Gardening is a great way to relax and unwind from the craziness of everyday life. It also provides added bonuses like having fresh grown food and beautiful flowers blooming. The last thing anyone wants is for their garden plants to add to their worries, taking up too much time and adding extra stress. Planning a garden thats filled with easy plants will help make sure that gardening remains a relaxing and peaceful activity. This guide will help you choose plants that are not only easy to plant and take care of, but also provide plenty of benefits for you and your garden!
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Rhubarb
Rhubarb is an excellent choice for an easy garden plant. As a perennial, once it is planted it will keep coming back year after year with little-to-no maintenance. The stalks grow in abundance and are healthy and delicious, perfect for making jam or pie. The large leaves can also be used to help shelter other plants that don’t like too much sun.
Rhubarb likes to grow in full or partial sun and especially thrives in cooler, more northern climates.
Strawberries
Nothing says summer like fresh juicy strawberries, and these delicious fruits are easy to grow! Strawberries are another perennial plant that will come back on its own each spring. As low-growing, ground-cover plants, strawberries are great for fitting in between other taller plants. As much as we love these bright red berries, so do rabbits and other animals. Make sure you have a plan to protect them and keep them all for yourself!
Growing strawberries from seeds is possible, but purchasing plants from your local garden center will be easier and have you harvesting sweet berries faster. Strawberries love the sun so try to plant them somewhere nice and bright.
Chives
Chives are one of the easiest garden plants you can grow. Almost every gardener has a cluster in a corner of their garden that requires no maintenance at all. These herbs, with a garlic or onion flavor, make a great addition to soups, salads, and potatoes. You can grow this hearty and versatile herb from seed, or simply dig up and transplant a patch from a neighbor; with their permission of course!
If you do decide to transplant chives, make sure you dig up a good clump of the roots and wait until there is no danger of frost to replant.
Zucchini
Zucchini is a favorite easy plant to grow thanks to its minimal care requirements and its ability to produce a lot of fruit throughout the summer. This squash variety is perfect for grilling or using in delicious baking. Even the flowers are edible!
For best results, plant more than one zucchini plant. This will help attract the pollinators that will make sure the flowers are pollinated and will grow into zucchini!
Lettuce
There are many varieties of lettuce to choose from, but almost all are quite easy to grow and can be harvested all summer long. Many types of lettuce are shade-tolerant, or even shade-loving, making this a perfect option for those shadier spots in your garden.
Lettuce is typically more tolerant of cooler temperatures than other plants, so it can be planted earlier in spring, and even planted for a second round of harvesting in the early fall.
Bush Beans
Bush beans are a great easy vegetable option. Unlike pole beans, this variety doesn’t require a fancy trellis system but will still produce lots of healthy and versatile beans. Beans are also great to have in your garden as they fix nitrogen in the soil, allowing your other plants to access this essential nutrient.
Making sure you plant your bean plants where they have plenty of sunlight will ensure you get the best harvest from your plants.
Potatoes
They’re a staple for a reason! Potatoes are easy, nutritious, and abundant. Not to mention they can be harvested throughout summer or left until fall. Once harvested, store them in a cool, dry place and they will last all winter, ensuring you have a supply of home-grown garden vegetables all year round.
If you have potatoes in your kitchen that have started sprouting “eyes: or buds, simply cut them into 2-inch chunks, let them dry out and plant them in your garden. Make sure the “eyes” are facing upwards in the soil.
Marigolds
Not everyone wants to grow fruit and vegetables in their garden, and marigolds are perfect for adding some low-maintenance colorful flowers to your space. These flowers add a burst of beautiful orange or yellow, perfect for attracting bees and butterflies. Marigolds don’t just bring in the good bugs though; these flowers are known to help repel mosquitos in the garden.
The easiest way to grow marigolds is to purchase the plants from your local garden center in the spring. To encourage your marigolds to keep blooming all summer long, you can pinch off the dead flower heads, known as deadheading.
Sunflowers
Sunflowers are stunning, dramatic, and super easy to grow. These favorite flowers come in many varieties, ranging from short to giant, with colors from yellow to red. Tall sunflowers are perfect for lining the edge of your yard or fence and help attract bees and birds to your yard. The seeds can be collected and dried in the fall for a tasty snack.
These flowers like well-drained soil and can even be drought tolerant. As their name suggests, they like to grow where there is a lot of sun.
Hardy Geranium (Cranesbill)
Hardy geraniums are a favorite flower for many and come in a variety of colors to make your garden really pop. These beautiful flowers are also known for their lovely scent.
Be careful not to confuse hardy geraniums, also known as true geraniums or wild geraniums, with plants in the pelargonium family which are also often called geraniums. Hardy geraniums are perennial plants, while pelargonium geraniums are annuals.
Daffodil
In many places, daffodils popping up is a sure sign that spring has arrived. These perennial flowers return every year, often months before other flowers are ready to bloom. They are very hardy and will even pop up while snow is still on the ground.
There are many varieties of daffodils so make sure you select the best ones for where you live. Your local garden center should be able to help you choose.
Aster
These showy purple flowers are an excellent addition to any garden. They don’t require any special care and bloom later in the summer. Having asters in your garden means you will get to enjoy blooming flowers into late summer and early fall. Bees and other pollinators will also be grateful for the extra long blooming season!
Asters like to grow where there is plenty of sun. They can tolerate shadier spots but might not produce as many flowers.
Having a beautiful and productive garden doesn’t have to be a lot of work. There are plenty of options to choose from when you want plants that are easy to grow, but still provide rewards. Enjoy plenty of time relaxing in your garden when you grow these delicious fruits, healthy vegetables, and stunning flowers.
