Choosing flowers

You have, or want to have, a flower garden, and you want some flowers in it, of course. How do you choose which flowers?

It sounds obvious, but there may well be some flowers in it already. If you have just moved in, then the previous owner may have planted flowers. Or there may be weeds which you decide you like, and want to redisignate as "not weeds, really!" Perennials die right back in the autumn, and look dead. Bulbs may die down after they flower in the spring. Weeds appear throughout the year. So it may take a whole year before you know everything in your garden. You may be uninterested, of course, and want to design the garden from scratch. But if not, why not start from what's already there? You can put stuff in immediately, of course. But keep an eye on what appears unexpectedly. It's free, after all!

You want flowers you like, of course, but there are lots of reasons for liking flowers. You may be nostalgic or sentimental, remembering them from childhood, or having associations rennected with them, perhaps just the name! Or you see the flower somewhere, and think it's lovely. Don't worry too much about why you like a flower. Have a go! But I will give a word of warning. Different plants like different soil types, and different climates. They may require expertise or knowledge. They may just decide they don't like your garden. or the local cat may eat it (a resentful statement about catnip - a plant with sentimental association from my childhood. I really must give up trying...) There is no reason why you shouldn't try growing a particular flower. But don't feel too bad if you fail!

There are other things to think about. How about colour? Do you like bright colours, or subtle colours, or pale colours? Or white? Or a combination, of course. Do you like a specific colour? What about a mass effect of a single colour? Or how about a collection of colours? Certain packets of seeds describe themselves as "mixed colours", which I like (but others may not).

Flowers tend to flower at one time of year. You may find that in spring, your garden is full of beautiful flowers, then suddenly there's nothing. There's nothing wrong with this if you're OK with it, but you may find yourself on the lookout for autumn flowering plants, or some other time of year. In my garden, I find that bulbs are good for very early in the year, and it cheers me up in winter to see some bright crocuses. Then it moves onto daffodils, then tulips. Then it moves onto the early perennials, and biennials planted out the previous autumn. The roses tend to dominate summer, although other perennials keep going. After the roses, there may be some annuals starting to flower (if I remembered to sow or plant any). Some perennials have a good long flowering period, because they have flower spikes, with the individual flowers coming out at different points. I find late summer and early autumn a problem, but the roses may have a second flowering, and there are a few late flowering perennials, or the annuals continue. You don't have to follow that! And by all means just say "It's a spring garden". By the way, you will inevitably find yourself saying "You should have seen it last week." Why do you think I take some many photos?

One thing worth thinking about is height. Some flowers are low, some medium, some tall, and some are ridiculous! (Hollyhocks.) These help to give a structure to the garden, but even if you don't plan the garden that much, you need to think about it. A tall flower in front of a short one isn't a good idea! But you must also remember that perennials tend to grow up each year, then die back, so the garden looks different all the time (which I enjoy).

There are permanent plants, and there are the annuals. You may prefer one or the other. Annuals need to be bought as bedding plants and planted out every year (or sown from seed). That is a certain amount of work, but they are fairly reliable (if you can get them to grow at all). You can even strip out all the plants each year, and restock the garden, growing them to a strict plan. That is the basis of many formal flower gardens. Perennials come back every year, without extra work. But they grow bigger each year, and need to be controlled, or split up and replanted. Then there are the self-seeders, and they get everywhere! You will have your own preferences after gardening for a bit. I love seeing the same perennials grow up again each year, and some have been in the garden longer than I have (and that's over 40 years). Annuals are useful for filling "holes" in the flower bed. They can provide cheerful colour at sparse times of year. And I enjoy the sheer unexpected quality of the self-seeders. Where are the forget-me-nots going to appear this year?

Some people may try to get specific plants, from garden centres or online - I have myself. But also gardeners tend to wander over to plant stalls in various places, just to see what's there. It's fun to try things out - see if they work. They may die, of course. They may take over the garden, and have to be removed. We live and learn... This means that some of the species among my flower photos may not be eaily found. I must have found it on a stall somewhere.

Garden centres are an obvious place to find plants in pots, ready for planting out. I have divided flowers into bulbs, annuals and perennials. Bulbs are usually sold as such, and only sold at certain times of year (since that is when you would plant them). Plants in pots in garden centres seem to have their own classifications. First, there will be different plants at different times of year so it's worth looking more than once a year (if you use garden centres). Annuals are not normally described as such. They are sold as bedding plants, and usually in trays. You won't be able to buy a single plant. The idea is that you buy a tray (anything from 6 plants up to 24) and use them to produce "a display". Some plants are specifically sold for hanging baskets (which I have never done). They might be fine as normal bedding plants. However some are "trailing" plants. That means that they produce long floppy stems which hang downwards if in a basket, but look rather silly if growing in the ground!

Perenials usually are sold singly, so if the plants are not classified at all, this is one clue. But every single plant in a pot should have a label on it, specifying whether it is hardy or tender, how big it grows, a picture of the flower, and other useful information. (This is less common with plant stalls, which may just have a laconic label with a name, or nothing at all. On the other hand, the stall should have a knowledgeable person who can give you this information. The most important thing is whether it is hardy.Sometimes garden centres classify plants as alpines. These are perenials which are small plants and never grow much taller, although they may spread sideways. They used to be used in rock gardens, when that was a fashion. Alpines are usually hardy (think of the Alps - they get cold!). The garden centre will have bushes and shrubs (check carefully how big they will grow!) and climbers. At certain times of year, there may be vegetable plants in pots. There are likely to be fruit trees, and roses.

As a general rule, when buying plants or seeds or bulbs, if you haven't grown them before, you don't know that they will grow in your garden. You haven't failed if they don't grow. It could be the wrong soil type, or you were unlucky with the weather, or some other condition was wrong. Or perhaps it was a sub-standard plant to begin with. A plant that fails to take can teach you something about gardening as much as a plant that flourishes. (And flourishing plants can cause their own problems!)