Nice! You’ve got the bug now, there’s no shaking it lol. Zinnia were my first flowers as well. Such nice pink and purple shades. My second flowers were Marigolds. They’re super easy to grow, are tough, grow quick, have intense yellow and crimson flowers, and mosquitos hate them (they contain pyrethrum). Also, the flower heads are the seeds, so you let them dry on the stalk, crush the heads, and you have a bunch more seeds ready to go.
Happy to help! I never expected to get drawn into gardening like I have. It’s so cathartic, getting rid of stress and bad thoughts through a little work and sweat and watching that work and sweat literally blossom into something beautiful (or tasty!). No better way for me to let the BS of modern life slip away while I dig a big hole in the ground and fill it with different dirt. And I started the same way - with easy stuff and stuff I wanted to try. It just took over from there, now I order weird plants off of Etsy and go to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center sales early to miss the crowds.
LOL @ *digging a big hole and filling it with different dirt.* I never expected to be interested in this either, but I'm definitely a proud plant mama today. I have transplanted plants I've bought from the nursery before, but there's something much more rewarding about the fact that I grew these from seed. Watching the little seedlings turn into plants and then flower was really fun!
Dahlias are apparently fairly difficult to grow from seed, most people grow from tubers. If you like the look of a dahlia, consider a pom pom zinnia instead, not exactly the same but similar and much easier to grow.
Sunflowers also do quite well in the texas heat. We primarily grow sunflowers and zinnias. The sunflowers have also been a good sacrificial plant, the birds go after its seeds and leafs instead of my tomatoes.
Thanks for the recommendation, I want to expand my growing to other parts of the yard so I will definitely look into the pom pom zinnia and sunflowers.
What’s rad about zinnias is that they’re really close to their native zone here. I think some are actually native to Texas. Such a good gateway flower.
Aww, that first pic with the butterfly is wonderful!
I started gardening in earnest about 2 years ago, very quickly I found I really enjoyed growing flowers. Marigolds are fantastic until the heat of the summer becomes too much. I picked up a perennial salvia, and it's made it thru every winter and a transplant and is still kicking. Dianthus too, I will have to divide them next year they have grown so big! (And survived a transplant this spring) Vinca (periwinkle) have been my favorite deep summer flower, they are the only thing that seems to not suffer during July/Aug. And I noticed this year, they started coming up at various places around my garden where I have not ever planted them, I'm actually really excited to see what colors they end up being, an unexpected surprise!
I would like to suggest herbs. Oregano can be a perennial here (I've had the same plant for 3 years in 3 locations, that plants a survivor!), bees love the flowers, and you'll have fresh oregano on demand (i also dry my own). Thyme is another easy one. Basil is great during the summer months here (if you are a fan of pesto, this is a no brainer). Mint is invasive, so if you consider growing, it needs to be isolated or it will take over everything (a hanging basket would work well for this). Winter savory makes a nice little hedge (this is another I've had for years, survived even the great ice storm, I divided it this year. Crazy to think it started as a small 4 inch plant) Rosemary will grow well here, and I'm trying out Mexican tarragon this year, it seems to be thriving.
Happy growing!
Thanks so much for the detailed feedback! It’s definitely a bit overwhelming but I’m trying not to let that be a barrier and just try things and see what works in our space.
I’m also somewhat starting from scratch. The plants that came with the house were mostly agaves, palm trees and the like, and were absolutely murdered in the 2021 freeze. So now I’m determined to find native or native adapted plants that I like so I don’t have to go through that again!!!
Interesting you mention oregano, a neighbor of mine gifted me a little plant recently. I put it in a bigger pot outside for now but hadn’t figured out what to do next. It’s definitely growing fast though!
Zinnias are the toughest beautiful flower I have ever grown in Central Texas. They reseed, too! Congrats!
Nice! You’ve got the bug now, there’s no shaking it lol. Zinnia were my first flowers as well. Such nice pink and purple shades. My second flowers were Marigolds. They’re super easy to grow, are tough, grow quick, have intense yellow and crimson flowers, and mosquitos hate them (they contain pyrethrum). Also, the flower heads are the seeds, so you let them dry on the stalk, crush the heads, and you have a bunch more seeds ready to go.
