But, just as you would when approaching mastering another tongue, it is important not to panic: simply get the rudiments under your belt first and then layer in new knowledge – and indeed plants – as you go. If you’re grappling with a plot of land, we would urge you never to throw uo your hands in defeat and resort to paving the whole thing over; rather, learn instead about easy plants to grow in your area. It’s for the good of your own health, the planet’s health and your ultimate sheer enjoyment, after all. In this article, we will explore the easiest flowers to grow from seed to easy outdoor plants.
How To Pick Plants For Your Garden
Choosing the best garden plants UK for your plot takes some consideration. On a basic level, you need to think about how much sunlight you are exposed to and whether the plants you are keen to grow respond to full exposure, shade or a spot in between. You might also need to consider what would work best in your soil. But before you get to the nitty-gritty of practicality, it helps to first decide on what you would like the aesthetic of the garden to be.
This useful article on the Royal Horticultural Society’s website has some very handy pointers. For example, if you have an urban garden, you might think about making the most of a smaller space by planting striking and lush ferns in shady corners. Or why not try acers for some vivid colour and height, all offset by a carpet of snowdrops at their foot? They thrive in pots, which also makes them easy to transport if you are ever moving to pastures new.
If, you want to grow a garden that is especially conducive to attracting wildlife, why not consider hawthorn, which supports many species of nesting bird – and just so happens to look beautiful too? Or you could opt to cheer yourself – and the bees – up by planting sunflowers amid your veg patch, or buddleias if you want your garden to become a butterfly magnet.
For cottage style gardens, you might think about growing a wealth of self-seeding plants for a gorgeous overgrown look. To achieve this, why not try adding height with perky foxgloves; abundance with fragrant lavender; roses for a rambling classic cottage look; or mock orange for its beautiful scent?
For more ideas on these – and a wealth of other types of garden, as well as the right easy-to-grow flowers to choose for them – read the full blog post here.
Advice For Beginner Gardeners
Being a novice gardener with a patch that you are newly responsible for can be daunting. But the wonderful thing about picking up new skills in the garden is that, with each lesson learned, you will be actively improving your own environment and that of the wildlife in our midst. It truly a joy to harvest crops that you have grown – no matter the size of your plot – to eat for lunch or dinner. Similarly, there are few things nicer than decamping outside in the summer months to eat al fresco amid the buzzing bees and butterflies for which you have provided homes and food.
Gardeners’ World has an excellent article for anyone who is just getting started. First off, it advises really getting to know your garden. Which direction does it face? What is the soil like (you can tell this by the other plants that are growing or, to be more accurate, by testing the soil pH). Next, it is prudent to plan the garden, so that you know what you want to buy and where, roughly, your new purchases will go, as opposed to getting anything that just happens to look pretty on a trip to the garden centre.
Easy garden plants might be on your agenda, but it still pays, suggests the article wisely, to know precisely how to plant them. Weeding, mulching and fertilising the soil all help, as opposed to just bunging them in – and, if in doubt, always, always look it up. Then, once they’re in, knowing when to feed and water your plants is the difference between them living or dying. As the article says, ‘As a general rule, water the root ball rather than the leaves, as it's the roots that absorb the water. Soaking the rootball every week is better than watering a little bit every day. Feeding is also important - generally you should be looking at feeding every fortnight during growing season (that's spring and summer), although you will need to feed more if growing in containers.’
Amongst other tips, Gardeners’ World suggests starting small, taking on one area of the garden at a time so as not to get overwhelmed; controlling the pest population organically; making use of compost; and being kind to wildlife by allowing whole eco-systems to grow up in your midst. For the full article, click here.
Our 10 Choices For Easy To Grow Plants
Sunflower Plant
What more cheery sight is there in a garden than that of a sunflower scaling the heights above its floral companions as if it is reaching for the sun itself? Happily, there are many benefits to growing these beauties aside from the fact that they are some of the easiest plants to grow.
