If your hayfever hasn’t already let you know, it’s springtime, AKA, the best time to grow flowers. While growing anything can be a scary thing, we’ve got a list for you of the easiest flowers you can grow from seeds. There truly is no greater feeling than seeing something you’ve planted grow and thrive.
Whether you have an expansive yard or a collection of pots on a window sill, all gardeners share a lust for colour. Bold flowers exploding into glorious bloom are not only an exciting sign of warmer weather, but they’re a beautiful addition to any gardening project and provide food for our pollinating insect friends.
You can also pluck a few of these flowers and create your own arrangements for your home. How lovely.
While a lot of people choose to purchase mature plants because it’s a fast and convenient way to jump-start a flowery garden, it’s also one of the most expensive ways to do it.
So, this week’s Ask Lifehacker is for those looking to add bursts of colour to their gardening space with a little more sweat equity and a little less cash outlay.
Here are the easiest flowers you can grow from seeds.
What are the easiest flowers to grow from seeds?
Sunflowers
Who doesn’t love a row of enormous, bright yellow sunflowers? Not only do they make a big statement in any garden, but they’re also very easy to grow from seeds.
Just keep in mind you won’t see any flowers until the middle of summer, at the earliest, so patience is required.
Plant your seeds according to the instructions on your seed packet, choosing a spot where they’ll get full sun exposure. Sunflowers don’t need much special care, just keep the ground moist and you’re (literally) golden.
Keep in mind sunflowers are annuals, so you’ll need to re-plant every year.
Bachelor’s button (Cornflower)
If you want butterflies and other interesting invaders in your garden for visual interest, bachelor’s buttons will attract them.
They’ll also provide a nice burst of bright blue in your garden area. They bloom starting in mid-summer and require ridiculously little care, just water them when things get dry. In the late autumn, gather up the seed pods and keep them to plant next year.
Kangaroo Paw
Kangaroo Paws are probably one of the most iconic Australian native flowers and one of the easiest to grow.
They’re a perennial with 50 cm long leaves with tall red stems that bear clusters of coloured flowers. They adapt to most soil types but prefer to be in moist, well-drained soil.
Like most Aussie natives, they love to be in the full sun and take around 15-40 days to germinate, so you can enjoy them in the late summer.
Kangaroo Paws attract birds and bees, so they can do a lot of good in your garden. They can also be cut back to the ground after flowering to rejuvenate.
Billy Buttons
Not only do they have the cutest name, but Billy Buttons are also super easy to grow as they are drought tolerant. That means that even if you neglect them, they will still thrive, which is perfect for those known to kill plants easily.
This native Australian flower forms low clumps of grass-like foliage and produces tall yellow globe flowers. They attract native bees.
Billy Buttons also make an excellent addition to flower arrangements and look stunning when they’re dried.
Place them in full to part sun and in well-drained soil. They may die off over winter but will re-sprout in spring.
Marigolds
Marigolds are lovely and super easy.
Plant the seeds according to the packet’s instructions, keep them moist, and they will bloom a beautiful red-gold.
If you pinch off the flowers as they wilt, the plants will continue to bloom all summer long in wave after wave of bright colour.
They do fine in sun, but if you live in a very hot area you should consider giving them some partial shade. They’re also annuals, so you’ll need to harvest some seeds at the end of the season and replant next year, but it’s worth it.
Columbine
Offering a beautiful flower in a broad range of colours (purple, blue, yellow, white, etc.), columbines are one of the easiest flowers to grow from seeds.
Keep them moist but make sure the soil drains well, and you will be rewarded with lots of flowers with almost no maintenance.
Best of all, they will self-seed and return year after year without you lifting a finger. If you want to keep the bloom going, remove the stems after the first flowering, but that’s not essential.
Brachyscome
Australian daisies are not only the most stunning flower, but they are also super easy to grow.
These natives grow in a mix of blues, pinks and whites. They grow really fast, so you put them anywhere with full sun and well-drained soil and expect them to thrive.
Bees and pollinators also love daisies.
Morning glories
Morning glories are pretty, delicate flowers that bring bright shades of blue, purple, red, and white to your garden. They are also super easy to grow.
They will self-seed and come back year after year, but they do require weekly watering, and often benefit from a little fertiliser to encourage them.
Sweet peas
With a rich range of colours, these climbing plants will come in early and do best in the cooler part of the spring and summer.
Once the heat comes in, they will fade away. This makes them a good choice for getting some colour in your garden as early as possible.
They don’t need much watering once planted, and they tolerate the sun very well. A touch of fertiliser will do them good, though, so there is a bit of work involved.
If you’ve got a burning question that you need answering, send them to us and we will answer it! Your question could be featured on the next Ask Lifehacker.
This article has been updated since publication.
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