Probably every gardener wondered: what flowers to plant in the country? The choice of plants is an extremely important stage, because the appearance of the summer cottage and the amount of time that you spend caring for the flower beds depend on the variety of varieties. We recommend not to get hung up on exotic species that are extremely difficult to care for. Better pick up a few unpretentious, but incredibly bright representatives of the flora. Today we will take a closer look at what flowers to plant in the country. Photos, names and features of care are waiting for you below!
Designing a flower garden
Before choosing and planting plants, you need to decide on landscape features, choose a place for flower beds and flower garden components that will be in harmony with each other. One of the most interesting options for a flower garden is a lawn-type flower garden. To do this, it is enough just to sow a certain fragment of the lawn with brightfield flowers. Daisies, clover, poppies and cornflowers are perfect. On such a bright flower meadow you can have picnics, it is also important that such a flower garden does not need special care and even watering.
Another great way to decorate a garden is a flower garden. It is a narrow strip of flowers - from 20 cm to one and a half meters. You can place such a strip along the garden path or around the terrace. What flowers to plant in the country in such a flower garden? We advise you to pay attention to annual undersized flowers. They should be planted in horizontal stripes. The alternation of shades will help to diversify the flower garden.
Looks great in the garden and flower beds. They can be of very different shapes: the usual round, fancy diamond-shaped, strict square or curly. Do not limit yourself to standard low flower beds, try to make raised ones - literally 10-15 cm higher. Along the perimeter, they can be decorated with wood, brick, stone or plastic border.
Great option - a simple wooden arch or a pretty gazebo that can be decorated with vines. For these purposes, clematis, climbing rose, decorative beans or peas, girlish grapes are suitable. Mixborders look good in the design of their summer cottage. What it is? So gardeners call a wide strip of flowers, reaching 4 meters, for which plants of various heights are used. What flowers to plant in the country in a mixborder? Sage, hydrangea, agapanthus and muzzle are perfect. Please note: such a flower garden needs a background. Landscape designers recommend placing mixborders against brick walls or wooden fences.
Tagetes
Thinking about what unpretentious flowers to plant in the country? Pay attention to the pretty marigolds. They are frequent guests of the garden plots of Russia and Ukraine, although their homeland is America. Marigolds are easy to grow, decorative, unpretentious, and therefore even a beginner can handle them!
The rule of gardeners, which sounds like “the sooner you plant, the sooner they bloom”, is quite suitable for marigolds. That is, if desired, you can sow the seeds of these flowers for seedlings in early spring. Seedlings should be kept in a warm and bright room until May. Then the containers should be taken out into the open air: this will help the seedlings get used to the new conditions. After a week, the plants can be planted in a permanent place. However, seeds can also be sown outdoors. This option is ideal for gardeners who are thinking about what flowers can be planted in the spring in the country. For marigolds, you need to make wide holes, you need to plant the seeds at a distance of 1.5 cm from each other, otherwise the flowers will stretch and rot. The land for these flowers should be loose, ideal: turf (1 part), humus (1 part), peat (1 part) and sand (0.5). In addition, the flowers need to provide good drainage - crushed stone, expanded clay or sand should be placed at the bottom of the holes. The height of the drainage layer should be about 3 cm.
When choosing a place for marigolds, it is important to know that they can grow both in the shade and in partial shade. Howeverif you want to achieve lush flowering, plant this plant in the sunniest places in the garden. It is important to provide flowers with protection from the cold wind. Watering and fertilizing should be moderate. Experienced gardeners recommend weeding and loosening the soil. The fact is that marigolds love loose soil, and their roots must breathe. In the summer, pruning should be carried out, which will help form lush bushes.
