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Pink Wildflowers That Bloom in Summer

A blush of new color might be just what you’re looking for. The rosy blooms of the plants on this list bring visual interest wherever they’re found. Every summer season is enriched by the vibrant contrast of these pink blooms against a backdrop of green. Find your new favorite drama queen here.

Common milkweed

Asclepias syriaca, commonly known as Common milkweed , is a flowering perennial herbaceous plant native to North America. It contains milky latex which can be toxic to sheep, cows, and other larger mammals (including humans) if it is consumed in large amounts. Many insect species are attracted to Common milkweed , most notably monarch butterflies.

Dame's rocket

Dame’s rocket (Hesperis matronalis) was introduced to North America from Europe as an ornamental flower. It spread far through the region and is now considered an invasive species for woodlands and prairies in many states. Unlike most plants, the flowers and seed pods of Dame’s rocket grow at the same time.

Rose campion

The Rose campion is an important ornamental plant and has received the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. It natives to Asia and Europe and now is widely cultivated. The Latin Silene coronaria stands for used for garlands and is sometimes referred to as Lychnis coronaria in the United Kingdom.

Creeping thistle

This aggressive weed spreads across grasslands and fields via underground roots that creep horizontally, some for more than 5 m. It can cause major problems to agriculture if its growth is left unchecked. Its seeds feed many birds as well as pest insects. Creeping thistle is generally considered a noxious weed even in its native territory.

Fringed willowherb

The Fringed willowherb is native to North America and East Asia, but was introduced to North Europe in the 1900s and spread rapidly. It prefers humid places such as in the wetlands or by the streams and ponds, but it can also survive in a variety of habitats such as roadsides and wastelands.

Common vetch

Common vetch (Vicia sativa) is an annual herb plant also commonly called vetch, tare, and garden vetch. It is often considered a weed, but is also utilized for manure and animal feed for livestock across the world. When grown for agricultural purposes, it is sown in dense fields.

Redstem stork's bill

Redstem stork’s bill (Erodium cicutarium) is a hardy species most at home in deserts or other dry conditions. Common stork’s-bill is also referred to as pinweed. It has pin-shaped or stork-bill-shaped seed pods that burst explosively to propel seeds away from the parent plant. The unique spiral tails of the seeds then push them slowly into the dirt as the air around changes humidity and temperature.

Sensitive plant

Sensitive plant , Mimosa pudica, or sensitive plant, is named for its unique characteristic of curling up when touched. The fernlike leaves will curl inwards when disturbed. It’s purple fuzzy flowers make it an attractive houseplant, however, the plant contains alkaloids which are toxic to people and animals.

Garden valerian

Garden valerian gets its name from the Latin term, “valere” (meaning “healthy”) since its extracts were believed to be useful. For gardening purposes, the plant is often grown as an ornamental or perennial herb. Garden valerian was likely brought to North America for use in gardens, but it escaped and is now an invasive weed.

Spotted Joe-pyeweed

Spotted Joe-pyeweed is a perennial plant native to North America. It can grow as tall as 6.5 ft. It is found often in damp or wet areas such as marshlands, swamps, etc. and it produces purplish-pink colored flowers at the top of stems that are purple or green with purple spots.

Himalayan balsam

Himalayan balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) is a flowering annual plant found natively in the Himalayan mountains. It is an attractive ornamental plant but has become an invasive species in North America due to humans transiting. In order to remove the invasive species, the plant must be cut out by its roots.

Deptford pink

Deptford pink (Dianthus armeria) is an annual wildflower that grows from 12 to 30 inches tall. It is commonly found growing in disturbed areas and pastures and along roadsides, railroad tracks and woodland edges. It blooms small, yet showy, clusters of pink flowers. The flower’s nectar attracts butterflies, skippers, bees and flies. The name refers to an area in England where the plant was once common.

Moss campion

This plant grows in tight carpets or mounds in rocky, mountainous regions and tundras. This perennial is also planted in rock gardens due to the attractiveness of its tiny leaves as well as the pink or lavender flowers that bloom profusely in summer. The first flowers of the year will appear on the south side. Moss campion plants have long lifespans, with some in Alaska exceeding 300 years of age.

Ironweed

Ironweed, or Vernonia noveboracensis, gets its Latin name from a traveling botanist of the 1600 and 1700s, Willian Vernon. It is a tall perennial wildflower with stiff stems and bright purple fluffs of flowers on top that is native to the eastern and southeastern United States.

How to Attract Hummingbirds to Your Garden

Hummingbirds are delightful little birds that are a joy to watch when they visit your garden. They are primarily nectar feeders but also eat a variety of insects. Here are some tips on how to attract them to your garden.

Few garden visitors are as exciting and beautiful as are the hummingbirds.

There are more than 330 species of hummingbirds all found in the Americas, but only a few species migrate and visit gardens in North America. Yet throughout North, Central or South America gardeners cherish these winged-wonders that excite and captivate anyone who is lucky enough to see them. While many hummingbirds pass through our gardens unnoticed, keeping them coming back all summer can be as easy as setting out a nectar feeder or better yet – planting some of their favorite flowers. Here are some of the best ways to attract hummingbirds to your garden no matter where you live.

Nectar Feeders

The easiest way to attract hummingbirds is to set out nectar feeders either in your garden or near windows (as many hummingbirds are not shy). It helps to learn a bit of the natural history of the particular hummingbird species found in your region to know when they arrive in spring.

