Cool Flowers. Lisa Mason Ziegler

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      Early summer harvests of hardy annuals.

      Success with Hardy Annuals

      Hardy annuals are those plants that typically only survive or produce a suitable crop of flowers for one year and are hardy enough to survive cold temperatures of winter. For many regions, these flowers can be planted in the fall to winter-over and bloom in spring – with a repeat planting in very early spring, if desired, to extend the blooming season well into summer.

      For the northernmost regions of the country, these are the flowers to plant on the very earliest spring days, long before the last frost date has arrived. These are the flowers you can plant when the gardening bug is itching the most – when the seed catalogs are arriving daily and all you want to do is to get out there and plant something.

      The truth is, nature stacks the cards for a hardy annual garden (and gardener) to succeed. In fall, winter and early spring, the temperatures are not soaring, so the garden worker is more likely to enjoy the task at hand. The plants are equally happy with the cooler temperatures, which means less stress on the plants. The soil does not dry out as fast, which means fewer watering chores – the rain and snow of fall and winter do the watering for you. Even better, pests and disease are not as active at this time of year.

      All of this means success for your garden. Flowers planted during cool weather will become well established and grow a strong root system long before they are expected to begin performing. These healthy plants will stand on a sturdy foundation that will carry them through spring and into summer, taking on heat, disease, pests and drought with little problem.

      Join in on the best-kept secret of gardening – fall, winter, and early spring planting of hardy annuals – for the best garden ever. It will restore your gardening hope and bring spring and summer blooms like you’ve never seen before.

       Lisa

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      HOW FLOWERS CHANGED MY LIFE

      My journey to flower farming reads almost like a gardening love story. Growing flowers and living what I consider “the good life” of faith, family and farming leaves little on my want list. It all started because I got the guy and he came with a big garden. Actually, it was far more than just a garden – it was a family homestead that also came with a strong tradition and history of gardening. I was totally smitten from the start by him and this way of life.

      Growing up, gardening experiences at my house were all about shady conditions. Our yard came alive with bed after bed of beautiful azaleas and rhododendrons. I remember my dad bringing home the many coffee cans, each with a little baby azalea started by a friend, and our family spending a Saturday planting them until dark. There wasn’t much tending required afterwards, just the annual mulching with pine straw that made itself available falling from our pine trees. Easter egg hunts and spring family birthday parties always went hand in hand with the white, pink, red and purple blossoms of azaleas in the background.

      As an adult, weekly visits to my grandma’s home began to spark my interest in gardening. She shared little bits and pieces of her garden with me, and that led me to the library to explore garden books and magazines. I never dreamed I would be so moved and stirred by all the possibilities that a garden could hold. I was wooed by the beautiful photos and wanted a garden of my own.

      Steve СКАЧАТЬ