Planting Flowers

Flowers make us feel good. They lift our spirits and the spirits of those we share them with.

The colors, scents and varieties of flowers that can be grown in a home garden are endless.

Gardeners select flowers based on their own individual desires, whether a specific color scheme, fragrance, type or usage.

Whether we plant beds of perennials, clusters of bulbs, cutting gardens, or containers of annuals, there are many options to choose from.

When we're ready to start planting flowers, plant tags or seed packs give us specific information on the depth and spacing between them, and help us provide the best conditions in which the flowers will thrive.

We plant them, tend them, pick them and enjoy them in our homes. We give them as gifts to make others feel good.

And during the growing season, drying flowers allows us to enjoy their beauty long after they've reached their peak in the garden. We use them in medicines, cooking and crafts.

Growing Flowers

To successfully grow flowers, we need to consider a few things. The location of our garden bed is the first.

We need to define the soil conditions, the amount and type of light it receives daily, the amount of moisture it retains and drains effectively, and the region we live in, in order to select the appropriate flowers to grow.

Once we have this information, we can choose from a variety of plants that are suited to these conditions.

If you already know the flowers you want to grow, the process will be the same, but this time identifying a location and conditions suitable to the flower.

Perennials, annuals, biennials, shrubs, vines and bulbs are available in a variety of colors and sizes.

Native flowers are low-maintenance, while other varieties may require more care. The choices are innumerable and they're all yours to make.

Once you have defined the growing conditions available and the appropriate flowers, there are many ways you can design your garden for growing flowers. Myriad shapes and sizes can be created to accommodate your site.

Drying Flowers

When our flowers have reached their peak and start to fade, we can feel sad. But by drying flowers from our gardens at various times during the growing season, we can extend their enjoyment throughout the year.

We can dry them by hanging them individually or in clusters, press them flat as individual petals and leaves or whole flowers, or use a glycerin solution to preserve them.

By picking them at the appropriate times, these methods of preserving our beautiful garden flowers give us the opportunity to create unique projects for our homes and as gifts.

Any flowers to be dried should be picked in late morning after the dew has evaporated and before the heat of the day.

If you can't dry them right away, keep the cut flowers in a container of lukewarm water in a cool, dark place. Remove the leaves unless they are very dry before beginning the process.

Air dry flowers that keep their form when dried by hanging upside-down singly or in small clusters.

Delphiniums, goldenrods and everlastings work well for this method. Chinese lanterns, baby's breath and globe thistles dry best standing upright in an empty container.

Still others prefer half an inch of water to start their drying process. Hydrangeas, yarrow, heather and bells of Ireland are best suited to this water method. The will dry as the water evaporates in the container.

In addition, flowers with large, flat heads dry best when their stems poke through a screen, which supports the heavy flower head.

Queen Anne's lace, fennel and dill heads are delicate and are best dried with this method.

If the stems on any flowers are weak, replace them before drying with floral wire.

This works especially well with heavy flower heads like globe amaranth and strawflowers.

Cut the stem ½ inch beneath flower head and insert 22-gauge floral wire into the stem and through flower head, twisting the tip and gently pulling back into the flower head.

Whatever our reasons, once we make the decision to grow flowers, the options are plentiful.

We select the site, varieties and uses for the beautiful flowers we plant, grow and dry. And we love every minute of it!