What many people don’t know, is that Ruby-throated Hummingbirds often arrive much earlier in North America. Savvy bird watchers set out nectar feeders long before the first spring flowers or before trees leaf out in spring in mid-March through April. Early arriving Ruby-throated Hummingbirds feed not on nectar (as it is too early for flowers), but on sap drawn from active woodpecker feeding holes. If nectar feeders are set out early, one is more likely to have hummingbirds stay for the summer.

If you live in a warmer climate such as the South Western US, Central American or South America (where Hummingbirds are active year round residents), it’s wise to keep nectar feeders up throughout the year.

What to Feed Hummingbirds

Nectar feeders are often filled with a pre-mixed commercial nectar, but one can make a good substitute at home. Mix 1 part of refined white sugar to 4 parts of boiling water until the sugar is dissolved. Experts recommend to never substitute honey, brown sugar, or agave syrup or to add red food coloring. The mixture is safe to keep in the refrigerator for up to two weeks but should be replaced in outdoor feeders weekly.

Planting a Garden to Attract Hummingbirds

While nectar feeders are useful in initially attracting migrating hummingbirds early or late in the season, once flowers begin to bloom, hummingbirds begin to adjust their diets, adding insects and opting to visit real flowers if given a choice. Gardeners are at an advantage as they can plant nectar-rich plants, often ensuring that hummingbirds will stay around longer. Since many flowers that are attractive to hummingbirds are also attractive to humans, this can be a win-win situation.

8 Plants That Hummingbirds Like

Red flowers are a first choice, but also the shape of a flower often provides a good hint. Long, tubular shaped flowers are evolved to be pollinated not exclusively by insects, but often by nectar feeding birds.

1. Columbine – Spring visitors can’t resist the dangling, nectar rich flowers of Columbine. Both native species and hybrid columbine attract hummingbirds in northern gardens from April through June.

2. The Mint Family – All flowers in the mint family will attract hummingbirds, but especially the larger flowered species. This includes all Catnip (Nepeta sp.) true mint (Mentha sp.) all Salvia including the sages and bee balm (Monarda sp.). Plants in the mint family have a four-sided stem (like a square, when cut), making them all easy to identify.

3. Cardinal Flower (Lobelia cardinalis) – Maybe the most iconic of hummingbird flowers the Cardinal Flower blooms in late June through mid-July. The wild species prefers damp or wet conditions and partial shade, but many hybrids and selections are now available in a wide-range of colors for perennial borders. All the colors will attract hummingbirds.

4. Petunia – Tube-shaped flowers with flared petals are incredibly irresistible to hummingbirds. Petunias and their close allied the calibrachoa, are nectar-rich and will attract hummingbirds regardless of their color. Still, the richer, saturated jewel tones will work better than the near-black varieties or pure white.

5. True Lilies (Lilium) – True lilies (not daylilies) are an excellent mid-summer addition to the hummingbird garden. Lilies produce copious amounts of nectar as well as large flowers that make accessing such nectar easier. The tall, downward-facing or outward-facing Oriental lilies, Trumpet lilies and Intersectional lilies produce more nectar than do the early-blooming, up facing Asiatic lilies.

6. Blue Lily of the Nile (Agapanthus sp.) – Although most are blue or purple, Agapanthus often will steal the hummingbird show in mid-summer when they bloom either in large containers or out in the garden in temperate zones.

7. Fuchsia – Whether grown as an upright shrub, potted plant or even as a hanging plant, Fuchsia is not only a go-to summer flower for hummingbirds; they are often a primary wild source for food in South America where many migrating hummingbirds spend their winter. Look for upright forms with long, slender flowers for the best results and nectar production.

8. Lantana – Mid summer and late summer flowering plants that with lots of blooms are tempting to hummingbirds, but factor in tubular shapes and hot colors and you have a virtual hummingbird magnet. Lantana check off all of these boxes. Look for hanging plants or upright varieties for pots, window boxes and in the garden.

How to Attract More Hummingbirds

Hummingbirds will stay and nest for the summer if they find a food source but it’s not unusual to only see a pair in your garden until later in the summer. Hummingbirds are fiercely territorial especially while nesting and raising young earlier in the year. By mid-summer however, they become slightly less territorial. By late summer one may see more than a pair of hummingbirds, especially at nectar feeders. They still may fight, but often will just keep their distance while the opposing foe is feeding on a favorite plant.

Zodiac Flowers: Leo

Leo’s birth flowers are bold, bright and happy. The four birth flowers for Leo are marigold for passion, sunflower for loyalty, dahlia for dignity and safflower for magnetism. Find out how to grow these beauties in your garden.

Born between July 23 and August 22? Then you’re a Leo! Leo is represented by — you guessed it — the lion. And if you guessed that, you probably can also guess that it’s ruled by the sun and the lion’s element is fire.

You were born to be an outstanding leader. Because you see your teammates with the same confident lens that you see yourself, you encourage and inspire them to greater heights. When you take on a project, you dedicate yourself to it with a passion. Because you project such radiant confidence in yourself, others don’t see your vulnerabilities and insecurities, that you too need a hug and reassurance.

If you take your natural leadership and confidence too far, you dominate a group, refusing to admit that you were wrong. Instead, listen to others and allow yourself to be a little vulnerable. Your birth flowers are as strong and radiant as you are!

Your birth flowers are as strong and radiant as you are! Here are 4 Leo birth flowers and their meanings.

Marigold for Passion

Marigold is called the “herb of the sun”, as it is like a little yellow, orange, or red ball of petals that opens when the sun rises.

Marigolds represent powerful passion, especially orange marigolds, a quality that you, as a Leo, are quite familiar with. They also represent the creativity that you bring to a project.

