Let It Grow
If you are planning on stepping into the world of gardening, it’s best to start with easy-to-grow plants. Early successes will encourage you to stick with your new hobby. Observe whether your garden is sunny, shady, damp, or dry, and then choose the best plants to suit the existing environment.
If you find a nice sunny spot to start your new garden, you are in luck, because you have an amazing selection of plants to choose from. Purple coneflowers attract birds and butterflies and will produce seeds that can be collected for the following season. Bee balm (monarda) is a hummingbird magnet, while resisting deer and rabbits. Baptisia, also known as false indigo, brings a lot of interest to the sunny garden with blue, pea-like flowers in late spring and unique blue-green foliage that I love to use in bouquets.
Don’t worry if the sun doesn’t shine on your garden. Certain shade-loving plants can be among the easiest to grow. You can create an entire garden with different types of hostas and coral bells (heuchera). Both of these plants rely on their foliage to impress much more than their flowers. Hosta leaves can be found in different shades of green or a bluish color. They can also be variegated with yellow or white. Coral bells have a wide range of heart-shaped or rounded foliage with colors such as yellows, reds, greens, oranges, and pinks. Both of these plants will send up tall stems of flowers that will attract pollinators such as hummingbirds. Astilbe can bloom in full sun or deep shade and sends up feathery plumes of flowers in shades of pink, purple, red, and white. For an easy-care plant that dazzles with its elegant flowers, plant hellebores. They are one of the earliest perennial flowers to bloom, and their demure, nodding blooms can last for months if the weather stays cool.
Patient new gardeners should plant spring-blooming bulbs in the fall. While the gratification must be delayed, the rewards and success rate is worth the wait. You simply plant the bulbs and forget about them. Come spring, you will be rewarded with daffodils, grape-hyacinths, crocuses, and alliums — all resistant to critters. If you are up for a challenge, try growing tulips, which are easy to grow other than beginning a lifelong battle with squirrels.
In spring, a newbie gardener will feel like a pro in no time if they plant zinnias. These colorful flowers attract pollinators and are extremely easy to grow from seed. One or two packets of seeds will offer a summer full of flowers for cut bouquets while leaving plenty to enjoy for both seed collecting and feeding the birds.
Let us know if you decide to take the gardening plunge. By choosing non-fussy plants, you will learn the basics and build from there. We would love to hear from our readers. This article was inspired by one of our readers, Molly, who wanted some suggestions of easy to grow plants for beginners. Send your questions or comments to: shorelocalgardener@gmail.com.
Tammy Thornton lives with her husband, children, and crazy pets while enjoying a life of gardening, cooking, and going to the beach.
