There was a time when I only planted edible crops in my garden. Now I love to plant flowers as well- and actually many of them are edible, like calendula, zinnia, cosmos, etc.
Planting flowers not only brings beauty but also increases the biodiversity and insect life in the garden. Butterflies and bees benefit, increasing the pollination in your garden, and improving fruit set for squash, melon and cucumber crops.
My top 5 summer flowers for blossoms all season are:
1. Zinnia
2. Marigold
3. Calendula
4. Cosmos
5. Sunflowers
This is a good time to start your summer flowers. You have two options. They are both equally good depending on your gardening style and how much time you have.
1. Direct Sow Seeds- Head out to the garden with the seed packet. Create a shallow trench, sprinkle the seeds and cover with just enough soil to to cover. You can try to get good spacing but direct seeding will often result in denser plantings which is totally fine for a lot of flower crops anyways. Small direct seeded seedlings are easy prey for birds so you might want to cover the area with row cover or netting until the plants are big enough.
Direct seeding is great when you just want to get it done, don't want to baby sit seedlings and have a good irrigation system all ready to go.
2. Start seeds in trays- If your garden isn't quite ready then starting seeds in trays of potting soil is a great method. Fill cells with good potting soil- not dirt- and sow seeds no more than twice as deep as they are big. Keep them in a warm place with good lighting. At this time of year, a lot of flower and veggie seeds can just be started outside on a table where they get direct light and are used to the elements from day one.
If you live in a colder area then you might still need to bring them in at night or use a greenhouse.
When your seedlings are about 2-4 inches tall they are ready to transplant to the garden.