Yellow marigolds represent positive energy and emotions like warmth, happiness, and joy. They look like little suns. When you lead a team, you bring that energy to your teammates. At your best, you help them see themselves the way you see them — competent and brilliant in their unique way.

Outside of their beauty, gardeners plant marigolds as companion plants to repel pests like aphids, flea beetles, and nematodes. If you keep deadheading (removing dead flowers), marigolds will continue to flower until the first frost.

As a cut flower, pair marigolds with other boldly coloured flowers like pink roses. You can also sew marigold blossoms together to make a garland.

Sunflower for Loyalty

Like marigolds, sunflowers are also a symbol of the sun. It does rather look like how you’d draw a sun symbol, with a circle surrounded by flames, and a sunflower turns its head toward the sun. The yellow colour symbolises vitality, intelligence, and happiness. Just looking at one boosts your spirits.

Sunflowers can also symbolize loyalty, longevity, and adoration. Loyalty is a big part of your leadership, and because of your loyalty and confidence in your teammates, your team is equally loyal to you.

Sunflowers are super easy to grow. Because they’re native to North America, they can adapt to most locations. If you have a large garden, go for the giant sunflowers towering over 6 feet tall. If you have a small garden or a container garden, pick a dwarf-sized variety.

They can also be really easy to arrange in a bouquet. Choose a large, tall vase with a smaller opening. Otherwise, these giant flowers will topple the vase. Cut the sunflowers to different heights to create an appealing sense of movement.

Dahlia for Dignity

Dahlias are another big and bold flower that stands out from the crowd, but also works well with other flowers. Likewise, while Leos like to be found in the centre of attention, that doesn’t mean they like to upstage others or push them out of the spotlight. Their plethora of petals comes together to create stunning patterns, just as you pull people toward you to a common goal.

While sunflowers and marigolds are all about the cheer Leos bring, dahlias represent their elegance, inner strength, and dignity. You take centre stage because you’re confident in your abilities, not because you’re a class clown.

To grow dahlias in your garden, plant tubers in the late spring once the cold has passed. They’re pretty sensitive to the cold. If you live in a cold zone, dig up the tubers in the autumn and store them during the winter. They blossom over your birthday from mid-summer into the autumn.

Dahlias are one of the longest-lasting cut flowers, and as a bonus, when you cut dahlias for bouquets, the dahlia plant produces more flowers! Dahlias are a versatile cut flower. Place a single bloom in a bubble vase, arrange an all-dahlia bouquet, or pair them with other blossoms of varying sizes.

Safflower for Magnetism

Safflowers aren’t the brightest or boldest of flowers. In fact, they’re quite prickly looking, resembling a thistle more than anything else. Leos are bold and confident, which can come off to others as arrogant and intimidating (not all signs are born with such confidence, Leos!). Your confident exterior hides your insecurities. If you need reassurance, you need to be open or even your closest companions may miss your needs.

On the flip side, safflowers are thought to represent attractiveness to others because of its sticky webbing. When you’re at your best, listening to others, revealing your vulnerabilities to others, and being loyal, people flock from all around to join you.

To grow this prickly-looking but utterly delicious flower, sow seeds after the last frost. They’re pretty heat-tolerant, requiring only occasional waterings to survive, although regular waterings will help them thrive. Avoid watering too heavily though. They like dry, quick-draining soil.

Safflowers add an unusual flair and fullness to a bouquet, and work well in everything from formal arrangements to old-fashioned bouquets.

Leos, celebrate your zodiac sign by planting marigolds, sunflowers, dahlias, and safflowers for the cheeriest cut flower garden on your block. Non-Leos, celebrate your favourite Leo team leader and friend with a bouquet of their zodiac birth flowers.

Flower of the Week: Carnation

The carnation is one of the most popular cut flowers and is hardly ever absent from any florist’s shops. Additionally, it’s also the soul of both the countryside and many gardens.

In spring and summer, blooming carnations paint endless colors across gardens. If you happen to own a small greenhouse, they can even bloom three times a year.

Carnations originated from the Mediterranea, where people began selecting and cultivating the flowers as early as 2,000 years ago. Thanks to self-breeding and repeated hybridization of relative species, carnations today are brightly and variedly colored, lushly and gracefully shaped, and rich in varieties that suit either potting or garden planting, many of which are mature cut flower varieties. It’s an easy task to find a variety that resonates with your heart.

The Flower for Mother's Day

The carnation has been tied to maternal love for a long time. According to a Christian legend, carnations showed up on Earth when Jesus marched with the cross on his back. Maria, the Holy Mother, saw Jesus’ suffering and shed tears. When the teardrops touched the earth, carnations sprouted. Since then, pink carnations have symbolized eternal maternal love in people’s hearts.

In 1907, an American named Anna Jarvis chose white carnations to commemorate her late mother. She did this because carnation was her mother’s favorite flower and white signifies the selflessness of maternal love. Under her lobbying, the bill to create a Mother’s Day was approved in 1914.

In the decades to follow, marketing derailed the holiday from its original intent. White carnations became more and more expensive, and to promote sales of carnations in other colors, florists began a campaign touting concepts like “white carnations are for late mothers; a mother should receive red or pink carnations when she’s alive”. For a moment, Anna Jarvis resented those commercial campaigns, but the “new tradition” nonetheless rooted in people’s minds and was passed down for generations.

Beyond Mother's Day

As popular fresh cut flowers, carnations found many more occasions to shine than just Mother’s Day. Cut flowers, in fact, are almost as versatile as roses.

