Flower inspiration!
Flowers are for more than impressing a gal on that first date. They are mood enhancers due to their visual beauty and their aroma. Whether you are a one flower type enthusiast, such as a rose grower or orchid devotee or perhaps you are just getting started with planning a flower garden, you will enjoy the following ten websites. You’ll find information and inspiration alike. The sites are listed in order of their Alexa traffic count rating.
Global Alexa Rating: 6,877
If your purpose for wanting a flower garden is to be able to have cut flowers in your home or to present to others, this article will be a marvelous resource. It provides advice for the 15 fastest growing flowers so you can be cutting flowers in no time. That’s not to say that you can’t leave them in the garden, however, as they are just as beautiful there as they are in a vase on your table. You could also use some fast growers to fill in a space where another flower has died or finished its cycle.
2. Garden Guides – Perennial Plants & Flowers: http://www.gardenguides.com/perennial-plants-flowers/
Global Alexa Rating: 40,876
The Garden Guides website is loaded with valuable information about many types of gardening and plants, so it is not surprising that they have a lot of articles about flowers. Perennial plants and flowers have the advantage of growing year after year saving you from having to plant new ones each year. There are articles about potted plants, shade flowers and various types of perennial flowers. There are also videos which can help you choose the best conditions for your perennial flowers. There are also helpful discussions on the site.
3. Birds & Blooms: http://www.birdsandblooms.com/gardening/flower-gardening/
Global Alexa Rating: 160,474
This section of the Birds & Blooms website is aimed at helping you freshen up your flower garden with expert recommendations, tips and ideas. There are a number of Top Ten articles including the top 10 roses, top 10 purple plants, top 10 foolproof plants for kids, top 10 hummingbird flowers, top 10 year-round perennials and more. Be sure to check out the community section to connect with other flower garden enthusiasts.
4. The Gardener’s Network: http://www.gardenersnet.com/flower.htm
Global Alexa Rating: 367,717
This is a simple to use site that provides plenty of help for growing a flower garden. The page link given takes you right to a list of flowers organized into five categories: annuals, perennials, bulbs, other and wildflowers. Each name given will take you to more information about that item including a description, plant propagation, how to grow them and insect & disease. Scroll down to the bottom of the main page and you can learn about more things such as edible flowers, poisonous flowers, deer resistant flowers and more.
5. GardenStew: http://www.gardenstew.com/#forums
Global Alexa Rating: 462,445
This site is for a gardening forum that covers a wide variety of gardening topics, but there is a specific forum for flower gardening that also includes a sub-forum for daylily. The site also includes blogs, gardens, plants and photos sections. A great way to connect with others that share your passion and interest in flower gardening as well as a way to learn about other types of gardening including herb gardening, fruit and vegetable gardening, trees, shrubs, houseplants and water gardening. You’ll also find roses in a different forum. The garden design forum could be of help also if you are in the planning stage.
6. Flower Gardening Made Easy: http://www.flower-gardening-made-easy.com/
Global Alexa Rating: 564,098
This site offers flowering gardening “from the ground up” as they put it. They include tips for successful flower gardening including getting started, easy care perennials, garden design ideas, seed starting and a handy garden calendar. The garden care tips are quite useful as they cover everything from the basics to soil preparation and organic gardening. It also gets into weed and critter control. You’ll also find tips for herb gardening, water gardening and rock gardens.
7. Perennials Made Easy: http://perennials-made-easy.com/
Global Alexa Rating: 649,441
This site is devoted to perennials and how to grow them for all seasons. The site includes a number of pre-planned perennial beds and borders that may be perfect for you that you can order getting all the plants you need along with a planting diagram. These are offered through links to Direct Gardening. The website is very easy to navigate. Be sure to check out the planting guides which include topics such as planting seeds, root bound help, soil pH value, types of soil and more.
8. BloomIQ: http://bloomiq.com/
Global Alexa Rating: 957,742
BloomIQ makes plant selection easy, fool proof and fun. You can borrow from their favorite garden ideas or create your own. The site includes the following categories: collections, plants, inspiration, education, directories and apps. Their feature articles are grouped into four categories: cut flowers, gardening ideas, edibles and indoor plants. Be sure to go to the cut flowers section and choose meanings of flowers for an interesting article that just might have you choosing one flower over another so you can cut them and give them to someone. There is a birthday list and an anniversary list in this section as well.
9. Flower Garden Pictures: http://www.flowergardenpictures.com/
Global Alexa Rating: 10,012,988
All the flower gardening advice in the world won’t help you if you cannot seem to get started as you got stuck in the planning stage. This site might just help with that as it includes plenty of inspiration through the use of flower garden pictures. The photos are totally amazing and should give you the motivation to get started. New photos are added each spring and fall, and they have archived the ones going back to October 2012.
10. Southern Garden: http://southerngarden.weebly.com/
Global Alexa Rating: 18,980,778
In Florence, Alabama there exists an amazing southern garden and this site is devoted to it and the 20 years it has been in the making. In the beginnings section you will find photos of how it all began along with a link to view photos from various years as it progressed to become amazing. It is very inspirational to see this progression and know that you can do the same with some persistence.
A flower garden can be a place to reflect and meditate. It can be a source for cut flowers for your home. It can add beauty to your home while increasing its value. There simply isn’t any reason not to have a flower garden and these ten websites should help you reach your goals, whatever they might be. There are also plenty of sources online and in your community for buying flowers for your garden. Bees and butterflies will thank you!
