All of the flowers listed below are easy to start from seed (or bulb) and grow with little to no maintenance in North Texas!
Spring flowering:
1. Larkspur
Larkspur is an annual variety of delphinium and handles the North Texas climate a lot better than it's perennial cousin. Seeds are directly sown into the soil in the fall so that they go through a period of cold stratification and then sprout in the Spring with very little maintenance in between. Plants will grow a large central stem with one main flower, once that flower is cut the plants will branch and make 5-15 smaller but still very usable stems. Plants will begin to lose steam in late spring when night time temperatures begin to warm up.
Gladiolus:
Grown from bulbs, Glads have gotten a bad reputation for being only associated with funerals and being too long, gangly and awkward. Those aren't the ones I'm talking about, we grow what's called "flag" gladiolus. This means that the bulbs we use are smaller than the commercially grown ones and therefore put up smaller more petite blooms with 8-12 florets. As far as growing goes they're as simple as placing the bulbs in the ground in early spring and patiently waiting. You can expect blooms about 70 days after planting. Pro Tip: Check out our blog post all about Gladiolus here:
Summer flowering:
Zinnia:
Easily started from seed in trays or directly sown into the field, zinnias are an absolute powerhouse for our farm. They come in a ton of different sizes, shapes and colors and grow without issue through the hottest parts of the summer as long as they are kept deadheaded and supported with either a stake or netting. My favorite varieties are Queen Red Lime, Benarys Giant and Oklahoma.
Celosia:
This group of flowers is extremely broad varying from the Cockscomb series that looks like underwater coral to the Pampas Plume varieties that resemble feathery fire and a lot more. They can be started in seed trays or directly sown into the garden, don't expect seeds to germinate until soil warms, they love the heat. They'll be one of the last things in the garden to wilt on those hot 100 degree days and will hold up in a vase for 10-14 days without issue.
Sunflower:
Split into 2 main groups, Single Stem varitites and Branching varities, Sunflowers are a gorgoeus focul stem to have in the garden. With the single stem varieties you have to keep in mind that 1 seed will turn into 1 plant which will give you 1 flower. These single stem varieties can be planted as close as 4"-6" and in fact should be planted closely to keep the stems from getting as thick as broomhandles. Branching varities need far more space, taking up about 18"-24" per plant however you'll get anywhere from 8-12 stems per plant. Sunflowers have a long taproot that dosen't like to be disturbed so I've found the easiest way to grow them is to just directly sow them into the garden at a depth of 1/2 inch.
I hope you enjoyed this little article!
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