The green carnation is one of just a few reliable and cost-friendly green cut flowers, thus they are associated with the very green St. Patrick’s Day. On this special day, Irish people all over the world wear green carnations to honor their homeland – Ireland. The country is lovingly nicknamed “the Emerald Island”.

Meanwhile, the red carnation is the symbol of the international labor movement, so it’s never absent from the May 1st celebration of International Workers’ Day. Celebrating this holiday is a custom popular in Austria, Italy, and the former Yugoslavs. In some of the formerly socialist European countries, the red carnation is also an appropriate gift on March 8th for International Women’s Day, a custom that lives on to this day in certain regions.

At Oxford University, wearing carnations to take exams is an essential ritual. Students are supposed to wear white carnations for the first exam and red ones for the last, while pink carnations are for all the exams in between. The story goes that initially, a student put a white carnation in an ink bottle filled with red ink, and the flower gradually became dyed red during the exams.

Oscar Wilde and Carnations

Oscar Wilde, the renowned poet was also a big fan of carnations and a man who’d never let go of any chance to make life a bit prettier. His Irish background endeared him more fondly to green carnations.

When his first comedy, Lady Windermere’s Fan, debuted, Wilde let an actor pin a green carnation on his collar point and encouraged every audience to come to the theater wearing a green carnation. After that, the green carnation slowly turned into one of Oscar Wilde’s signature symbols.

Sadly, people back then took advantage of the green carnation image in their attack against Oscar Wilde, targeting his unaccepted homosexuality in that conservative era. Robert Hichens mocked Wilde’s “inappropriate” relationships with young male lovers in his novel, The Green Carnation. Noël Coward also arranged a song called We All Wear a Green Carnation in his most famous musical, Bitter Sweet.

However, that time has passed and circumstances have now changed. The negative images associated with homosexuality are gradually fading away, and green carnations have become a positive symbol of the LGBTQ community. More and more gay people and allies now wear green carnations with pride.

Can I Grow Carnations?

Carnation cultivars are rich in varieties. For beginners, the varieties suitable for potting or garden planting are easier to start with. In general, whether carnations grow well highly depends on the environment, in which the most key factors are soil and temperature.

Loose and fertile soil with good water drainage allows the plant’s root system to grow adequately. Sandy loam is one of the best soil choices, while heavy clay soil is less friendly.

Carnation is relatively demanding when it comes to temperature. It likes cooler environments, and the best temperature range for its growth is between 19-21°C. Overly hot or cold temperatures could both lead to growth slowing or even ceasing. To guarantee the best growing environment, the temperature variation between day and night should also be controlled to stay within 10°C.

Under the proper temperature and lighting, carnations can flourish. Sufficient sunlight can promote early blooming and also facilitate more flower bud differentiation. Therefore, remember to expose your carnations to plenty of sunshine!

Size: 80-150 cm in height

Hardiness: USDA Hardiness Zone 3-9

Light duration: Full sun

Soil: Well-drained fertile and loose soil, neutral to slightly alkaline

Bloom time: Mid-spring through summer

Flower of the Week: Garden Phlox

A profusion of riotously-colored garden phloxes (Phlox paniculata) blooms lushly from summer through early fall, refreshing our hearts and minds with a gentle fragrance. You are likely to find hummingbirds and butterflies dancing among the flowers, as well as many beautiful birds, all lured by its nectar and refusing to leave the sea of blossoms, turning the garden into a fairyland. Bring garden phlox home and let these sweet-scented colorful fairies make your daily life dynamic and wonderful.

Garden phlox, a perennial herb, is originally from the Mideast US and eastern Canada, where people call it many local names, such as summer phlox, fall phlox, or perennial phlox. It likes warm habitats where sunlight is abundant with some shade. Its flowers bloom in clusters on conical inflorescences with five symmetrical lobes, looking exquisite and smelling fragrant, all making it an important ornamental flowering plant.

A Gardening Plant That Came Home With Flying Colors

In the early eighteenth century, Europeans first discovered garden phlox’s potential. Garden phloxes were first shipped from Virginia to Europe, gradually gaining popularity in the early nineteenth-century British and mid-nineteenth century French markets. Later, many improved varieties of this plant found their way back into the US market.

Garden phlox were briefly forgotten and left in obscurity from 1940 to 1980, but people rediscovered interest in it shortly after. Nowadays, thousands of differently shaped and richly colored varieties have been cultivated.

The Color Palette of Your Garden

Garden phlox blossoms in a rich assortment of colors, including elegant white, passionate red, delicate yellow, lively orange, gentle purple, and adorable pink, etc.

Horticulturists particularly prefer garden phlox, and have selected and cultivated many varieties for garden planting that boast a charming array of colors. Many such varieties have won the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit, such as the white-and-purple alternately-colored Velvet Flame, the light-and-dark-pink confluently-colored Miss Pepper, and the uniquely lavender-ash-colored Grey Lady, among others.

The varieties are not only vividly colored but also charismatically named. There are Peppermint Twist, with a pink and white color combination, Sherbet Cocktail, with delicate alternate pink and yellow colors, and Ending Blue, with graceful white-striped violet flowers. All of these dynamic-looking blossoms exude captivating scents that make you feel you’ve fallen into a sweet fairyland dream.

Garden Phlox in American Literature and Art

In 1916, famous American horticultural author Louise Beebe Wilder mentioned garden phlox in his first well-known book, My Garden. She wrote, “This plant is a native, and with true American perspicacity and enterprise has forged his way from magenta obscurity to the most prominent place in the floral world.”

