Rather than picking up a store bought bouquet why not plant fresh aromatic flowers in mum’s garden – or yours – to pick the freshest of bouquets come Mother’s Day morning?
You can make her garden experience that much more enjoyable with winter blooms. Or if you don’t have the option of planting in her garden, plant some flowers in a pot or corner of your garden ready to pick for the ultimate in fresh, fragrant flowers throughout the year.
Here are my top three recommendations for Mother’s Day blooms.
1. Gardenias
Gardenias flower the best from November through to May so catch the last of the fragrant white blooms for Mother’s Day. Their large white petals and glossy green foliage make them a beautiful garden addition and they can be used as hedging or a feature, and also grow well in pots.
I recommend planting Gardenias near a deck or window, prime positions to enjoy the plants perfumed fragrance.
They grow from approximately ½ metre – 1.6m depending on the variety. Try to avoid planting gardenias near a concrete walk or foundation where the pH maybe too high for good growth.
2. Salvias
Salvias make a beautiful Mother’s Day bouquet and come in a range of appealing flower colours including blue, mauve, cerise, pink, red, white and orange. Salvias can be shrubs perennials and annuals and grow from the small border style plants to the taller and bushy.
There is a Salvia for just about any style garden, they are long-flowering and easy to propagate and grow. Salvias are a part of the mint family and give off a beautiful perfume when brushed past.
Make sure you prune Salvias to the ground every year after flowering; they respond well to being dug up and divided every 2-3 years.
3. Echinaceas
Echinaceas are long flowering, look great and are easy to care for making them a great choice for a floral burst in the garden. Not only are they a beautiful addition to the garden, they are also a medicinal plant that are useful for alleviating skin rashes, and will help stimulate the immune system- if consumed in the correct way.
Echinaceas are very resilient flowering plants that don’t get bothered by pests or diseases. They generally come in beautiful shades of purple and lavender, with a raised dark centre cone.
I suggest you plant these in your herb garden or, if your garden allows, some free space for clumping of different textural planting. They can be used along with the Salvias and lower growing ornamental grasses and hedges. Don’t overdo it though, as they tend to work best when they are not dominating the garden.
__small.png)