Ipomoea
What annual flowers to plant in the country? We recommend the beautiful morning glory, also called bindweed. This climbing plant is native to tropical America and South Africa. To date, there are about 500 species of morning glory. Only 25. can be found in gardens
Under natural conditions, flowers can be both annuals and perennials. The forms also differ: it can be grassy vines, dwarf trees and shrubs. Due to the peculiarities of the climate in Russia, morning glory can only be grown as an annual crop. This bindweed begins flowering in June and pleases the eye until the first autumn frosts. New flowers on the garden morning glory bloom every day, withering by evening. The diameter of the flower depends on the species and ranges from 5 to 20 cm. Ipomoea leaves are usually openwork or heart-shaped.
Ipomoea is an extremely photophilous plant, and therefore, if you are thinking about what flowers to plant in the dacha in the shade, it is better to refuse this bindweed. True, light shading is allowed in the southern regions of Russia. Insufficient sunlight can cause morning glory to form a green mass that interferes with flowering. Extremely importantprotect this climbing plant from the wind. Gardeners recommend not planting morning glory on high ground, because such areas are usually windy.
You need to grow bindweed on a support. As soon as the seedling reaches a height of 25 cm, it needs to cling to something. Please note: the sooner it catches on, the faster it will grow. As a support, you can use a simple chain-link mesh, special lattices for climbing plants, arches, verandas, house walls and gazebos. This plant is moisture-loving, before the appearance of buds, it needs frequent and plentiful watering, the earth must remain moist. If Ipomoea does not have enough moisture, the shoots will stop growing. Gardeners recommend mulching the soil under the loach in hot weather.
In order for the plant to please its flowering as long as possible, it is necessary to apply fertilizers. The first feeding should be with a nitrogen content. At the beginning of flowering, fertilizer with phosphorus should be applied. When morning glory begins to bloom luxuriantly, it is recommended to apply phosphorus-potassium fertilizers.
Peonies
What perennial flowers can be planted in the country? Delightful peonies, of course. It is no coincidence that these perennials are very popular with gardeners: they are absolutely unpretentious in care and cultivation, and their beautiful flowers will delight you for 15-20 years. For many years, peonies are able to grow in one place without requiring a transplant.
The appearance of peonies, their decorative effect, flowering and life time depend on how they are cared for. In general, caring for this plant includesloosening the earth, weeding and systematic watering. The best soil for this perennial is loose, loamy. In heavy soil, you will need to add sand, peat, compost and humus. By the way, if you are thinking about what flowers you can plant in the country in the summer, peonies are ideal. They need to be planted in light partial shade, but the site should be fairly sunny. An important condition is the absence of waterlogged soil, because a large amount of moisture is detrimental to this flower.
In order for peonies to take root, they need to be transplanted or planted at the end of August. If you plant the plants later, it will not have time to snuggle up in the cold. The depth of the planting pit for this plant should be about 80 cm, and the width should be about 70. If you plant several peony bushes on the site, the gap between them should be at least 1 m. Immediately after planting, buds should be removed from peonies, their flowering may weaken already weak bushes. Flowers should be removed in the second year. Throughout the summer period, the earth should be moderately moist. As for fertilizers, they can be applied only 2 years after planting. In autumn and early spring, you can sprinkle bushes with compost - a full bucket is required for one plant. Mineral fertilizers should be applied during the growing season.
Delphinium
Thinking about what flowers to plant in the summer in the country? We recommend paying attention to the flower that has absorbed all the azure blue of the sea - the delphinium. It belongs to the buttercup family, has about 400 species. This plant is perennialand annual, its height can be from 40 cm to 2 m. In the middle lane, the delphinium blooms from mid-June to late July. Repeat flowering is also possible: for this, it is necessary to cut the flower stalks after the first flowering.
Delphinium flowers can be white, blue, purple. They are collected in pyramidal inflorescences on a long peduncle. It is worth noting that this plant loves open sunny places that are protected from drafts. On hot days, the sun can burn the petals, so it is necessary to plant the delphinium in calm places where the landing goes into the shade for at least a couple of hours a day. If you are thinking about what flowers to plant in the country so that they can withstand frost, the delphinium is the best option, because it can withstand temperatures down to -40 degrees!
This horticultural crop prefers neutral or slightly acidic soils, always fertile and well-drained. Loose loams, flavored with compost or peat, are also suitable for them. The depth of the hole for the plant should be 40-50 cm.
