Happy summer out there to all you gardeners! As the temperatures heat up and the spring crops fade away, it’s easy to be left with unexpected empty space in the garden. Fear not, for there are still lots of flowering crops you can plant at this time of year. Here are some of my favorites to plant from both seed and transplant.
Seeds To Sow In July
There are lots of summer flowers that perform really well by direct seeding in the garden. Choose types that germinate quickly, that love hot weather, and that are fairly inexpensive to grow from seed. Some of my favorites include:
- Zinnias: I love ‘Benary Giants’ for their big bold colors, and the ‘Queen’ series for the more subtle shades.
- Cosmos: These are some of the easiest flowers to sow in the garden, and sowing a succession now will keep them blooming for you all the way into fall.
- Sunflowers: Big flower farms sow sunflowers every single week in order to have blooms all year long. For the home gardener, I would recommend sowing a succession more like once a month.
Transplants To Plant in July
This is the category of plants that take a little longer to grow, so it’s best to buy them from a local garden center in small plugs or even 4” pots.
- Dahlias: This time of year you can often find dahlia plants in 1 gallon pots. This is a great way to plant dahlias if you missed the window for planting tubers in the late spring.
- Globe Amaranth: Often known by it’s Latin name ‘Gomphrena’, this great summer filler does really well planted out from small pots and will bloom for a long season. A bonus is that it’s a great flower for hanging to dry in the barn!
- Nicotiana: This is a bit of an oddball that can really give your garden that English feeling. Nicotiana, or flowering tobacco, comes in many sizes and colors and is great for bouquet work. Your bees will also thank you for it.
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