Spring is upon us so I have flowers on my mind. Okay, who am I kidding? I have flowers on my mind all year long. If I’m not planting or growing them, I’m digging through catalogs and looking online for them. My husband and I spent many hours in the gardens this weekend, planting and relocating flowers (and veggies) galore. All of my flower gardening experience comes from trial and error; some things work, some things don’t, and some things just don’t like the spot they’re in, so they get moved. I’m not an expert, nor do I play one on T.V.

This is by no means a complete list – we have a lot, and I do mean a LOT of different types of flowers, shrubs, trees and plants in our yard. These are just a tiny selection of flowers that are easy to grow for me here in zone 5 – I will try and follow up soon with some more of them. Here’s a shot of a small section of one of our patios last year:

Mostly what you see here are dahlias to the left, some cosmos around the birdhouse and catmint to the right. I love all these different colors and prefer it when the gardens are just a little wild looking; to me, it just seems more sensual and exotic this way.

Crocus are one of our first flowers to peek their heads up in early spring; they will even bloom in the snow. They are very small plants, but their early burst of color each year is always a joyful sign that winter has finally ended, which makes me a happy woman, indeed.

Daffodils are next to show their colorful faces, followed closely by tulips. Both of these bulb flowers bloom just a few weeks, tops, but their beauty is well worth the effort of planting them.

Not a flower, but worth mentioning, mostly because I’m intoxicated by their perfume, is lilacs. We have a few different varieties and all of them are gorgeous and all of them are currently either blooming or getting ready to. Give them lots of sunshine and they’ll reward you with an unparalleled scent each year. They require little upkeep, aside from some minor pruning and occasional feeding. What they do not particularly like is being moved, so find a sunny spot where they have lots of room to grow and they’ll be happy.

Blooming with the lilacs right now in early May are all of our Bleeding Heart plants. These grow great for us and, as a bonus, they do best in the shade, adding a burst of color to the not-so-sunny areas of our yard. They also grow bigger each year and are easy to divide and transfer.

Last but not least, at least for now, lilies are usually next to bloom, though I have to admit – the area deer tend to enjoy them before we ever get to see them bloom. Because of this, we’ve planted some close to our house and have been rewarded in our efforts. Beautiful and, apparently, tasty too.

Have you had luck growing any of these flowers? If so, or if not, let me know your zone and what issues you’ve had – I’d like to hear your stories.

Hopefully, if you’ve made it this far, you enjoy flowers as much as I do and can appreciate the labor that goes into growing them. Peace to all and happy blooming!