Everyone loves flowers. But not everyone loves to garden. It takes a certain personality to love digging and weeding and transplanting. Most garden experts cannot fathom this, and as a result, give the beginning gardener all sorts of advice about different types of fertilizers and plants, when all the person really wants is some flowers outside to look at.

Easy Flowers
The “easiest” flowers to grow are on shrubs and bulbs. Some perennials are easy, and can be used with the other two. Drive around your area and take pictures of what you like. If they grow well in your area, then they should be easy.

Many flowering shrubs only bloom in the spring or summer. That’s fine: just make sure you have different types that bloom different times of the year. Some shrub roses bloom throughout the year. Be careful when selecting roses! “Hybrid Tea” roses are NOT easy and require lots of care. If you want roses, choose easy-care shrub roses like Knockout and Belinda’s Dream.

Bulbs are the easiest flowers, and quite satisfying for the beginning gardener. You dig a hole, drop them in, cover them up with dirt, and then they later appear like magic! There are types that bloom at different times of the year. Choose at least one type that blooms in the early spring, late spring, summer, and fall.

Perennial flowers are so-called because they return year after year. That means you only have to plant them once, and that is what makes them easy. Like roses, there are fussy ones and easy ones. Different flowers do well in different areas, so what is fussy in my area may be easy in yours. Taking a look at what does well in all the neighbors’ yards will help you determine which to plant. Also, ask for advice at a small nursery where the workers know about plants.

Buying the Flowers
If you intend to buy plants at a big box store or large nursery you must know your zone, whether the bed tends to be wet or dry, and if it is sunny or shady. If you go to a small nursery that has helpful employees, all you need to know is if the bed is sunny or shady. At large nurseries and big box stores, the workers tend to be less knowledgeable and less likely to be able to answer your questions. And national chains stock plants that do well nation-wide, but not necessarily where you live!

Bring the pictures you took of the flowering shrubs and perennials you liked. Even at a big box store, someone should be able to point you towards the plant. Realize that most plants are only available at certain times of the year. Flowering shrubs and perennials tend to be in the stores when they are in bloom, so you will need to buy your spring bloomers in the spring and your summer bloomers in the summer. Read the labels, and select ones that will not get too big for your flower bed. Also pay attention to wet/dry, sunny/shady, and zone (this tells you whether the plant can stand the coldest weather where you live.) Most flowering plants prefer sun, but if your flower bed has to be placed where it is mostly shady, there are many flowering shrubs that do well in shade.

Bulbs are not available when they bloom, because they need to be planted a couple months ahead. Spring blooming bulbs are available in the fall, fall bloomers in the spring, and summer bloomers in the spring or fall. The package should have a picture of the flower, and information: bloom time, shady or sunny, wet or dry, and zones. Select bulbs that will do well in your flower bed.

Planting the Flowers
Design your flowers bed: the shrubs will go in the back, the perennials in the front, and the bulbs will be planted between the perennials and the shrubs. Many people put the bulbs in front, but that takes more maintenance because the bulbs have to be weeded more and the foliage has to be trimmed back after they stop blooming. If you plant the bulbs in between the shrubs and perennials you reduce or eliminate these chores. Bulbs need to be planted in groups of threes or fives. Do not line them up in rows because it is more difficult to keep them looking neat. So group them in a mass between the shrubs and perennials.

Drawing out a plan is important, because you will have to put plants in the flower bed three times before it is complete. In the spring, you will plant the spring blooming shrubs and perennials and the fall blooming bulbs (and the summer blooming bulbs if they are available.) In the summer, you will plant the summer blooming shrubs and perennials. And in the fall you will finish the flower bed by planting the fall blooming shrubs and perennials and the spring blooming bulbs (and the summer blooming bulbs if they are available.)

When planting shrubs and perennials, dig a rough-side hole and gently move the plant from the pot to the hole. Make sure that the level of the dirt in the bed and the pot is the same. If you plant too deep or too shallow, the plant could die. Mulch around the roots, and make sure the soil around the new plants stays moist (not soggy) for two weeks. So water them if it does not rain!

Taking Care of the Flowers
Keep your flower bed mulched. A layer of mulch two to four inches high will keep the weeds out. Keep the lawn from overgrowing your bed by edging. Add a slow release fertilizer to the flower bed a couple times a year. Do not fertilize late in the season because it will encourage the flowers to grow only to be frozen. Organic fertilizers are easier than chemical ones, because it is harder to add “too much” and kill the plants with kindness.

A flower bed should be a joy, not a chore. By planting flowering shrubs, perennials, and bulbs, anyone can enjoy their own easy flower garden.