Flower growers say: in the second year after planting, delphiniums usually give abundant shoots. Therefore, it is extremely important to thin out the bushes. Otherwise, the peduncles will be short and the flowers small. When cutting, shoots growing in the middle of the bush should be removed. This will ensure air circulation. Delphiniums, whose height reaches 50-70 cm, should be tied to pegs, otherwise the fragile stems will break from the wind.
These flowers are moisture-loving, so it is important to ensure that the soil under themdid not dry up. However, too waterlogged plants is also not worth it. In autumn, when the bright beauties fade, it is necessary to cut off their aerial part, leaving only stumps, the height of which will be 25 cm. Such pruning will protect the root collar from rotting during the thaw.
Irises
When the question arises which perennial flowers to plant in the country, many gardeners choose irises, also called cockerels and irises. It is worth saying that these flowers bear the name of the goddess of the rainbow, and therefore the huge number of different shades is not surprising. The flowering of irises begins in the spring, some varieties bloom again in the fall. This perennial blooms especially magnificently in the third year after planting.
In general, under the common name of iris, there are several plants that are similar in appearance, but still differ from each other: bulbous irises and rhizomes. Each has a number of features. So, rhizomatous irises are quite photophilous, they should be planted either in direct sunlight or in openwork shade. Such flowers do not tolerate excesses: waterlogging of the soil and an excess of various fertilizers can destroy them. Rhizome irises should be planted at the end of summer, however, in practice, flower growers often divide and transplant plants either during flowering, or immediately after it is completed. Caring for rhizomatous irises is minimal: they must be weeded, carefully loosened, but only until they grow. Bulbous flowers will need much more attention. They love the sun, moisture and fertile soil. Such irises for the wintershould be covered with spruce branches or special material. Yellow leaves and leaves with brown spots must be removed before this.
The procedure for watering plants deserves special attention: watering irises should be done in the evening, while carefully making sure that water does not get on the flowers. If the place where the iris grows is blown, tall flowers should be tied up, otherwise the flower stalks will break.
Gentian
Thinking about what perennial flowers to plant in the country? We recommend paying attention to the humble gentian. Among the easiest to breed are the seven-parted gentian and the gentian. They are very decorative, grow well in partial shade, prefer fertile land. Decorate the garden and other rare species. For example, in damp, but fairly sunny areas, American gentian, tricolor and large-leaved, grows well. Owners of dry sites should choose the yellow-flowered gentian.
If you answer with confidence - gentian, you need to know: the southern areas are not suitable for it, the ideal option is the western side of the garden plot, where the soil does not warm up very much. It is best to plant plants in partial shade. You can plant low cereals next to the Greek woman, because it is in this combination that they are found in nature.
It is worth saying that every grower can pick up a gentian for his garden. The fact is that different varieties of this plant prefer different soils: for example, Dinaric gentian grows wellon calcareous soils, stemless prefers slightly acidic soil, and Chinese decorated requires acidic soil. Species such as yellow gentian and spring need rich loose soils. For rocky screes and alpine hills, gentian seven-parted is suitable. The remaining species that are common in culture are neutral to soil acidity.
Phloxes
Beginner gardeners often wonder: what flowers to plant in the country so that they bloom from early summer to late autumn? We advise you to pay attention to bright phloxes. They are good from all sides: care for them is easy, they are characterized by excellent winter hardiness, abundant flowering and amazing aroma.
These flowers are quite hardy, they can grow equally well on a wide variety of soils, however, maximum development is achieved on nutritious moist and loose soil. But the lowlands, where water accumulates and stagnates during heavy rains or melting snow, are not suitable for planting phloxes. These flowers do not do well in a shaded place: they become loose and lose the bright color of the petals. The best option for phlox is sunny places or partial shade.