American artist and naturalist Mary Vaux Walcott, known to the world through her watercolor paintings of wildflowers, is called the “Audubon of botany.” In 1934, she painted garden phlox, helping to popularize it. The collector of this original painting donated it to the Smithsonian American Art Museum in 1970, giving the public a chance to see this renowned art piece in person.

The Garden Phlox Mary Vaux Walcott painted.

You Should Check This Place Out

If you are interested in enjoying various garden phlox varieties, check out the Chicago Botanic Garden.

The Chicago Botanic Garden is a huge 385-acre botanic museum, consisting of 26 sub-gardens with interlaced scenes, encompassing multiple lakes, islands, and forests. From 2001 to 2009, Chicago Botanic Garden conducted a periodical observational experiment on 78 varieties of garden phlox, and you can still see these delicate fairies around on a summer or early fall walk through the Garden.

Can I Grow Garden Phlox Well?

Garden phlox is tenacious and strong. Provide its preferred temperature, soil, and water conditions, and with a little bit of care, you can enjoy its visual and olfactory double delight at home.

Garden phlox likes warm, moist, well-ventilated environments. It loves basking in ample sunlight but also needs some shade in hot summers. Being intolerant of heat and drought, it requires frequent watering. Don’t water it from the top-down, nor let the water stand. It’s best to use loose, fertile, neutral, or alkaline sandy loam with good drainage.

Prune off flowering sprays after buds sprout in the spring and after flowers are spent in the fall to promote more gorgeous blooming next year. Pay attention to prevent powdery mildew and root rot.

Size: Height up to 1.2 m

Hardiness: USDA Hardiness Zones 4-8

Light Duration: Full light to half shade

Soil: Loose, fertile, neutral or alkaline sandy loam with good drainage

Blooming Time: Summer to early fall

10 Wildflowers to Look For in Summer

What better way to spend a summer’s day than a nature walk amidst fragrant blossoms? Let our list inspire you to explore the color show that Mother Nature has to offer in summertime. Find out where these wildflowers grow, and see how many you can spot on your next hike.

Cornflower

Centaurea cyanus is known by several names, like cornflower and bachelor’s button. This flower has a beautiful blue color that was a favorite of famed Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer. Today it is a Crayola crayon color as well as an HTML color name. The color is defined as a medium to light blue that contains very little green.

Plains coreopsis

Plains coreopsis (Coreopsis tinctoria) is an annual flowering plant common to Canada, the United States, and China. Plains coreopsis grows along roadsides and agricultural fields. Plains coreopsis is cultivated in gardens and prefers well-drained sandy soils. The blossoms can be made into mahogany dye.

Oxeye daisy

Leucanthemum vulgare is a very adaptable perennial herb native to Eurasia, commonly known as Oxeye daisy. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant. Oxeye daisy is a common weed in lawns and crop plants. It is also considered an invasive species in some areas in the world.

Common blanketflower

Common blanketflower (Gaillardia aristata) is native to the Rocky Mountains and other parts of the northwestern United States. This wildflower is also a popular garden perennial due to its large blooms that appear from early spring through fall. It attracts butterflies and its seeds are favored by goldfinches.

Cardinal flower

Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis) is a perennial herbaceous plant that grows from 2-6 feet tall. Showy, red flowers bloom May through October. Named for its red flowers that are similar to a Cardinal’s robe, these blossoms attract hummingbirds to the garden. Its fruits are blue and foliages change color in fall. Prefers sun to partial shade with moist soil. Perfect for wet areas.

Garden cosmos

Garden cosmos (Cosmos bipinnatus) is a herbaceous annual plant often cultivated as an ornamental in temperate regions. Due to its self-sowing ability, Garden cosmos can grow on the same spot for several years, even though it is an annual. Not surprisingly, this quality also made it an invasive species in certain areas of the world.

Common chicory

Common chicory is used in a variety of culinary applications around the world, most commonly with coffee. It is occasionally also added during the beer-brewing process to inject a coffee-like flavor. The leaves can be boiled or eaten raw in salad or with pasta. Common chicory is also a simple livestock fodder. In European folklore, the small blue flowers could be used to magically open locked doors.

Wild carrot

The Wild carrot is a common flowering plant with light, delicate flowers. Originally native to Europe and Asia, it has also spread to North America and Australia. Studies of historical paintings suggest that the Wild carrot was cultivated in Turkey, Spain, and North Africa for centuries.

New england aster

New england aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) is a flowering plant native to North America. It is widely cultivated for ornamental horticulture and as a garden plant. There are over 70 cultivars of New england aster.

Purple coneflower

Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is an herb native to North America that flourishes in prairie environments or open wooded areas. The Purple coneflower makes a good addition to a flower bed or garden because its blooms last the whole summer and attract pollinators such as bees and hummingbirds.

Try Native Plants in Your Garden! Benefits Are Many

Everyone should consider growing some native plants in their garden. The benefits are many. They attract pollinators, they’re easy to maintain and they’re less likely to become invasive. Find out how to choose the best native plants for your garden.

Whether you are a seasoned gardener or just starting out, we all have times and spaces where we just don’t know what to plant. One solution you should consider is to add native plants to your garden plan. Native plants are those that grew in an area naturally without any intervention from humans.

No matter where you live there are a variety of benefits to using native plants in your garden. Keep reading to learn just what those benefits are and how you can use native plants in your garden.

Benefits of Native Plants

Attracts Pollinators & Endangered Species

Pollinators play such an important role in the growth of our food. We need them to pollinate many fruit trees along with other fruits and veggies you might have in the garden or the surrounding area. Native plants attract pollinators your garden needs, because they have adapted to feed on them. Too many non-native plants means those pollinators wont have enough pollen or nectar or in some cases the non-native plants might be completely inedible.

