Dahlias: I absolutely adore dahlias and I am truly a dahlia addict. They come in a variety of colors, shapes, sizes and textures. The more you cut the blooms from the dahlia plant the more the plant grows new ones. Not only do you reap the rewards of their wonderful blooms, dahlias make “babies” under the ground. Each tuber that is planted will make a large “clump of tubers” which you then can divide after the plant dies back and have loads more plants for the following growing season. My favorite shaped dahlia is the ball and my favorite color is the pink-blush.

 

Peonies: Oh, my…the scent, the ruffles, the beauty of peonies!!! No garden is complete without Peonies. I know peonies have a short time frame for blooming but the flowers are so worth  having - I say go for it - plant another peony bush. If you pick the peonies before the buds fully opens the vase life is much longer. I must say, every year I am most excited to see the peonies bloom out of all the flowers I grow.

 

Zinnias: These flowers are workhorses in the garden and make me smile all the time. They come in a wide variety of colors, sizes and styles. I grow at least fifteen different kinds of zinnias. I dedicate are large portion of my growing area to zinnias because they are so amazing. I can use them as the main (focal) flower in bouquet or secondary (filler) flower.  They last at least seven days in a vase.  I wish I had more room to grow endless amounts of Zinnias.

 

Celosia: I have an absolute love affair with Celosia. It’s true. I am a celosia fanatic and having lots of pink celosia in the gardens is better.  At this point I might say I am embarrassed to say how many celosia varieties I have hoarded.  This is a good problem I assure you. Celosia is a heat loving annual that is fairly drought tolerant and loves to stand upright and bloom. There are way too many celosias for me to plant. If you left it to me I would plant rows and rows. Some celosias are “one hit wonders” which means you get one flower and that’s it, other kinds are branching and you can pick for months. Both kinds are valuable. I definitely would say, Celosia is the flower I use the most that gets the most questions….and the most “wows as well as that flower is so unusual”.

 

Sunflowers: Yup, I love sunflowers. Some may be surprised that they are so high on my list. I’m sure you’re asking why. The two main reasons I picked sunflowers for my top five are because they very easy to grow and they grow FAST. Within 55 days I can pick sunflowers and use them; from a flower farmer’s viewpoint that’s gold. In addition, sunflowers are simply a happy flower and they work well in arrangements as well as stand on their own in a vase. They are also a flower that is well liked by both males and females. This year I will be growing more sunflowers than ever. I can’t wait.