“A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it. It just blooms.”– Zen Shin
Sure, I CAN buy myself flowers. However, I really prefer to just GROW them! In my previous garden, I grew a few flowers. Mostly Marigolds, Sunflowers, and Zinnias. I absolutely loved them. I also grew many veggies that flower. However, in my new garden, I am placing a much stronger emphasis on flowers. More than I have ever brought into any garden that I’ve had. Why? Well, there are numerous reasons.
Primarily, honestly, for me, flowers are divinely beautiful and offer me so much joy just in their presence. The way they look, the way they smell—so much bliss. Coming in at even more importance is for the pollinators. I want my bees and my butterflies to bee as happy as they can bee! Of course, I am at least tripling the number of veggies that I am going to be growing as well…but those gorgeous flowers will no doubt aid in the production!
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While I am placing a strong emphasis on native flowers, including wildflowers in my garden, I will also be using a few “Florida Friendly” varieties. Due to this fact, this will be an ever-evolving post. Additionally, you may find the occasional non-native, or even invasive, surely with a good reason.
Hey, no one is perfect and I’m the first to admit it! Regardless, I want to keep adding to this post as I add flowers to my garden. Some of the flowers are not strictly flowers but may, in fact, be flowers that are present as part of a vine, tree, shrub, or vegetable, but I have chosen to include them here anyway.
Flowers lend so very much to our gardens. They bring smiles to our lips, light to our eyes, and tremendous joy to our souls. Not to mention that they bring the pollinators to help bring more life (and food!) to our gardens.
So here is a bit about the flowers that I am growing in my garden. I will continue to add more as I go on and will probably end up alphabetizing it to make it easier for you to find what you are looking for. I will include links that you can learn more from for each flower as well as links to where you might be able to get your own seeds, tubers, bulbs, etc. I will continue to add more photos and information as things develop.
Alyssum
Sweet Alyssum is a wonderful addition to any flower for a number of reasons. This adorable, tiny little flower packs a punch for what it can do! In addition to all its helpful benefits, it smells like sweet honey. I will never be without it again! I purchased some from my favorite nursery in Englewood, Honey Bee Nursery. However, I also purchased this packet of 5,000 seeds so that I could put them all over the place. They are just so adorable and helpful! Right now I am growing the white and purple varieties.
Bird of Paradise
I have wanted Bird of Paradise as part of my landscaping for as long as I can remember. So, when I visited the nursery that gave me the start of all my Monarchs, Hazeltine Nurseries, and saw this one, I had to bring it home.
Bougainvillea
This Bougainvillea actually came with my home. There have been times I have thought of removing/replacing it (just because of the thorns. However, It may very well stay where it is since it weathered the storm and actually came back when I never thought it could. I have had to cut it back so much since the storm. I will continue to do what I can to bring it to its former condition, meanwhile, it still makes me smile and the pollinators–including my Monarchs, love it.
Borage
There are so many incredible benefits to borage. I would have loved to find an established plant for this but so far I have only found seed. So I planted it and this is where it is at the time of writing this post. However, I have included a picture of what it looks like for reference.
Gaillardia (aka blanket flower)
Gaillardia is a divinely gorgeous Florida native (there is currently a debate on this) flower. I want this to be a great deal of my ground cover in my garden as well as in my front yard (which will become a garden throughout this year as well) everywhere possible! It is so delightful and the pollinators love it too! I purchased just two 4″ pots of this happy little flower. Now they are growing incredibly well. I gather all of the seeds that I can from it and am regrowing as much of it as I can. To me, this flower is a way to have Autumn as I remember it in my garden. I love it even more! The autumn I used to know came with profound beauty, but it was death. A death that led to the most miserable part of life in Upstate New York, (for me) winter. The colors were so amazing though. Now, I have the colors of autumn bursting throughout my garden for many months of the year! What a blessing!
Geranium
My grandmother had many geraniums all around her property. I have never had the best luck with them but I keep trying, to keep them around in her memory. One that made it through the storm struggled and was ultimately lost. However, I got a new one, on clearance for $2 and it is absolutely gorgeous. I am going to propagate the heck out of it.
Hibiscus
They have such gorgeous, large red blooms! I purchased two of these gorgeous hibiscuses from Home Depot. They bloomed fabulously when I first got them. However, something in my garden found great delight in devouring nearly the entire thing. After that, I ensure that it is protected every night to prevent that from happening again. Eh, it just gave it a hard prune. Thankfully it keeps growing and blooming gorgeously. I then found a gorgeous pink one and that one is quite beautiful as well. I opted to show a picture after the flower blooms when it closes up. I think they are gorgeous and look like roses at this point.
African Iris
These beautiful Irises are so delicate and beautiful when they bloom!
Marigolds
In my opinion, if you have no other flowers in your garden, marigolds are a must! They are beyond easy to grow, hearty, wonderful to cut and display and super easy to reseed, and fabulous for pest control! What more could you want in a flower–oh, and you can eat them too!
Mexican Sunflowers
I love these little sunflowers. They are a lovely addition that the pollinators thoroughly enjoy. While not native, they have a happy place in my garden.
Milkweed
One of the most important flowers I grow is Milkweed. I have several varieties of milkweed that I will be focusing on in its own post coming up. It is such an integral flower for the pollinators in the garden. Most specifically, Monarch Butterflies. It is the only thing that monarch caterpillars eat. This makes it critical for them. Please plant milkweed in your garden!
Passionfruit Vine
At first, this vine didn’t seem to grow, at all. Then all of a sudden it took off and is doing fabulously! It is the host plant for the Gulf Fritillary Butterfly Caterpillar. Plus it produces one of the most incredible flowers I have ever seen and it provides fruit! The reality is that it is certainly playing host to a bunch of Gulf Fritillary caterpillars right now. Someone must have let everyone know that Let it Bee Garden happily welcomes butterflies of all kinds! It’s true. I cannot deny this. The first one came from a Florida Native Nursery. I then got more from Baker Creek. I am so happy with these vines and totally looking forward to when they bloom so I can add more pictures here! (the bloom below is an edited stock photo…I will make a post on mine when they bloom)
Pentas
These Pentas are Florida Natives and they attract butterflies. This variety is a brilliant crimson red that I adore. I also have another variety that is a gorgeous pink.
Porterweed
This flower is one that the butterflies and bees love. It is also a Florida Native. It is beautiful in its simplicity and will always have a place in my garden.
Sunflowers
Currently, I am growing three varieties of Sunflowers. Lemon Queen, Autumn Beauty, and the Mexican Sunflower. I appreciate the sunflower in all its beauty. I am happy to have it here for the pollinators and beauty of course, but also I want to look into harvesting and saving the seeds this year.
Zinnias
I have several varieties of Zinnias this year. Mazurkia looks like they will be my favorite with their giant bright pink blooms that look as if they were dipped in cream. I also have Yellow Zinnias, Polar Bear, Cherry Red, and another Orange Variety.
