Coneflowers are so pretty! Most of mine are Purple Coneflowers, which have purple-pink petals around an orange center. They are available in many different colors now – red, orange, pink and white. They grow about 2 to 4 feet tall.

Coneflowers have daisy-like flowers and they attract butterflies, bees and birds to your garden. If you deadhead, you will encourage new blooms. If you don’t deadhead the seeds will attract birds and the seeds that fall will easily sprout into new plants.

These plants thrive in full sun and heat, which is why they are looking great now and some of the other plants are beginning to wilt in our Missouri sun. They are very hardy plants and are drought tolerant.

The flowers bloom from June to early frost. A easy plant to divide and share. Normally you should divide plants about every 3-4 years.

Coneflowers are fantastic border plants.

They will also tolerate shade, I have them under a crabapple tree in a shaded area of the yard.

They also mix well with other plants. I love the coneflowers with the sunflowers.

I also have coneflowers mixed in with the day lilies.

The coneflowers are beautiful! They are easy to grow, multiply readily, are easy to care for, tolerate dry soil, attract butterflies and birds, and you can use them to make a wonderful bouquet for your home. Enjoy!

I have always loved traditional hollyhocks. My Grandma Steinhauser always had them in her garden, so they hold special memories for me. Early in the spring I saw miniature hollyhock seeds for sale, so I ordered some to try. They are adorable!

Don’t you love the miniature version? These hollyhocks come from the same plant family as traditional hollyhocks and are thought to descend from western North American wildflowers. They are a perennial that will tolerate a wide range of soils, but prefer well-drained soil. They can be planted in full sun to partial shade.

These grow up to 3-4 feet, but unlike traditional hollyhocks, they rarely need support. Their blossoms are about 1 1/2-2 inches, in shades of red, pink, purple or white. Removing spent flowers will encourage summer-long flowering.

These charming cottage flowers will attract butterflies, bees and hummingbirds from mid-summer to autumn. They have long-lasting blossoms, so you can use them for bouquets.

It is always fun to add a new flower to your garden and this is a pretty one to try. Enjoy!!!!!

Resource used: SFGate Home Guides

Every year I like to try new plants in my gardens. These dwarf sunflowers were so fun last year! These were the Sunray Yellow Hybrid from Burpee. I have always liked sunflowers – but didn’t want the ones that grow 4-6 feet. These were only about 2 feet tall – and just so cute.

I did not have the ideal spot, but they were still easy to grow from seed. Each branch had about a dozen 4″ flowers.

These small sunflowers were the perfect size for bouquets.

Last year I also planted a variety of basil plants to use in cooking, but mainly for bouquets. The lemon basil smelled so good – like fresh lemons, also found a cinnamon basil. The purple basil looked so pretty when combined with the small sunflowers and zinnias.

I know we still have a few weeks before we can really start planting, but it is fun to plan ahead. Here are two websites to help you be creative and enjoy the planning process. Enjoy!

https://www.burpee.com/flowers/sunflowers/sunflower-sunny-bunch–prod099808.html