Easy Flowers to Grow

If you're just starting out with flower gardening, it's a good idea to choose flowers that will not only look great but are resilient enough to miss a watering or two, don't need special soil and can stand up to a little neglect. Try these tough blooms for your first attempt at flower gardening:

• Cosmos--Native to the Southwest and Mexico, they grow quickly from seed and are drought resistant.


• Portulaca--Seeds will grow in any type of soil, and the plants are comfortable in a range of climates.


• Coneflower--Also known as Echinacea, these flowers will grow in sun or shade and have a long bloom season.


• Nasturtium--Tolerant of poor soil and dryness.


• Coreopsis--It self-sows and grows like a weed, giving you plenty more plants to divide and plant elsewhere.


• Sunflower--Grows best in full sunlight and requires little maintenance.

If your "black thumb" makes you a little too nervous to plant flowers directly in the soil, try container gardening. You can even use self-watering containers for some added insurance!