Heat-tolerant, they will provide a shot of glorious colour in your garden all summer long, and are just as attractive to bees and birds as they are to us. And while they provide a good source of sustenance for pollinators, their seeds and oils are also edible for us too.
An annual, the sunflower – or helianthus annuus to give it its Latin name – is heliotropic, meaning that it turns its daisy-like face to the sun, moving from east to west throughout the day. If you are growing them for your garden, rather than for cutting, do choose the pollen-producing variety to keep the wildlife happy. You can also choose those that have one stem or branches that shoot off. An easy to care for garden plant. Read more about growing sunflowers here.
Lavender Plant
Lavender is one of the most satisfying and easy to look after garden plants, and it lasts all summer and into the early autumn too. Fragrant, abundant and beautiful, its deep purple flowers, silvery foliage and seductive scent make it a really good choice. Plus, it’s a great way to create loose, cottagey informal borders – and, as an herb, you can even use in it in cooking too.
If you are considering growing lavender, there are a few varieties to know. English lavender is one of the most common plants in the UK, flowering from June until August. Despite its name, it is in fact of Mediterranean origin, but it does especially well in these climes thanks to the fact that it is cold-hardy – and it also so happens to be one of the best lavenders for culinary use.
French lavender – sometimes called ‘fringed lavender’ – is more compact, and while the flowers themselves are less aromatic than the English variety, the leaves are even more so. Spanish lavender, meanwhile, has wonderful plump blooms with ‘bunny ears’ and flowers from mid-to-late summer. All varieties need a spot in the full sun, and you must water regularly until they are established. Read more about growing lavender here.
Aloe Vera Plant
Aloe vera is a beautiful succulent that looks good in any setting, thanks to its thick and fleshy green leaves that fan out invitingly. Stemless and succulent, they need a spot with indirect sunlight so as not to dry them out. And, since we love a plant that has a use as well as looks wonderful, you can use the juice from their leaves to treat scrapes and burns topically (do note, neither you nor your pets should ever ingest the juices).
The right container is very important. Do opt for terracotta or another porous pot so that the moisture may drain out between watering. Getting the right temperature is also vital. Between 13 – 27 °C makes for ideal conditions, so do ensure that, living in the UK, you bring the plant inside from October to April. As for watering, do so deeply but infrequently, allowing the moisture to drain out (roughly every two to three weeks in summer and longer intervals in the winter is ideal). Read more about growing aloe vera here.
Shamrock Plant
Thought that shamrock was just for St Patrick’s Day? Think again. Lush and abundant, there are a dizzying number of varieties of the plant that is distinguishable by its clover-shaped leaves in a spectrum of colours from vivid green to purple. You can plant them outside in autumn or early spring, but they do go dormant in the summer (do not mistake this period for them having died!).
Shamrocks like bright but not direct sunlight and lightly moist soil (do allow them to dry out between watering. And when it does start to enter its dormant period, remove it from the light, and do not water or fertilise. It will tell you when it’s ready to wake up by producing new shoots. Read more about growing shamrocks here..
Peace Lily Plant
If you’re looking for an easy-to-care-for plant to grow indoors, the peace lily is a super option. It makes a popular choice in homes and offices because it is so straight-forward to look after, while adding an elegant and calming addition and helping to clean the air in any room it adorns.
Whilst it is easy to look after, as with any plant, there are still a couple of things to consider. Do positionyour lily in a spot with medium to low light (go for medium if you want it to flower more, as opposed to being more of a foliage plant; do the reverse if you want it the other way around). Do also ensure that you don’t overwater it; peace lilies are drought tolerant and can withstand not being watered for a couple of weeks at a time. When they outgrow their containers, do divide and re-plant them into larger pots. Read more about growing peace lily plants here.
