Blooming Anywhere With Ease: Discover the 8 Resilient Flowers That a Skilled Gardener Never Fails to Sow
Low-Maintenance Plants for a Beautiful Garden
Discover the joy of gardening with minimal effort! Here are some top picks for unfussy plants that will bring ease, longevity, and beauty to your garden.
Perennials
- Annual Vinca (Madagascar Periwinkle), also known as Catharanthus roseus, is a sun-loving, heat-tolerant flower that blooms all summer in various colors. Known for its self-cleaning property, this tender perennial does not require deadheading but needs watering. In USDA zones 10 to 11, it is a perennial, but elsewhere it is typically grown as an annual.
- Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is a low-maintenance perennial that blooms on and off all summer with showy, bright orange clusters of flowers. It is drought-tolerant, does not need to be cut back or deadheaded, and is a milkweed host plant for the monarch butterfly and a nectar plant for bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
- Bearded Irises, Catmint, Daylilies, Coneflowers, and Stonecrop are top choices for a low-maintenance garden. These perennials multiply easily, require minimal care, and thrive in a range of conditions, spreading on their own without much intervention.
- Rozanne® cranesbill geranium and ‘Walker's Low’ catmint are easy-growing, evergreen choices that tolerate shade and varying soils. They are known for their extended bloom time and groundcover ability without being invasive.
- Hellebores and Sarcococca (Christmas box) are also evergreen, easy-growing choices that tolerate shade and varying soils.
Annuals
- Wax Begonias (Begonia semperflorens-cultorum) are easy to grow flowers that do not require deadheading or cutting back. They have loose clusters of flowers in white, red, or pink and are perennial in USDA zones 9 to 11, but typically grown as annuals.
- Annual Vinca (Madagascar periwinkle) is another top low-maintenance pick. It does not require deadheading and carries on blooming robustly with minimal fuss, performing well in sun or part shade with moderate watering.
Flowers for Containers and Hanging Baskets
- 'Supertunia Vista' and 'Wave' petunias are popular choices for containers, hanging baskets, and gardens. They have large, wavy flowers in a myriad of bright and pastel colors and are fragrant. They are bred to bloom continuously without the need for deadheading.
- Daylilies form a clump of grass-like leaves and send up scapes of trumpet-shaped flowers in many colors and bicolors in early summer. They are hardy in USDA zones 3 to 9.
- 'Whopper' series of wax begonias can fill a container by the end of summer with just one plant.
- Annual vinca can be grown in a hanging basket for easy vertical interest.
- 'Profusion' zinnias are compact, mounding, continuous-blooming flowers in various colors. They attract birds and butterflies and can be planted as late as August for end-of-season flowers.
Caring for Your Plants
To keep your petunias happy, consider using Scotts' All Purpose Flower and Vegetable Continuous Release Plant Food, a slow-release 10-10-10 fertilizer. For 'Supertunia Vista Bubblegum Petunia', you can find it from Walmart.
Daylilies grow well in full to part sun and moist, well-draining soil. When planting, adding a slow-release 10-10-10 fertilizer such as Scotts' All Purpose Flower and Vegetable Continuous Release Plant Food can help keep them happy for months.
True lilies, such as Asiatic and Oriental lilies, are easy to plant and grow. They can be purchased and planted in the fall or spring for summer bloom. After blooming, cut off the faded flowers to avoid seed formation, and let the foliage die back naturally to regenerate the bulb. They will return the next summer.
Stonecrop needs little water because of its succulent stems and is drought-tolerant. After it blooms, leave the flower clusters for winter interest.
Sources: [1] gardenmyths.com/unfussy-perennials/ [2] gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how/flowers/annual-vinca/growing-annual-vinca-catharanthus-roseus.htm [3] gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how/flowers/begonia/growing-wax-begonias.htm [4] gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how/flowers/geranium/growing-cranesbill-geraniums.htm
