Monday, March 10, 2008

Flowers I love in the Garden


I love to plant flowers amongst the veggies. It just adds so much.
My all time favorite has to be the Sunflowers. I like to plant them in groups of varying sizes and colors. There's just something about looking out in the morning and seeing them that puts you in a good mood right away. I think Sunflowers are happy flowers. This year I am adding the one in the pic, Teddy Bear. Love the name too.

One of my next favorites would be Hollyhocks.
They are so representative of old farmhouses to me. At one time they were grown to hide the outhouses. When guest's came to your house they didn't have to ask where the outhouse was, they just looked for the Hollyhocks.
Thomas Jefferson grew Black Hollyhocks. It's said it was his favorite flower after the Rose.
This year, along with my other Hollyhocks, I am growing a new one called a Zebrina Hollyhock.(Thanks for the seed Duane) Pictured here on the right. You can see the striking difference from the French Hollyhocks on the right. Just a nice old fashioned flower that reminds me of a time when things were simpler.

Then there's the Morning Glories. I love the way this flower opens to greet the sun. It' climbs on just about anything from a fence to a flag pole. This is not my pic by the way. It attracts Hummingbirds too which is a plus. This year I will be putting in a mix of different colors.

I have a bunch of new varieties I am trying out this year so I will keep you updated on the ones I liked the most.
I think flowers add so much to the garden it surprises me how many people never think to add them amongst there veggies.

3 comments:

Frederick said...

We love Sunflowers as well.
Made a mistake last year, planted them in rows each side of the garden. One lot 'looked' at us the other lot turned their backs.
Near us they are grown as a crop. Whole fields of them looking at you as you go down the road. Wonderful

Anonymous said...

I grew Zebrina last year. It is not a true hollyhock it is a mallow. It does really well and has not only reseeded it is coming back beautifully. Did you know that Okra and Hollyhocks are in the same family? I highly recommend growing some just for the flowers!

Tomatoaddict said...

Thanks for the info. I did not know that. I am not a good flower person. More into the tomatoes.