If you are thinking about what flowers to plant in the spring in the country, phlox is what you need. Flower growers recommend planting them in early spring, immediately after the soil thaws. For central Russia, this is usually the end of April. Caring for this horticultural crop is extremely simple, it consists in removing weeds, fertilizing and watering. An adult plant needs top dressing throughoutgrowing season. Watering should also be regular, the ground in the flower bed with phlox should always be wet. Phloxes also need shelter for the winter, because in the absence of snow cover at a temperature of about -15 degrees, growth buds will completely freeze out in 10 days, and at -25 degrees, the rhizome will die. Successful wintering without shelter is possible only if the snow thickness is about 50-60 cm.
Dahlias
What flowers to plant in the country so that they bloom from mid-summer until the first cold snap? We advise you to pay attention to bright dahlias. Once upon a time, the roots of this plant were eaten by the ancient Aztecs. But the inhabitants of Europe were not impressed by the taste of this flower, but its grace and beauty were to the taste of gardeners all over the world.
Today, there are a huge number of varieties of dahlias and a number of types of classification. The assortment is simply incredible: there are instances of bizarre shapes and colors, there are compact dahlias with neat bushes and real giants, whose height exceeds 100 cm. We offer you to consider the most interesting flowers:
- Collar dahlias are characterized by petals of different sizes - short, rolled into tubules, in the middle and flat and long on the outer part of the inflorescence.
- Needle dahlias are characterized by incredibly thin petals, twisted into tight tubes. Appearance, as the name implies, is more like needles.
- Globular dahlias boast lush round inflorescences. The petals of these flowers are quite large andfleshy, and the inflorescence itself is quite loose and soft.
- Pom pom dahlias are very similar to ball dahlias, the difference is only in size - pom poms are slightly smaller.
- Nymphaeous dahlias are characterized by flat inflorescences, in the center of which there is a fluffy center.
- The owners of the most lush inflorescences are peony dahlias. Each flower consists of several rows of wide oval-shaped petals, and in the center there are short petals twisted into elegant tubes.
If you are thinking about what flowers can be planted in the country in light partial shade, we advise you to give preference to dahlias. It is in this area that the plants will delight with beautiful flowers, the duration of the flowering period. Perhaps the only thing that dahlias are demanding is a moderate level of humidity. Landscape design experts recommend taking care of a drainage layer of expanded clay or broken bricks. But you don’t have to worry about the soil: this horticultural crop feels good both on sandy soils and on loamy or black soil.
Despite the fact that the stems of these beauties seem powerful, strong gusts of wind can break them. Therefore, gardeners recommend tying flowers. Moreover, it is necessary to equip a support immediately during the planting of tubers, because after a few months it will be almost impossible to drive a support near the overgrown rhizome of the plant without damaging it. Another feature of this plant is that it is not able to survive too harsh winter. So late autumntubers must be dug up.
Dahlias can be watered and fertilized at the same time. It is important that the water soak the ground to a depth of about 30 cm: this is quite enough for the flower to receive the portion of moisture it needs. As top dressing, you can use organic matter, wood ash, fertilizers containing nitrogen.
Nasturtium
Thinking about what flowers to plant in the country to spend as little time on them as possible? Look at the nasturtium! In its homeland, this tropical beauty grows as a perennial plant. But due to the fact that it does not tolerate sub-zero temperatures, in Russia it is grown as an annual. The most widespread are 5 species of this plant:
- Nasturtium small, which is characterized by yellow flowers with dark spots, velvety petals, pointed to the edges.
- Cultivated nasturtium, some varieties of which are creeping plants.
- Nasturtium is a large, branchy plant that can grow up to 250 cm.
- Shield Nasturtium, which is a creeping semi-shrub whose shoots can grow up to 4 m.
- Foreign nasturtium is a liana, the length of the shoots of which reaches 3.5 m.
If you are thinking about what flowers to plant in the country in order to decorate an unsightly fence, decorate a veranda or gazebo, we advise you to opt for a foreign nasturtium. Shoots with a lot of bright flowers and a bunch of dense leaves look incredibly impressive. In addition, thishardy liana is very unpretentious: in a drought it needs to be watered, and fertilized every four weeks.