Not only will having native plants in your garden provide food for those oh so important pollinators, but it will in turn help with native wildlife that might be endangered. Native plants provide food and shelter throughout the year. Even in winter.

Besides that, non-native plants introduced by humans sometimes become invasive, competing for space and resources with animals, endangering them further. We will touch more on invasive species later.

Easier On Natural Resources

Want to mow less? Or maybe you’re interested in not dragging out that garden hose and running up your water bill ? How about less chemical applications? Native plants can really help you achieve all of these things because they are easier on natural resources.

Reducing your mowing time is just one of the benefits having a large area of native plants. Fewer mowings means less gasoline. Because they have survived without help from people the yearly rainfall is usually enough for them to survive. This means less watering on your end. They also have developed a resistance to many of the local insects requiring little to no pesticide applications. This doesn’t mean they won’t ever have insect issues, but it is greatly reduced.

Besides all of these great benefits to our natural resources, the root systems of native plants are usually pretty strong, especially after they get established. These root systems don’t just keep the plant healthy, they also prevent soil erosion and washout.

More Likely to Thrive

Maybe you don’t have the greenest of thumbs, or you are just tired of the plants you add not lasting throughout the entire season or through the winter. Native plants are a great solution. Not only will they have a better chance of surviving in your area, they are more likely to thrive than non native species. As we touched on above, they are more resistant to insects and usually rainfall provides enough water for them to survive. They have also evolved to survive cold winter temperatures.

This doesn’t mean they don’t need some care and will always survive everything Mother Nature throws at them, but these plants have adapted to survive in their location and that means surviving the weather.

Less Likely to Become Invasive

Maybe you have heard of invasive insects or animals. Well, plants can be invasive too. Usually this happens when non native plants introduced to the area find they like the habitat and have nothing to stop their growth. Invasive species take over space and resources that are essential for animals and plant species. Not only are native plants less likely to become invasive, some aggressive native plants can even compete with the populations of invasive ones.

Low Maintenance

Native plants really don’t need as much help from you to grow, especially once they are established. As we have touched on, they don’t need a lot of extra water and you won’t have as many chemical applications. But in addition, you don’t have to worry as much about treating the soil. There are so many non-native species that require very specific soil specifications. Planting native plants can reduce your costs for soil treatments and also your time.

How to Choose Native Plants

Native plants often add a beautiful and natural look to your landscape, but how can you possibly choose which plants to add? The first step is to do a little research. Finding out what is actually native to your area is crucial. If you are having trouble, your local Extension Office or horticultural group will be able to offer you some insight.

You will likely find information identifying native plants by region. Once you know your region, you can decide what will work best for your specific location, whether you live on a lake, on the prairie, in a mountain range, next to an ocean or in the dessert.

To get you started we can look at some plants that might work depending on your location.

Arid Locations:

Wet Locations (Does Not Include Areas With Standing Water):

Shaded Locations (Wooded Gardens):

Cold Locations:

Sunny Locations:

How to Design a Native Garden

Sometimes native plants can look a little out of control or wild. Much of a design of a garden is dependent on the gardener. Start out by asking yourself how you want yours to look. Do you want a natural, not manicured look or are you looking for a well groomed, tidy garden? Once you know what you want it to look like, start looking for plants that fit your location and your conditions. What type of soil do you have? Is it predominately shade or sun? You will also need to decide the size of the space you want to work in. Will this be filling your whole back yard or just a small bed on the side of the house?

Select plants that will work well together, this includes checking on the size of the mature plant. You don’t want one native plant to outgrow and overshadow another. This will cut out resources and hurt the smaller of the two. Make sure you know how tall and wide something will get before you add it to the garden. Some people make the mistake of not checking and the plants end up taking over the bed and reaching into a nearby walkway.

Great gardens are also designed to stun throughout the entire season, with different plants blooming at different times. Information accompanying the plant will tell you when the peak blooming time is or when leaves might change color.

It is so easy to feel overwhelmed when you are just starting out. Remember you don’t have to have the entire bed figured out in one year, especially if it is a large flower bed. And you don’t have to do it alone. There are so many organizations that can give you ideas and support as you plant. Don’t be afraid to ask.

How to Measure Your Garden to Create a Perfect Lawn Space

Creating a lawn space takes careful planning. In the early stages of the process, getting an accurate measurement of your future lawn space is one of your most important objectives. Fortunately, there are several reliable ways to measure the size and shape of your lawn.

A lush lawn space is a great place to play and relax in your garden. But healthy lawns only come about through a careful planning process. One of the most important aspects of that planning process is determining how large your lawn space will be. That is why we’ve created this guide to teach you how to measure your garden to create the perfect lawn space.

Find the Right Measuring Tool

Before you can calculate your lawn area, you’ll need a way to take accurate measurements. Below are three of the most common tools that gardeners use to measure their yards:

Paces – This is the quickest but least accurate way to measure a lawn space. Simply walk along each dimension with even strides. Assume each stride is about three feet.
Tape Measure – Using a tape measure will give you greater accuracy than paces. However, in most cases, you will need a partner to hold the other end of the tape while you take measurements.
Measuring Wheel - A measuring wheel might be the best tool you can use when measuring an outdoor area. Measuring wheels will give you a quick, accurate measurement that you can take by yourself.

Measuring Regular Areas

The easiest areas to measure are those that are rectangular. All you will need to do is take the length and width of the area, then multiply those two figures.

