Flowers

[bokelley]

So we just moved into our new home. And it needs some curb appeal, the problem is I have no green thumb. What are some good flowers to plant that are easy to take care of? I bought some geraniums to put in a huge pot on the front porch. We live in St. Louis, where it is hot!! I want some good ground cover for the back yard. Thanks guys!!

Do you mean ground cover instead of grass or groundcover to fill in spaces?

When we lived in Colorado we used "ajuga" for groundcover in an area where we didn't want to water and, after it was established (which did need water) it was fine.

For the front my favorite low maintenance flowers are Sunset Hyssop and Russian Sage ( both perennials) with a lot of portulaca (also called Moss Roses) underneath. I love the look of Portulaca with lobelia and calendula ( these three are all annuals)- but there are too colorful/bright for some.

[bokelley]

Well I have a large side flowerbed. When we moved in, it was just weeds. I pulled them all out. It is almost kidney bean shaped and there is a fence right beside it. So I was thinking some ground cover instead of grass would look nice. It gets little sun over there (3-4 hours max).

[Momo]

Try periwinkles. We have fuchsia, white and a lighter pink around our tree well area. They can survive full sun(even Phoenix sun), I'm sure in St. Louis (I used to live in Clayton) they'll get plenty of rain water, here we have them on drip lines.

[HouseofWool]

My mom was mention that some types of clematis can be used for ground cover.

[ladymoreta]

I'm not sure what your climate is like, but we lined our flower beds with Stella de Oro, and I love them! They bloom like crazy, they don't seem to mind differences in sunlight (but we're in Oklahoma, so we get plenty of that wherever they're planted), and they're super easy to take care of.

[bokelley]

Thanks guys!! I am off to Home Depot to go and buy some flowers. This is our first home, so I have never landscaped before. All the homes around us look amazing. I am in such envy of them. I had to mow the lawn yesterday, UGH. DH takes boards on Friday, so it was just me and the Ipod...

[oceanchild]

When we wanted flowers, we went to a local nursery and asked. We knew the bed didn't get much sunlight, so we looked for shade flowers. The advantage of going to a local nursery, as opposed to Home Depot, is they know what will grow best in the area. In the case of this place, they only stock plants that will grow here.

I second the suggestion to go to a nursery. I would show them a diagram of your yard...every yard has sub-climates so it would help them to see where you intend to put the plants.

Are you looking to plant annuals or perennials? Do you want something that's green year round?

Phlox, ice plant and mondo grass are good ground covers for warmer regions and spread well. Daylillies also grow well and come back year after year, but you might need a little more sun for those. Hosta, azaleas, camellias, gardenias and lorapetalum (sp?) are nice for shady spots and do well in the heat.

I just planted 20 knock-out roses this year. They do well in the heat and are disease resistant, but I'm not sure if your garden gets enough sun for them. Sprinkle a little epsom salt on them every couple of weeks and they will bloom like crazy.

[seaside*bliss]

you might also research the hardiness zone online. I think all of Missouri is Zone 5. That will tell you what grows best where you are at