Easy to Grow Vegetables and Flowers

There are two tricks to gardening well, and both are simple. First, choose plants that will thrive in your climate zone and with your soil type, sunlight, and rainfall patterns. Second, stick with easygoing flowers and vegetables. Here are a half dozen of each that will grow well in most any garden.

FLOWERS

1. Marigolds. These golden frilled flowers are easy to grow from seed. They like hot, sunny weather and ask only that you pinch off the dead blooms to make room for new ones. They’ll also pitch in and help with your vegetable garden by keeping pests away (see below).

2. Snapdragons. Tall, colorful, and graceful, snapdragons are beautiful and fun: squeeze their little “mouths” together and see the dragon snap. Plant them from seed or (for quicker blooms) plant seedlings. They like full sun and well-drained soil.

3. Zinnias. Talk about cooperative—the more you pick these brightly colored flowers the more they grow! Like marigolds, they are easy to cultivate from seed and like full sun and well-drained soil.

4. Impatiens. These small, pastel flowers will thrive in shady areas. A separate variety (New Guinea impatiens) has brightly colored blossoms and can be grown in full sun. Both kinds need plenty of water and wilt quickly on hot days. They do come back when watered, but don’t count on their surviving many of these “near-death” experiences.

5. Sunflowers. These giant-headed flowers grow up to ten feet tall from little black seeds (the same ones we snack on). Tie the stem to a large, sturdy stake to keep the massive flower head from falling over as it shoots toward the sky.

6. Pansies. Now here is an unfairly named plant. These jewel-toned, velvety flowers don’t live up to their wimpy name. They are among the hardiest flowers you can grow. They can bloom from late summer straight through fall and into winter, long after other flowers have succumbed to the cold. Plant pansies from seedlings and pinch off the dead blooms to encourage new growth. If the plant gets leggy, cut the foliage back and the feisty little pansy will bounce right back.

VEGETABLES

1. Zucchini. Zucchini grows so easily and so quickly that you may have a hard time keeping up with the harvest. Plant seeds following packet directions, planting each in a separate mound of earth. Allow at least a 5-foot circumference to accommodate the large and sprawling plant. Water, fertilize, and begin scouring your recipe books for new ways to cook zucchini!

2. Tomatoes. They come in many varieties, but the two easiest and most familiar are Early Girl (which can be harvested early, as the name suggests) and beefsteak, the huge meaty tomatoes so perfect for slicing and sprinkling with salt and olive oil. Plant tomato seedlings in the early warmth of spring where they will get full sun. Water them slowly and deeply during hot weather and fertilize regularly. You will need to stake the plant if it begins to topple. Pick tomatoes when all the green has been replaced by deep red.

3. Onions. Probably the easiest vegetable to cultivate, onions grow quickly when given sufficient water. You can plant them from “sets” (small bulbs) or put the whole onion in the ground. For variety—and a fun project—plant some sets or onions about 8 inches deep and the rest about 3 inches beneath the surface. The deeply planted onions will elongate to reach the surface and grow up to be scallions; the more shallow plants will become round yellow onions!

4. Green beans. These mature quickly from seeds and produce abundant crops. Choose bush beans (there are several varieties) and seed a new batch every few weeks to keep up a steady harvest. Pick when the pods are about four inches long.

5. Peppers. Buy these plants as seedlings and consider a mixture of hot and sweet plants. If you plant a little cilantro, you’ll have the ingredients for homemade salsa (tomatoes, onions, and peppers) right in your own garden.

6. Lettuce. If you want to plant something for cool-weather gardening, lettuce is a very satisfying choice. Plant from seeds, keep watered, and you’ll be harvesting your salads within six weeks.

OUTSMARTING GARDEN PESTS

To make life a little harder for the insects who’d enjoy snacking on your vegetables, avoid planting all of the same crop together. Mix up the seeds and seedlings so the rows have a smattering of each vegetable. Putting tomato next to squash, which is right beside corn, will thwart insect pests who like to munch their way straight down a row of all one kind.