There are a few other regular shapes that you should be prepared to measure as a part of your lawn. While rectangles may be the most common, you may encounter triangles and circles as well. Thankfully, finding the areas of those shapes is also straightforward.

For a circular lawn area, measure the radius. Then square that number and multiply the product by pi. For a triangle, multiply the base by the height. Then divide that number by two to find the area. At times, a garden space may consist of multiple regular shapes that connect to one another. In that instance, measure each shape individually and add their areas together at the end.

Measuring Irregular Areas

Measuring an irregular lawn area is a far more difficult task, which will require you to make some approximations. To help you with this task, we recommend that you use a pencil and graph paper to create a bird’s-eye-view drawing of your garden.

Use the gridlines to make sure your drawing is at an accurate scale. For example, you could imagine that one square on the graph paper represents one square foot of actual garden space. Alter this scale as you see fit based on the size of your lawn.

Next, you will need to sketch your garden in its current state. Remember, your drawing does not need to be aesthetically pleasing. Instead, it will serve a functional role in helping you determine the size of your lawn. After establishing the existing features, draw your desired lawn area. The next step will be easier if you shade in this lawn space.

After shading the lawn on your drawing, count how many squares the lawn fills completely. Use your scale factor to calculate that rectangular area. Then look at the squares that the lawn covers only partly. Evaluate these squares one at a time and estimate the percentage of each square that the lawn covers. Use your scale factor and that percentage to approximate the lawn space area for that square. Complete that process for every partly filled square and add each area to your total.

Once you have your total, you are ready to purchase sod. Our final tip here is to ere on the side of buying slightly more than you need rather than slightly less. After all, it is better to have a full lawn space with some leftover sod than it is to have an incomplete lawn. With that in mind, you are now well on your way to adding a pleasant grassy area to your garden.

All About Earthworms: Is It Good For the Soil?

Did you know that if you find earthworms in your garden, that your soil is healthy? Earthworms help to aerate the soil and to add valuable nutrients in the form of worm castings. These castings provide your plants with some of the essential nutrients they need.

Most seasoned gardeners smile when they uncover an earthworm in their garden. It’s both an indication that their soil is healthy and contains organic matter and that their plants will thrive happily.

Earthworms are, indeed, good for the soil in a variety of ways. Their presence helps to unlock nutrients and aerate the soil. As a result, this helps to improve drainage and the soil structure itself.

Here are the benefits of having earthworms in your soil.

Earthworms Unlock Nutrients in the Soil

Earthworms are voracious consumers. In fact, they can consume half their body weight each and every day. Mostly, earthworms consume organic matter such as leaves, manure, grass and dead roots.

As they eat their way through the soil, they digest the organic material and release it back into the soil as castings. These castings are rich in nutrients including nitrogen, phosphorus, magnesium and calcium.

Sometimes, when these nutrients are already present in the soil, they may be locked up tightly and not easily available to the plant roots. However, worm castings are easily available for the roots of the plants growing in the soil to take up and use.

This means that plants growing in soil that contains earthworms will grow healthy and strong because they have plenty of nutrients to uptake from the soil.

Earthworms Aerate the Soil

You may not be aware that plant roots require air as well as water and nutrients. Without sufficient air pockets in the soil, the roots would suffocate. In fact, you may have noticed that plants growing in dense clay soils do not thrive as well as plants that are growing in a more open soil.

This is where earthworms come to the rescue. They move through the soil by building tunnels and consuming organic matter as they go. These tunnels naturally create air pockets in the soil and are usually also filled with worm castings.

This benefits the plants by not only providing sufficient air for the roots but also additional nutrients. In addition, these tunnels also allow the water to move more freely through the soil to get to the plant roots.

Earthworms Improve the Drainage in the Soil

Due to their tunneling in the soil, earthworms create extra spaces that the water can travel through. As a result, this increases the soil’s drainage and means that the water can better reach the roots of the plants rather than sitting on top of the soil.

This is especially beneficial for heavy clay soils that have the tendency to bind the water and restrict its movement. In fact, soils that contain a healthy colony of worms can have a water infiltration that is six times greater than soils without worms.

Earthworms Improve the Soil Structure

It has been shown scientifically that earthworms do increase the soil structure and also add more friable topsoil. There are certain species of worms that like to live near the surface of the soil.

As these worms feed and produce their castings, they naturally increase the soil level. Therefore, soils that contain many earthworms will have a deeper layer of nutrient-rich topsoil that helps plants to grow faster and healthier.

How to Encourage More Earthworms Into Your Garden

If you want to benefit from having more earthworms in your garden, there are a few things that you can do.

Add a layer of organic matter. Adding compost to your topsoil will give the worms plenty of food to munch on. This, in turn, will increase the number of worms that inhabit your garden.
Make sure the pH of the soil is close to neutral. Earthworms don’t like soils that are too acid or alkaline. Therefore, ensure you soil has a close-to-neutral pH. You can add lime to increase the pH level of the soil. This also increases the calcium levels in the soil which is beneficial to the worms.
Use organic fertilizers. Many commercially produced fertilizers are highly acidic and this is not good for the worms. Instead, try using organic fertilizers such as animal manures. The worms will love it and reward you with a plentiful supply of castings.

Final Thoughts

It’s no secret to seasoned gardeners that earthworms are beneficial to the soil. Therefore, when you see some worms as you’re digging, make sure that you don’t harm them. Just cover them back up and let them get on with their task of improving your soil.

Earthworms release valuable nutrients to your soil and they aerate it as they go. This gives your plants a lovely healthy environment to thrive and grow.

