The Best Cheap Flower Seeds for Beginning Gardeners
Growing your own flower seeds is one of the best and cheapest ways for beginner gardeners to get started. For the nominal fee of a seed packet, you can end up with enough annuals and perennials to easily fill a garden bed. Some flower seeds are easier to grow than others, however, and doing all you can to ensure your seed-starting success will save you time, money, and disappointment in the long run.
Annual Flowers
Annuals are some of the easiest flowers to start from seed and are great options for beginners. Annuals are plants that complete their life cycle in one growing season, meaning they won’t grow back next year. Many types of annuals will reseed themselves, however, especially if you plant them in a site that provides the proper light and soil requirements. Sweet Alyssum is easy to grow and an avid reseeder that is also fragrant. It doesn’t grow very tall, making it a good choice for the edges of beds or borders. Nasturtium is another good, low-growing choice. Some medium-sized annuals that reseed and are easy to grow include marigolds, cosmos, zinnias, and some types of poppy. Medium-sized annuals are great for the centers of beds. If you’re looking for annuals to plant at the back of a bed, try some that offer a little more height, such as sunflowers, castor bean, and larkspur.
Annual Vines
If you’re looking for a little easy-to-grow, vertical coverage, try growing some annual vines. Morning glories produce flowers in the daytime, while moonflowers produce them at night. Try planting these two together for a non-stop show of flowers. Sweet peas are fragrant and are great as cut flowers. Hyacinth bean and scarlet runner bean produce attractive flowers as well as edible beans.
Perennials
Perennials are plants that die back in the winter but then return again the next growing season. There are a few perennials that are easy to grow from seed, such as coneflower, black-eyed susan, coreopsis, columbine and lupine.
Choosing inexpensive flower seeds with help you develop your green thumb skills without risking a big investment.
