peony plant is grown, it can live for decades of time, in fact they have been known to live over 100 years. This plant is very hardy and can withstand many climates and temperature ranges. Peonies do not need to be watered too often once they are established, which makes them even better for a new gardener. Additionally, these beautiful flowers do not require much in terms of fertilization either. The peony plant is an excellent choice for your beginner garden.
