Growing vegetables and herbs is fun and rewarding; but there’s something about the beauty and simplicity of flowers that has always been a draw for me as a gardener (and person in general – they were, hands down, my favorite part of our wedding).
When I initially started my research into which plants I wanted to grow in our plot, flowers were the first on my list. I found a great resource in the UF/IFAS Extension website while doing my research, specifically this article that lists the planting and removal times and sun exposure levels of more than 50 annual flower species commonly grown in Florida.
Using the table as a guide, I settled on the flowers listed below that thrived in the full Central Florida for the rest of the year. All of these flowers were bought as mature plants, except for the portulaca, which is very difficult to find outside of seed form. My favorite flowers that we have in the garden currently are the pentas. They have bright petals in a variety of colors that have continued to bloom throughout the four months we’ve had them in the garden! Which are your favorites?
Sadly, the zinnias did not last more than a week after we planted them. We think the variety we bought needed more shade, which is not ideal for where our plot is located (aka in full sun for most of the day). They literally looked like they burned the way they shriveled up even when we watered them frequently. Luckily Justin and I are viewing this process as a learning experience and will remember to double-check varieties before purchasing and planting.
Use the arrows in the gallery above to move through the different images of our spring garden flowers. And check out my next post to learn what herbs we have growing right now!
Flowers
- Angelonias
- Gaillardia
- Impatiens
- Lantana
- White & Yellow Leucanthemum
- Milkweed
- Marigold
- Pentas
- Plumbago
- Portulaca
- Rose
- Veronica
- Vinca
- Zinnia