Whats some good flowers that I could plant around my house?

Can you give us some more info on what type of soil you have, hardiness info for your area, and amount of sunlight the flowerbed will have? Also, do you just want to plant some annuals, or do you want to invest in some perennials ?

Geraniums are nice!

Plus, height of bottom of windows, area of beds you are thinking of, planting zone you are in (local nursery can tell you that, as can Google Gardening), animals you have (some pretty plants are poisonous, like Monkshood and Foxglove). I am in a slightly colder zone than many houses here do to microclimate. Wind, exposure, house siting, way the trees are situated, and direction of prevailing winds.

There is no such thing as a magic garden; some work is required but you can minimize your labor. Send us details and we will put our thinking caps on. Annuals require repurchasing every spring so can be costly.

Be careful of the ivy, it can take over. Be sure to keep it from attaching to the house unless you want that look. My mom was from your area, I wish she was still alive because what I miss about her the most was her marvelous garden. Take advantage of your area and plant fragrant things. Jasmine is the one that comes to mind when I think of my mom. She always planted it near the entry to the house so that visitors would be greeted by it’s wonderful smell. Her other trick was planting mint by a faucet. They always drip a little when you turn off the hose and that kept them watered nicely. That way, we always had it on hand for ice tea and cooking. Her trick when moving to an area was to walk or drive around the surrounding area, observe the plants and see the growth patterns, etc. She would then pick the ones she liked, photograph them if she didn’t know what they were and take the photos to a nursery and have them ID them for her. Now you don’t even have to do that. Just put them up on a site that accepts photos and comments and someone will ID them for you.

I like variations of perennials that come in stages – first daffodils, then tulips, then irises, so it seems like the flowers keep coming and coming. Also, a few rose bushes are always nice to have – free, fresh flowers all summer long…

I checked your climate and it looks like it is cold enough to do spring bulbs, which are always marvelous. In addition to the ones nocountry2 mentioned there are hyacinth (incredible fragrance), crocuses, amaryllis. Another harbinger of spring is forsythia.

Room for trees? Redbud, dogwood, crape myrtle should all work in your area.

I love wildflowers. Do you? You can find the ones naturally found in your area and incorporate those into your beds or plantings. Here is a reference: http://deq.louisiana.gov/portal/tabid/1951/Default.aspx

Shady spots can be brightened with coleus, impatiens. Sunny ones work well for that oldie by goodie Southern standby, the day lily. Then there are sunflowers. Really, the list is endless.

It’s really hard to go wrong. I envy you the fun of planning a new yard and garden. Have a great time!

And don’t forgot the greatest flowering bush of all; if your climate is not too warm in winter; the double-flowering fragrant peonies.

Best bulbs are fritillaria and many varieties of allium; if jasmine will winter, so will camillas; viburnum are extremely fragrant bushes in spring; poppies of all kinds, butterfly bushes….Listen to Seesul. English Ivy can devour your house, like Audrey II. There are many prettier vines. And I think annual geraniums are really boring except in a pot with a few other friends

And do what Seesul’s Mom does. Walk around the neighborhood and talk to gardeners. They love to chat and might be happy to give you babies. We exchange plants around here all the time. I haven’t bought anything for years.

And don’t forget that you get to prepare the soil only once. Turn, remove turf, weeds and stones and enrich with dried manure or compost..check ph and drainage. Then have fun.

Gardinas smell awesome when in bloom and usually go well in areas where Azaleas grow. If you want bedding flowers I am a fan of hard ones like Marigolds or Salvias.

But here we have to buy and plant marigolds and salvias every late spring. They are annuals. And we never did find out where Britcraft lives.

@Gooch: Miraculously this year I have marigolds in bloom that I planted from last year’s seeds. I can hardly believe my eyes.

@ gail I guess we are lucky they reseed here simply by deadheading them. I usually throw a couple of the dried Marigold flowers around my spring tomato plants to prevent insects from eating my plants. Try deadheading them and dropping them at the base of the plants they should reseed naturally.

We have really severe winters (zone 4 on my hill). Wouldn’t the below-freezing cold kill the seeds left outside? Occasionally I will find an “accidental” marigold, but it is little and both slow to grow and even slower to bloom.

And there is no such thing as a spring tomato plant. Mine are just starting to change from green to yellow and red. And they were from plants that my sister (who doesn’t mind dirt all over her living room) started from seed indoors. We transplanted them on Mem. Day week-end, the official end of killing frosts.

@gail mulch is key it protects the seeds but remains loose enough for the little guys to break through. Remember there will be thousands of seeds from the deadheads so all you need is a few survivors. Well I start “dem maters” = tomatoes on Jan. 1 every year then move them out of the nest around March 1 for rain and sun. The sun is key to me and no fertilizers produce more fruit and less leaves and faster ripening. At least this is my experience in Louisiana.