If you have a green thumb and are considering sprucing up the garden, have you decided what you are going to plant?  Are you looking at a vegetable garden that will provide you fresh produce to eat or are you looking at a more decorative garden such as a flower garden?  Garden flowers are bright and colorful and when in bloom throughout a garden, can make you feel positive and happy. Rex Begonia Plants are excellent houseplants.

It is commonplace to give flowers for many different occasions; birthdays and anniversaries to funerals and get well soon.  Garden flowers are very versatile in that respect and if you are ever worried about what gift to give, a hand grown bunch of flowers from your own garden will certainly do the trick.  Garden flowers are also a great decorating idea.  Arrange a colorful bunch of flowers in a decorative vase and place it in a dull room, it will make an instance improvement on the atmosphere in the room.  Perfumed garden flowers such as lilies and roses in a dull room can brighten it up and leave an aroma that is hard to ignore.

There is a huge variety of garden flowers available, some bloom all year, others only for a season, so it is important to know your flowers so you can have a blooming garden all year round.  There are two types of flower gardens; annual and perennial.  Annual flowers only live for a season.  These flowers grow from seed, bloom and die in a single season.  They need to be replanted each year in spring and they include petunias and marigolds.  Generally an annual flower can bloom from spring through to fall.

Perennials live for three or more seasons and when planted will normally not bloom in the first year if grown from seed as they have not reached maturity.  The lifespan of a perennial flower can be approximately three to five years and after this time may need to be replaced with a new plant.  Perennials, unlike annuals only bloom for a very short period; anywhere from a week to three weeks once a year.  Perennial flowers include African lilies, columbines, English daisy, summer daisy and daffodils.

As you can see, some preparation is required to create a beautiful flower garden.  You will need to do some research to learn which garden flowers are perennials and which are annuals so you can have an all year round flowering garden.  If you have a creative mind, you could plan ahead and arrange a garden by colors to reveal an artistic, intriguing garden when it is in bloom.  Remember to plan ahead and learn about your flowers so your idea will bloom, but also remember that if you’re not a planner at heart, just plant your flowers and see what beautiful creation you end up with, it will be just as beautiful as one that has had hours of planning.

Perennials Vs Annuals – What Are the Advantages of Each?

If you are a new homeowner, planting your flower gardens, bushes and trees are something you thought about from the time you first looked at your new home. You probably have a picture in your mind of what you want your flower gardens to look like.

There are pros and cons to perennial plants or flowers and annual plants and flowers. Those that are perennial will come up year after year, and usually cost more. Annuals are often planted as seeds and nursed into full flowering plants that require weeding and need to be re-planted each year.

You might decide to plant a combination, but those that have little time to work in the yard always choose perennial, because they practically grow on their own and don’t require much more than cutting them back at the end of the growing season. Typically, the flowers aren’t as vibrant as annuals, but there are some perennial plants that can bloom all season and be beautiful and vibrant, such as roses and day lilies and includes seasonal flowers such as daffodils, tulips, lilac bushes, peonies and daisies.

Annuals cost very little, if you plant them from seed. If you want uniform placement, you might consider starter plants to give you instant color and give them an advantage over the weeds. They are cheaper plant initially, but they require more work, such as constant watering, weed pulling and dead-heading. For those that like to garden, they may not mind this hobby. You can find a wide variety of annuals and for those on a budget, annuals are the choice.

The main advantage to perennials is that they can easily adapt to weather conditions and are hardier than annual plants. They are normally planted once, but bloom year after year. Some perennial plants only bloom every other year and newly planted perennial plants may not bloom the first year or two. You have to carefully consider placement, since it is harder to transplant them, once they have taken root. The other great thing about perennial plants is that you can add a few plants a year to your landscape until you get all of the color you want. It is considered a landscaping investment, when it comes time to sell your home.

With annuals, the main advantage is the varieties and bright colors you can get. The affordability is another factor and you can change the look of your landscaping every year, to something different. The main disadvantage is that they are not as hardy and the growing season is not as long as perennials, in most cases. If you have an extremely hot and dry summer, or if fall comes early, your plants may die. Because they aren’t as hardy, you may need to consider whether you have a sprinkler system and placement can be helpful in keeping them alive.

When analyzing the pros and cons of perennial plants versus annual plants for your garden, it might be best to make perennial plants a stable part of your landscaping and supplement it with hints of colors from annual plants, in case weather conditions are unfavorable. This will allow you to continually add to your landscape investment with perennials each year and add hints of plant colors and variety in strategic areas for a beautiful display.