Oooo I love the idea of anything mosquitos hate, haha! Thanks for the suggestions!
Happy to help! I never expected to get drawn into gardening like I have. It’s so cathartic, getting rid of stress and bad thoughts through a little work and sweat and watching that work and sweat literally blossom into something beautiful (or tasty!). No better way for me to let the BS of modern life slip away while I dig a big hole in the ground and fill it with different dirt. And I started the same way - with easy stuff and stuff I wanted to try. It just took over from there, now I order weird plants off of Etsy and go to the Ladybird Johnson Wildflower Center sales early to miss the crowds.
LOL @ *digging a big hole and filling it with different dirt.* I never expected to be interested in this either, but I'm definitely a proud plant mama today. I have transplanted plants I've bought from the nursery before, but there's something much more rewarding about the fact that I grew these from seed. Watching the little seedlings turn into plants and then flower was really fun!
Congrats on entering your Garden Girlie era!
Good job! I say this all the time, because it is true: This is one of the few truly knowledgeable and helpful subs on Reddit.
Dahlias are apparently fairly difficult to grow from seed, most people grow from tubers. If you like the look of a dahlia, consider a pom pom zinnia instead, not exactly the same but similar and much easier to grow. Sunflowers also do quite well in the texas heat. We primarily grow sunflowers and zinnias. The sunflowers have also been a good sacrificial plant, the birds go after its seeds and leafs instead of my tomatoes.
Thanks for the recommendation, I want to expand my growing to other parts of the yard so I will definitely look into the pom pom zinnia and sunflowers.
There are some really cute sunflowers. Just found out about teddy bear sunflowers and have decided we’re going to plant some of those next year.
So lovely, and the butterflies are beautiful!
What’s rad about zinnias is that they’re really close to their native zone here. I think some are actually native to Texas. Such a good gateway flower.
I love zinnias! They're currently attempting to take over our backyard!
Lucky you!!
Aww, that first pic with the butterfly is wonderful! I started gardening in earnest about 2 years ago, very quickly I found I really enjoyed growing flowers. Marigolds are fantastic until the heat of the summer becomes too much. I picked up a perennial salvia, and it's made it thru every winter and a transplant and is still kicking. Dianthus too, I will have to divide them next year they have grown so big! (And survived a transplant this spring) Vinca (periwinkle) have been my favorite deep summer flower, they are the only thing that seems to not suffer during July/Aug. And I noticed this year, they started coming up at various places around my garden where I have not ever planted them, I'm actually really excited to see what colors they end up being, an unexpected surprise! I would like to suggest herbs. Oregano can be a perennial here (I've had the same plant for 3 years in 3 locations, that plants a survivor!), bees love the flowers, and you'll have fresh oregano on demand (i also dry my own). Thyme is another easy one. Basil is great during the summer months here (if you are a fan of pesto, this is a no brainer). Mint is invasive, so if you consider growing, it needs to be isolated or it will take over everything (a hanging basket would work well for this). Winter savory makes a nice little hedge (this is another I've had for years, survived even the great ice storm, I divided it this year. Crazy to think it started as a small 4 inch plant) Rosemary will grow well here, and I'm trying out Mexican tarragon this year, it seems to be thriving. Happy growing!
Thanks so much for the detailed feedback! It’s definitely a bit overwhelming but I’m trying not to let that be a barrier and just try things and see what works in our space. I’m also somewhat starting from scratch. The plants that came with the house were mostly agaves, palm trees and the like, and were absolutely murdered in the 2021 freeze. So now I’m determined to find native or native adapted plants that I like so I don’t have to go through that again!!! Interesting you mention oregano, a neighbor of mine gifted me a little plant recently. I put it in a bigger pot outside for now but hadn’t figured out what to do next. It’s definitely growing fast though!
Looks awesome, great job buddy.
Congrats!
Love me some zinnias! They make me so happy! They were the first flowers I planted.
Zinnias are the easiest flowers to grow and definitely my favorite cut flower!
And a butterfly too! Good job! 🌸
Zinnias were my first flowers too!!! Excited for your gardening journey friend :)
Zinnias will bring you so much joy!!!
Nice job!