Who wouldn't like to come home to a perfectly well-planned and well-kept garden after a hard day's work. It's all the more rewarding if that flower garden has been created by you. Just looking at flowers can do wonders for you. It is always good to have a bunch of flowers close to you so you can look into the heart of them. There is absolutely nothing better than a garden full of flowers. Flowers should be of different shades. When planting remember to keep darker flowers to the centre and lighter shades on the outside.
Growing Garden Flowers
Here is a list of some of the garden flowers that you can plant and look after.Phlox
This flower is named after the Greek word meaning 'flame' and rightly so as the solid and variegated colours of this flower glow like flames. You will need to set phloxes in spring, spacing plants 30 to 60 centimetres apart, depending on the variety. Prepare the garden bed with a garden fork to loosen the soil to a depth of 30 to 40 centimetres , and then mix in a five to ten centimetres stratum of compost. A hole for phlox must be twice the diameter of the pot the plant is in. Carefully remove the plant from its container and place it in the hole so the top of the root ball is in level with the soil surface. Carefully fill in around the root ball and firm the soil gently and water thoroughly. To encourage vigour and minimize disease problems, divide tall garden phlox every two to three years.
Nasturtium
Nasturtiums are easy to grow annuals and offer a lot of advantage to you and to other plants in your garden. They come in a number of varieties, including variegated leaf varieties in shades of yellow to orange. The flowers look excellent in the garden, but are not great for harvesting and vases. Nasturtiums are fast growing and the seeds can directly be planted in to your garden. Depending upon soil temperature when planted, they will usually come up in a week to ten days, sometimes less. Sow seeds 1.5 centimetres deep and 25 to 30 centimetres apart. Nasturtiums like a lot of light, hence ordinary and even infertile soil is apt for this flower. If the soil is too fertile, they won't bloom.
Dahlias come in an endless variety of colours and flower types, and bloom profusely when most flowers are suffering from the heat of summer. For a bold and colourful garden display from midsummer until frost, you can't beat dahlias. The giant dinner plate dahlias are real attention getters. Dahlias make excellent cut flowers, which typically last about a week in the house. These tender tubers bloom best in full sun and will tolerate most soil types. Dig a soil to a depth of about a 30 centimetres and amending with compost before planting. Set the tubers five to 105 centimetres deep about 10 days before the last expected frost. The distance between plants depends on the variety you are planting. A spacing of about 60 centimetres will work for most varieties.
Carnations
Carnations, the most popular garden plant, are one among some 300 species of annuals. There are hundreds of more hybrid varieties. Carnations will grow from 60 to 90 centimetres high. Garden varieties grow 25 to 50 centimetres tall. They are great plants to grow in gardens and can be used as cut-flowers also. If properly treated, carnations will last up to a month. Seeds can be sowed 0.3 centimetres deep in a well drained mix in spring or early summer. Mist spray occasionally and keep it moist. The seeds will germinate in two to three weeks. Transplant them in pots or on the ground when large enough to handle and the plants will bloom in six, nine or twelve months. Carnations need some hours of full sun each day and should be kept moist. Avoid over-watering as it may tend to turn the foliage yellow.