[SmackytheFrog]

I finally have a house where I can have a garden of flowers (my dad's deadly allergic to bees so I've always been apprehensive about growing them when I lived with him) and I don't particularly have a green thumb - more likely the opposite. Does anyone have any advise for what types of flowers I should plant as a first time gardener and tips for getting started?

Our snow has just melted so I'm feeling excited about the idea of it

[splitimage]

Impatiens are good, as they're pretty, flower pretty much all summer, and are hard to kill so they're good for novices. Same with Petunias, Geraniums, and Snapdragons, although the later tend to require a lot of water.

Have fun planning your garden.

--splitimage

[SmackytheFrog]

Hard to kill, that's good LOL Thanks SplitImage! I just googled them and they are really pretty! ^_^

Is it necessary to begin growing flowers indoors or can I wait until its warmer and sow the seeds outside?

[Yoda]

http://www.burpee.com/ This site has 'how to' videos and has information about which flowers need full sun, which need shade and stuff like that. It is simpler to buy flowers that have already been started and you just transplant into the ground but growing from seed is cheaper although more work and may require plant lights if you don't have enough windows with good sun exposure.

Marigolds are easy to grow and if you put them in with your vegetable garden the marigolds will repel insects.

[SmackytheFrog]

Oooh! Thanks Yoda.

I thought about having a veggie garden...but then I remembered I have a dog haha I know I could probably train him to refrain from doing his business in my gardens though... which would be good because I'd LOVE to have a pea patch. My mom had one when I was a kid and there was nothing better than going out and picking some right off the plant to eat.

[Yoda]

Yes dogs love gardens. One day I found my German shepherd lying on the leaves of my cucumbers. It must have been a cool spot on a hot day. It didn't help the cucumbers much though.

Something else easy to grow is herbs. If you grow peppermint/spearmint you might want to put it in a container because mint just grows and grows and grows and takes over.

Which kind of peas did your mom grow? My favorite is sugar snap peas and yes they are delicious right out of the garden.

If you can find seed or plants Mortgage Lifter tomatoes are absolutely delicious. I love a slice of those pretty pink tomatoes with a bit of mayo on bread. Yum!

[SmackytheFrog]

OMG I hate you :P I REALLY want a tomato sandwich now! LOL

I'm not sure what kind of peas they were...I was about 6-7 at the time lol But I might be able to ask my dad to find out.

I thought about growing herbs too actually, I love cooking with them and most of them smell just amazing.

You have a good idea there with the herbs---they are perennials (--they come up every year so's you don't have to plant them every year)

I tried horseradish once--it's a root plant--took up the whole garden.

As far as flowers go--you may want to try the perennial kinds--alot run wild

Daylilies and daffodils and lily of the valley and babysbreath--ohhh so many to choose from!!!

I'm excited for you--you can go online and order the seed catalogues now---

I loved that--in January, I'd be sending out for all sorts of seeds-------enjoy!!-Theo

[Beholden]

Originally Posted by SmackytheFrog

OMG I hate you :P I REALLY want a tomato sandwich now! LOL

I'm not sure what kind of peas they were...I was about 6-7 at the time lol But I might be able to ask my dad to find out.

I thought about growing herbs too actually, I love cooking with them and most of them smell just amazing.

I want a tomato too.

There is a Social Group just for gardeners here at PC so you can find out what all us PC gardeners are up to! We are all friendly and love to share our gardening fun and failures. hOPE TO SEE YOU THERE. Opps, sorry about the Caps Lock!