What are some easy maintenance, pretty and cheap flowers?

I want some pretty flowers that are easy to maintain so I can plant in my yard. I have no idea what I'm doing. I've never done any planting before.

What are some easy maintenance, pretty and cheap flowers?
Marigolds and lavendar and both great sun-loving, low-water flowers. Since they don't require a lot of water, they're harder to kill. And they're pretty! Lavendar is a perennial bush, so it will come back (bigger) each year, and has the added bonus that you can cut and dry the flowers for potpourri and sachets and stuff. Good luck!
Reply:Well, I'm a man and live alone. I like a nice looking yard and have a small flowerbed although like most men I don't want to be a flower lover so to speak. In other words as a man I find other things more appeasing to me than flower growing/maintaining. Like others have said I have many different colors of Mums which are very low maintenance and return yearly as well as a few Irises. I also Azalea shrubs that have different colors of blooms every spring. Every spring I stick in a few colorful Marigolds in between other plants and between vegetables that I grow because they are a natural insect repellant that will help keep bugs of your other plants as well as help with mosquitos if you enjoy outdoors. On my fence row I have wild running rose bushes. They bloom in the late summer and come back every year w/o fail. Good gardening!
Reply:Lilies are very pretty and you can get them in all colors from deep red to white.


They are very much maintenance free and they multiply each year.


At this time of year, you probably could get them half price at your Garden%26amp;Home Center.
Reply:My favorite type of flowers are perennials, because they come back up every year. These include Lilies, Mums, Irises, Tulips, Hastas, and many others. It's great because next year you won't have to do anything, except maybe a little weeding, and you'll look out your window one morning and there they are.
Reply:Don't know what zone you're in, but I'm in zone 9 (nor. CA) Easy flowers for me have always been geraniums, zinnias, cosmos, pansy/viola, marigolds, allysum, and morning glories. Impatiens are especially great for shady areas. These are all annuals which die off in the winter, and you have to replant in the spring--although, sometimes they will reseed themselves. You can also get some nice perennials (these live year after year), but they usually don't provide the same blast of constant color that the annuals do for spring and summertime. I have a lot of perennials, with a sprinkling of annuals; that way, it doesn't look like the entire garden disappears in the winter!
Reply:If you want to keep it simple, just plant some annual flowers, they are much easier to maintain than perennials. You should be able to find annuals at your local garden center. For full sun you should try petunia, purslane, rose moss, celocia, scabiosa or lantana. Sweet potato vine is a no brainer. All of these are relatively easy to care for and pest free.
Reply:I Love nasturtiums! Buy some SEEDS. Make a hole about 1/2 inch deep and drop the seed in. Cover. water well for about 2 or three weeks and then just water whenever. Nasturtiums like regular to poor soil, so you don't need to fertalize, doing so will produce more green foliage than flowers. They like sun and are drought resistant. Too much water will result in less flowers. In about a month or so, you will start getting LOTS of flowers. I wish I could send you pictures of my house in CA. I had SO MANY flowers and I planted these seeds in clay soil that had not been worked or fertalized for decades! In warmer climates like california, they will reseed themselves and grow again. All you have to do is grab the dead stuff, pull and they come right out, no hard gardening. I'm in Utah now and i planted them ALL OVER my yard. They seem to be growing a little slower than I remember, but heat isn't their favorite thing, they like to be less than 80, but they still grow great! I've also had good luck with dianthus. You can get some already grown plants at your local plant nursery. I'd use some "planting mix" though. Just dig a hold twice the size of the little pot it comes in, mix the planting mix with your existing soil and put a little in the bottom of the hole. remove the plant from the pot and place the plant in the hole and fill in the sides and cover with about an extra inch above the potted soil. Water well for about a week and then water regularly. They are also drought resistant. They do well with a little fertalizer. I use Miracle Grow. This fall, depending upon which area you live in and the harshness of the winters, I recommend planting daffodils, tulips and then in spring you can plant gladiolas. These are all bulbs. The daffodils and tulips come up and flower every spring and the gladiolas will come up and give you beautiful stalks of flowers every summer. Also to plant in the fall for spring are grape hiacynths (another bulb) or even regular hiacynths. Bulbs are cool because you can plant them and forget them! When they come up every year, fertilize and when the leaves die, cut them all off and wait for next year. In the meantime, nasturtiums, dianthus and petunius or pansies would be on my list of easy to grow. They all like sun. I love gardening! Right now, I am raising peruvian daffodils for the second year in a row and a "bat flower" that I've never raised before. I hope it comes up. They both flower in summer, but cannot withstand my winter, so I bring the pots in the house over winter to go dormant.


I like these sites:


www.americanmeadows.com


www.dutchbulbs.com


www.parkseeds.com





I've ordered from the first two a lot. In fact, I have an order of about 50 hiacynth bulbs to be delivered this fall for me to plant in the backyard. Spring next year is going to be memorable! I just planted a "summer daffodil" which is a double narcissus (I know you don't know what that means yet) which blooms in the early summer instead of early spring. My neighbors are going to marvel at them!!! Good luck and I hope this helps you out. There are SO many good flowers out there! Oh, don't forget bearded iris or dutch iris! They are bulbs (actually tubors, but....) and they are to be planted in fall or early spring for a late spring or early summer bloom. SO pretty! Plant 'em and forget 'em and people will stop and tell you how beautiful your garden is!
Reply:You should probably get a hold a gardening book or two.





You need to consider where you are going to plant and what conditions you have such as a sunny spot or a shady spot etc.





Gardening is pretty easy and relaxing but some basic info is necessary to get started.
Reply:At this time of year, you may wish to get petunias, marigolds, pansies, etc.. and transplant. You are preparing part of your yard for your future flower bed.





Buy a book on flowers/plants. I got a book on perennials. It will take time going through finding what is pretty, when blooms %26amp; for how long, needs to be in full sun or not, if goes good in your zone, how high they get, maintenance needed, and what kind of soil they grow.





In fall, I had sprinkled seeds for hollyhocks and large red poppys in the back (they get tall). Mums could be next, they will probably be only thing blooming in fall. Plant (red) tulip and (yellow) daffodile bulbs throughout parts of the middle (they bloom early then gone). In that same middle (hot pink) petunias, (orange/yellow) marigolds and (purple) pansies - - these three are annuals and would have to be planted yearly you can use seed packets that you buy now so have on hand next spring (may be gone in store in spring). The both sides and front is planted with a row of leaf black-seed lettuce which is also an annual (and food) planted each spring. I like fresh leaf lettuce %26amp; this makes an attractive short light green hedge.





But, find what you like for your soil, sunlight and zone. I'm just saying do a transplant for this year and plan for next year.





E-mail me if you have any questions.
Reply:OK...I need you to be more specific. Where do you live and do you want annuals that only last a year but cost less or do you want perennials? How much sun do you have and what is the soil drainage like? Also what color is your house and how large do you want these plants to be when mature...I am a landscape designer by the way...:)