Long-lasting luxury - annuals
As for annual flowers for summer cottages, the list here can be very long. But consider, perhaps, the most unpretentious types.
Marigolds are one of the simplest and most beautiful representatives. They amaze with their varying color scheme from bright burgundy to pale yellow. If we talk about their shape, then it can be simple or terry. If you want to form tall thickets, then opt for the African species of marigolds, which have large ball inflorescences. If you dream of a curb decoration, then rejected marigolds will be the best, they normally tolerate irregular watering, sun and constant rain.
Marigold
Another picky flower among annuals is zinnias (majors, as they are popularly called). Despite the fact that it has a thick stem, it does not need a garter at all. The plant itself has excellent immunity and is not subject to one or another disease. Zinnia flowers come in all kinds of shades and colors, with the exception of blue. Their main advantage is drought resistance. If you water them once a week, they will still delight you with the beauty of flowering. But you should not abuse this, since due to systemic underfilling, they can decrease in size and bloom less luxuriantly.
Petunia
Do not forget about the variegated petunia. This annual flower can decorate any flower bed. It has different shapes, becoming a compact bush or a chic ampel with meter-long lashes. Unlike marigolds and zinnias, petunia is less drought-resistant. If you do not have enough free time and energy, then it is better not to tackle her planting.
Of course, the list of annual and perennial flowers that can be used to decorate flower beds could be continued. There are a large number of their types, which differ in the play of colors and shapes. We have considered with you the most popular and often used in the country.
Now let's talk about flowers that can be planted in flowerpots. This is an equally attractive activity.
Techniques for creating a flower bed blooming all summer
A flower bed that assumes continuous flowering throughout the summer cottage season from spring to autumn will never look equally impressive throughout this time.
It is much better to create a flower bed that looks as luxurious as possible in one season, for example in the summer. And then extend the flowering season for this flower bed by adding earlier or later flowering plants to it. This will give you a beautiful flower bed that will bloom from April to October, with a maximum peak in June and August.
Flowerbeds that bloom all summer often contain peonies, roses, dahlias, phlox. If you pick them up in the same tone, for example, pink, then for spring you can add lavender tulips and hyacinths to this flower bed, and use pink perennial asters for autumn flowering.
An attractive view of a flower bed from March to May can create foliage of such perennials as hydrangea and budela, which will bloom only at the end of summer - this will allow these flowers to be used in the overall composition of the flower bed for two seasons. This will be especially effective if you add unpretentious garden ferns to them.
For late flowering flower beds, you can add unpretentious annuals such as cosmea, salvia, zinnia to its composition - they will bloom until late autumn. So your flower bed will be bright and beautiful from mid-April to mid-October.
And if you add ornamental grasses to the flower bed, the flower bed will retain its attractiveness until the first frost.
Gypsophila and other lace dried flowers
Gypsophila, also known as kachim in our country, is not only one of the most popular veiled garden plants, but also a wonderful dried flower. The snow-white lace of her inflorescences looks great in winter bouquets, giving them airiness, elegance and weightlessness. Gypsophila is mainly used as a background culture in floristry: it sets off the bright inflorescences of other plants, in particular, basket-type dried flowers.
Gypsophila. Thayne tuason
In addition to ordinary gypsophila paniculata, original varieties are also used for cutting - terry form, pink "Flamingo", dark pink gypsophila "Pink Star", etc.
Growing conditions: for cutting, you need to plant gypsophila in sunny areas in nutritious, drained and calcareous loams and sandy loams.
Required care: watering during very long droughts is needed only for young plants, while adults do not water or feed; with aggressive growth, they are limited by pruning.
Cutting terms: gypsophila blooms in July-August for almost a month and a half, its inflorescences with fully open flowers are cut off; cutting into bouquets can be carried out only from the third year of cultivation.
Drying features: without hanging, in vases or jars without water, where the gypsophila is placed until completely dry, in dry and light rooms.
Plants that look like gypsophila
Kermek are annuals and perennials with very dense shields, panicles or spheres of inflorescences consisting of numerous spikelets. It seems thicker and brighter than gypsophila, and its color palette is wider - from white to pink, salmon, yellow, blue and lilac tones in the brightest variations.
Kermek also loves the sun and well-drained soil, but requires frequent feeding. The inflorescences are cut after the flowers have fully opened up to the very frost, but they are dried only in shade, in well-ventilated rooms, hanging the bundles with the stems up. Pink and salmon flowers fade in the sun, but yellow and blue (like white) perfectly retain their color even after years.
Kermek is ordinary. Sten porse
Ptarmica yarrow is the most popular type of garden yarrow for dry bouquets. It seems to be an enlarged copy of gypsophila: shining flowers seem to be a scattering of pearls on dense inflorescences. The sizes of individual flowers are largerthan that of gypsophila (sometimes more than 1 cm), almost all modern varieties are terry. It is also cut off after full blooming.
Yarrow ptarmika, or sneeze grass, common sneezer. Karelj
See the continuation of the list of dried flowers for winter bouquets on the next page.
Unpretentious annuals and biennials
Self-sowing ornamental plants are great for a so-called small-maintenance garden. The indisputable advantages of growing annual and biennial flowers are not only that they can be "planted and forgotten", but also in the natural beauty of such plantings.
These flowers were nicknamed "vagabonds": indeed, they seem to wander around the site, sometimes unexpectedly growing in different corners of the garden and giving the charm of "wildness" to the flower garden. Do not be afraid that the "vagabonds" will occupy too much space or "settle" in a place not intended for them: in most of these plants, the root system is shallow, therefore, if necessary, the flower can always be dug out or transplanted.
Digitalis
This shade-tolerant perennial is sown in open ground from mid-May to early June. The flowering period is from early summer to early autumn.
Kosmeya
An annual that is very viable and popular in our area, capable of self-seeding propagation. Blooms from the beginning summer until frost.
Turkish carnation
Turkish carnation is a winter-hardy plant, but it loves sunlight. A little care - and she will delight you with abundant flowering until late autumn.
Eschsholzia
Another name for this plant is the California poppy.Despite the external fragility, escholzia is a hardy and unpretentious flower. Blooms from June to early autumn.
Also unpretentious are such familiar flowers as daisies, garden violets, forget-me-nots.
Pion
The fragrant peony is a recognized leader among perennials. Those who decide to plant it in their summer cottage should be prepared for the fact that this aristocratic plant will decorate the territory for at least ten years. The peony blooms vigorously all summer, and the rest of the time its decorative mission is performed by its glossy greenery.
It is a large pink, crimson, white or yellow flower. Depending on the variety, its shape can differ significantly - lush terry or in the form of a rosette with a visible core. Its buds bloom at the end of May, and bushes reach 1 meter in height.
Optimal breeding method peony - by dividing the bush... The best time for planting a peony is the end of August. The flower is undemanding in leaving. He will need regular watering and removal of early buds.
This is a light-loving plant. Its landing site should be under the sun for most of the day. It should be noted that some types of peonies look great in landscape compositions not only during flowering, but also during fruiting.
To demonstrate the magnificence of peonies, they are given central places. They need space, and a green lawn is the right background for them. Also this one of the best colors for mixborder.