Why Pollinators Are Essential for Your Garden

Why Pollinators Are Essential For Your Garden

Did you know that without pollinators like bees in our garden, we would not have fruiting crops such as tomatoes, peppers, apples and pears? You see, these amazing little insects help to move pollen from flower to flower and this initiates fruiting. Find out how.

Did you know that without pollinators in your garden, many of the vegetables that you grow would not produce fruit or seeds that you can save and use for the next crop? This is because pollinators, such as bees, help to fertilize the flowers that will eventually produce the fruit.

We grow a large variety of vegetables in our home gardens that actually produce fruit that we can consume. These include tomatoes, eggplants, zucchinis or summer squash, cucumbers, sweet corn, peppers, pumpkins, peas and beans. Many fruits such as apples, pears, peaches and melons also require pollination.

In fact, there are many fruit trees that need to be pollinated by a different variety of the same fruit. For example, apples and avocados need to be cross-pollinated from flowers of a tree that produces a different variety of the same fruit.

But, for these plants to produce fruit, the flowers have to be fertilized. This involves transferring pollen from one flower to another. Or, it can mean just the transfer of pollen from the anthers to the stigma on the same flower. Each grain of pollen will produce a fine tendril that will grow down the style and into the ovary of the flower. This is where fertilization then occurs.

Therefore, without pollination, most fruit producing plants cannot be fertilized and, hence, they won’t produce any fruit.

What Are the Most Common Pollinators?

You guessed it! Bees are the most common and efficient pollinators that we all know. They fly from flower to flower to gather nectar to make honey. As they visit each flower, their tiny legs inadvertently collect the pollen. This pollen is then deposited on the next flower that the bee visits. Isn’t nature wonderful?

Besides bees, there are many other insects that help to pollinate our plants.

Hoverflies

Hoverflies are small flies with yellow bands on their black bodies. You may have noticed these hovering above your plants before quickly darting off to another flower.

Like bees, hoverflies collect the nectar from flowers and the pollen sticks to their bodies. This pollen is then deposited on the next flower that they visit.

Butterflies

Butterflies are also nectar feeders. Like bees and hoverflies, they collect the pollen on their bodies and then drop it onto another flower as they move around.

Moths

Some moths are also nectar gatherers and will spread pollen from one flower to an adjacent one.

Hummingbirds

As you may be aware, hummingbirds love nectar and they consume copious amounts of it on a daily basis. So, if you’re lucky enough to have hummingbirds visit your garden, you can be assured that they’re busy pollinating many of your plants.

How Pollination Works

Some plants have both male and female flowers. These include pumpkins and summer squash. To produce fruit, the pollen from the male flowers must be deposited onto the stigma on the female flower.

Once this occurs, fertilization begins. Generally, the ovary of the female flower will start to swell and eventually develop into a full grown fruit. This fruit contains the seeds that can be collected to plant the next crop.

Other plants have flowers that are self-fertile. This means that the anthers containing the pollen and the stigma are produced on the same flower. However, the pollen still needs to be moved from the anther to the stigma for fertilization to occur.

There are other factors that can contribute to pollination such as the wind or people and animals brushing past the plants which aids in the transfer of pollen. Additionally, bats and birds can also help with the pollinating process.

However, the most common method of pollination is through the aid of nectar-gathering insects.

How to Attract Pollinators to Your Garden

The best way to attract pollinators to your garden is to plant the flowers that commonly attract them. This is one of the reasons that many gardeners also plant flowers in their veggie patch.

So, what flowers are pollinators attracted to? Different pollinators are attracted to specific colors. But, most importantly, the flowers that you plant should be rich in nectar.

Here are a few suggestions.

Flowers to Attract Bees

Most bees are attracted to blue, white and yellow flowers. Therefore, you should consider planting lavender, daisies, calendulas, basil and mint. Allow some of the basil and mint plants to flower so that they will attract the bees.

Flowers to Attract Hoverflies

Hoverflies don’t have tongues to collect nectar with. Therefore, they need flowers that are open and easily accessible. Popular flowers to attract hoverflies include fennel, dahlias, autumn asters, marigolds, apple blossoms, calendulas and sweet alyssum.

Flowers to Attract Butterflies

Butterflies are attracted to many different nectar-rich flowers. These include marigolds, nasturtiums, calendulas, sage, daisies, oregano, phlox and buddleia (butterfly bush).

Practices to Avoid

If you want to attract pollinators to your garden, and you should, avoid using insecticides. Most insecticides will not only kill the harmful insects but they’ll also kill beneficial ones.

It’s far better to attract beneficial insects to your garden and create an ecosystem where nature helps you to produce a lovely crop. Consider hoverflies, for instance. They’re not only useful pollinators but their larva also feeds on aphids.

Final Thoughts

Attracting pollinators to your garden is vitally important if you want your fruits and vegetables to produce a healthy harvest. Bees, butterflies, hoverflies and hummingbirds help to spread pollen from one flower to another to stimulate the fertilization process.

Without pollinators, your plants would not produce any fruits. Plus, as fruits also contain seeds, there will be no seeds to plant another crop. In fact, if there were no pollinators left on the planet, all the plants would eventually die out.

So, now you understand why it’s so important to attract and protect the pollinators that visit your garden. Most importantly, avoid using insecticides if you can, so that these beneficial insects are protected.

It’s also important to plant lots of nectar-rich flowers around your garden to attract these beneficial insects. You can plant flowers within your veggie patch or as a border around the edge.

This way, you’ll be assured of a bumper crop of deliciously fresh vegetables and fruits.