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  Flowers: Easy Gardens For Kids
by Brenda Hyde

Would you like to have a garden this year? If you don't have very much space that's ok, you can use pots or wood boxes and still grow flowers. Gardening is very special. To be able to plant a small seed and take care of the ground around it while it grows is something everyone should do. It is a wonderful feeling to be able to care for something and watch it grow! Let's start with the kind of flowers that are very easy to grow from seed. Make sure you water the seeds gently right after you plant them.

Nasturtiums

These are fun to grow from seed! You can plant the large seeds outside in the dirt as soon as the weatherman says the heavy frosts are past. We plant ours in April when it warms up. If you plant them in the ground take a 12" ruler and leave that much space between each seed. Plant the seed in a small hole about 1 inch deep, and cover it back up. Plant a row as long or short as you have room for. If you want to, you may also plant them in a container, but put them closer together. We use the Jewel Mixed Colors, but you can use any type of Nasturtium that you find in the store. One package usually has about 20 or 25 seeds.They will poke out of the ground in about a week.

Calendula

Sometimes people like to call these flowers Pot Marigolds. They are pretty yellow, daisy like flowers, and are VERY easy to grow. You can plant them as soon as you can dig the dirt; even if it is still cold! Take the ruler again and space the seeds about 8 inches apart, and an inch deep. The will take about 10 days to start growing. These flowers will keep blooming all summer long if you just keep cutting off the old ones. In the early fall you can stop cutting them and they will form seeds that you can put away in envelopes for next year!

Thumbelina Zinnias

Zinnias come in all sizes and colors, and they are all planted the same way. We like the Thumbelina Zinnia's because they are short and small! You must wait until it is really warm outside before you plant the Zinnia seeds. They love the warm sunshine! Use your ruler again and plant them 8 to 10 inches apart. If they get too close later you may have to pull some up to make room. Zinnia's like to have space so the air can flow around their leaves. They need lots of sun too. If you give them what they need they will grow and bloom.


Other Easy Flowers

Sunflowers

Sunflower You can buy short and tall sunflowers now, and plant them 12 inches apart near a fence, when it warms up. The short ones can be planted in a large pots too! Just watch the birds when the plants are little to make sure they don't eat them. You can put a milk jug without the cap on top of the plant until it gets a little bigger. The very tall ones may need to be tied to the fence to hold them up later. This photo was a sunflower grown by Amanda's (The Family Corner WebMom) children.  It grew to be 8 feet tall!

Bachelor's Button

This is also called Cornflower. They are easy to grow, but also need lots of sun. Plant them about 6 to 8 inches apart, and an inch deep. When they start blooming make sure you pick off the dead ones so they will bloom until fall.

Borage

This is really an herb, and it needs lots of room, but we wanted to list it in case you had a big pot or a larger sunny spot. One plant needs about 12 inches all the way around. It leaves are big and it grows pretty blue flowers that come up from the center of the leaves. It is edible too! Some people put a sugar solution on the flowers and use them to decorate cakes.

Note: Be sure to water your seeds and new plants everyday unless it rains!
 
Remember that you will never know how do to something new unless you try. It's ok if you only a few of your flowers grow, because next year you will know how to do it and will have even more! Have fun!

Safety Tip

Be Careful! All of the flowers that we list are very safe, in fact, the Nasturtium, Calendula and Borage can be put in salads, or nibbled on. But you should NEVER put seeds, flowers or leaves in your mouth without asking an adult! Some can be poisonous and give you a stomach ache. It's always good to be careful.



More You Might Like:
Growing Sunflowers
Herbs for Summer Color
Spring Painted Pot


About the Author:
Brenda Hyde is a freelance writer and mom to three kids living in the Midwest. For more gardening fun visit her at Old Fashioned Living

 
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