1. Pulmonary
Formerly cultivated for its medicinal properties, particularly against tuberculosis, the lungwort is one of the first perennials to flower at the beginning of spring. It then offers clusters of funnel-shaped flowers whose color varies from blue to pink, purple or red depending on the cultivar. The flowers bloom atop stems that emerge from the silvery-white spotted foliage.
The pulmonary is a robust plant that is easy to grow and which constitutes a wonderful ground cover capable of restoring color to spaces where nothing grows, such as under a tree, along a facade, at the foot of a north-facing wall, etc. All the more so that it flowers for several months. Preferring shady places, the only things this plant fears are heat and drought.
2. Columbine
Hardy and easy to grow, columbines are all-terrain herbaceous perennials that are characterized by their elegance and lightness. To meet all tastes and needs, they come in different varieties of different heights since some do not exceed 20 cm while others can reach 1 m high.
Their superb flowering extends from May to July. The advantage is that they grow almost anywhere, whether in shade or sun, in ordinary or poor soil, as long as it is light and cool. In terms of maintenance, simply cut off the faded flowers as you go to encourage the development of new flowers. When the end of flowering arrives, if you leave a few faded flower stalks on your columbine plants, they will go to seed and reseed spontaneously to give you new plants the following year.
3. Marshmallow
Formerly widely cultivated for its anti-inflammatory, antitussive, softening properties, etc., marshmallow is a very decorative and very hardy perennial plant that resists frost very well as long as the soil is drained. This plant with deciduous silver-gray foliage and very honey-like flowers made up of 5 pinkish-white petals quickly forms a clump that can reach 150 cm high. To do this, you must provide it with rich, fresh and deep soil in a sunny location.
Other than that, she’s easy to get along with.. Sowing should be done under cover from the end of March or in place from May. If you have young children, the great advantage of this plant is that it is completely edible. Moreover, it is with the roots of this plant that candies better known under the name Marsh Mallow are made.
4. Sweet pea
This annual climbing plant is very easy to achieve. All you need to do is provide it with a support on which it can climb using its tendrils and you will be able to appreciate its flowering with its shimmering colors and delicate scent. from May to October. The color of the flowers varies depending on the variety.
The advantage of the sweet pea is that it develops quickly, which allows you to brighten up a palisade, a fence, etc. without waiting. It can reach 1.80 m in height if it is installed in rich soil. and sufficiently humid in a sunny or partial shade location.
5. Morning glory
Also known as ipomée, this climbing plant with abundant foliage and generous flowering is very decorative. Fast growing, it is ideal for hiding what you find ugly in your garden. Indeed, if you sow it in May in place or if, once the risk of frost has passed, you transplant the seedlings made under cover, it will quickly offer you cascades of trumpet-shaped flowers. blue or purple color for two months.
The particularity of these flowers is that they open in the morning to fade in the evening and are renewed every day, hence the name “morning glory”. This plant should be installed in a sunny location near a support on which it can climb.
6. Zinnia
Whether you grow it in a pot, in a balcony box, in a flowerbed, etc. zinnia will give you an explosion of color all summer long. Indeed, each plant offers a profusion of round flowers which can be cream, yellow, orange, red, pink or purple in color. These flowers have the power to attract butterflies, but they also make it possible to compose magnificent bouquets.
If you wish to advance the start of flowering, it is possible to sow them under cover, otherwise you can do it directly in the ground once the risk of frost has passed. This easy-to-grow plant appreciates sunny locations.
7. Hollyhock
With its spectacular flowering and rustic charm, the hollyhock leaves no one indifferent. There are some many varieties some of which have flowers that look like pompoms and others have simple flowers that come in many colors. From the start of summer, you can admire its flowers blooming all along the flower stalk which can exceed 1.50 m in height.
This Easy to grow plant, install in full sun. It has two significant advantages: it reseeds itself and all its parts are edible, which is reassuring in the presence of young children.
8. Mexican tarragon
Also known as marigold or aniseed carnation, This annual aromatic plant produces a tuft of stems about forty centimeters high which bear narrow, finely serrated leaves of a beautiful green. We love its small orange-yellow flowers which give off a powerful scent.
Here again, it is an edible plant whose foliage is characterized by an aniseed taste very appreciated in cooking. You can sow Mexican tarragon in the ground in a sunny location from April or under cover in a pot from March. You can also grow it in a pot.
9. Nigella from Spain
There blue-purple blooms and airy foliage of this species of Nigella will enchant you. It is a bushy annual plant which, from May to August, produces numerous flowers which are ideal for making bouquets of dried flowers. From March onwards, you can sow black nigella seeds in open ground in drained soil in partial shade or in the sun. You can also grow them in pots. It is a plant that tolerates drought well and is easy to grow.
10. Clary sage
Also known as Salvia sclarea L., but more commonly known as clary sagethis plant with various health benefits can reach between 40 and 100 cm high, and flowers from June to September, during which its very ornamental inflorescences will adorn your garden with magnificent touches of pink and pastel blue.
It is a biennial herbaceous plant that you can sow under cover in April or in the ground from May in fresh, slightly calcareous soil exposed to the sun. It is generally cultivated for the production of essential oil.