Snake Plant
The snake plant – or dracaena trifasciata to give it its scientific name – is a striking plant with leaves that can range from six inches to eight feet tall. Regarded as virtually indestructible, they can tolerate being exposed to bright light, darkness – and anything in between. Some extra hours of sun will, however, ensure that it grows somewhat faster. Evergreen and perennial, it is drought-resistant, so do be careful not to overwater it so as to avoid root rot. It likes well-draining soil and prefers warmer conditions. Read more about growing snake plants here.
Monstera Plant
Have you got a Monstera plant? Not ringing any bells? How about a Swiss cheese plant? Widely known by their nickname – so called because of their holey leaves – they are an exceedingly popular choice when it comes to indoor plants, not least because they are so easy to care for. Plus, there’s a reason they are such regulars on Instagram: they instantly transform, bring alive and make your environment feel effortlessly tropical. On the latter note, because they originate from sunnier climes, they do well when given plenty of light – do place them in rooms that the sun pours into if you can. During the chillier months when the heating is on, you can help keep your plant from drying out by misting it several times a week. On the flipside, you should allow them to dry out between waters to avoid root rot. Want them to really thrive? Do consider giving them something to climb. Read more about growing Monstera here.
Money Plant
Crassula – or the money or jade plant – was once a mainstay of houseplants but has rather fallen into the realms of the old-fashioned in recent times. We say now is the moment to bring it back; its succulent leaves and amazing longevity make it well worth a revival. It may not actually improve your bank balance, but as this article on Our House Plants points out, ‘maybe one day when you are old and causally glance over and see it in the corner looking back, you might think your Jade Plant is one of your most priceless and treasured living possessions.’
If you are going to take a money plant into your home, this is what you need to know: it needs natural daylight to thrive; you should water well and then allow to dry out; and you need to administer an all-purpose houseplant feed every three months or so. Read more about growing money plants here.
Nasturtium Plant
One of the most vibrant and easy-to-grow garden plants in the UK must be the nasturtium. Vividly coloured and featuring edible flowers, leaves and seeds, it’s a fun and rewarding one to grow with children too. They grow well either in containers or as ground cover in veg gardens, because they attract many of the pests that would otherwise eat the food you’ve planted (bean, broccoli, cabbage, cucumber, kale, melon, pumpkin, and radish all do well with nasturtiums grown in tandem). On another positive note, they also bring pollinators into your garden, and they smell sweetly and work well as cut flowers, too.
You can choose between bush or climbing nasturtiums, depending on the look you are going for, and they work very well in window boxes too. They require full sunlight, so no shady spots please, and they grow brilliantly in well-draining soils. Direct sow the seeds into the ground two to four weeks before the last frost date in your area, sowing the seeds half an inch deep and 10 to 12 inches apart – and then watch and wait. A week – or just over – after that, you should see your plants peeking through the soil. Read more about growing nasturtiums here.
Plant Daffodils
Daffodils are some of the most cheerful flowers in existence, and one of the most recognisable too. Not only are they a happy portent of spring, trumpeting that the sun is on its way, they are easy to grow too. From the sweet and tiny 5cm examples to the leggy 45cm varieties, you should plant your daffs in autumn – a lovely task in itself, reminding us that spring will be on its way before too long.
They like full sun, and after they are over, simply deadhead and allow to die back for another good show next year. Gardeners’ World advises, ‘Always choose large and firm bulbs, avoiding any soft or visibly rotting ones. Dig over compacted soils and improve with organic matter such as home-made compost or well-rotted manure. Most daffodil bulbs should be planted about 10cm deep, roughly twice the depth of the bulb itself (follow instructions given for individual varieties). In open ground, plant up to six daffodil bulbs together – any more than this and they will quickly become congested. In pots you can plant as many bulbs together as you like, because the display will be less permanent, and you can replant the bulbs in the ground in one to two years' time.’ Read more about growing daffodils here.
Summary
It can be daunting to take ownership of a garden or even to keep houseplants when it appears that there are so many rules and needs to be met. But building your knowledge from the ground up can really help; the plants outlined in this article are all great places to start. And once you get these thriving, simply add more by reading up on other varieties that complement your planting.
March 2023
