Small overview
When the snow begins to melt in the fields and forests, the time comes for the first spring flowers. We call them common word"primroses". Many of them bloom in some European latitudes as early as February - even where snow is now rarely seen :) We are also interested in them because they can also be found in the wild in our cultivated vegetable gardens. To help summer residents I will show a few photos.
Primroses - this is the name of a whole family of plants, the representative of which is Common primrose, or common primrose (lat. Primula vulgaris).
Another primrose:
Spring primrose, or Primrose officinalis, or real primrose, or spring primrose (lat. Prímula véris). Photo: Wikipedia
In some regions, any first spring flowers are called "snowdrops", but according to botanical nomenclature, the "correct" snowdrop looks like this:
Snowdrop, or Galanthus (lat. Galanthus). There are several species of this plant that are poisonous. In the photo - Galanthus nivalis. Photo: Wikipedia
One of the first to bloom is chionodoxa, which is sometimes confused with the Siberian blueberry.
Chionodox (Chionodoxa); Snowman; Snow beauty. Photo: www.weerkust.ru
Siberian spelling (lat. Scilla siberica). Photo: Wikipedia
In some regions, the blueberry is called the liverwort.
Noble liverwort (Hepatica nobilis), or coppice. Poisonous plant. The white flowers next to it are oak anemone (lat. Anémone nemorósa). Care must also be taken when working with it, as with all ranunculus.
And this is another windmill.
Buttercup anemone, or ranunculus anemone, or ranunculus anemone (lat. Anemóne ranunculoides). Poison plant!
It is sometimes confused with another plant from the same family, which is called springweed, but if you look closely, the differences are visible to the naked eye.
Winter erantis, or wintering vesennik, Eranthis hyemalis (see also header photo)
It's bloomed lungwort (Pulmonaria).
And it blooms corydalis (lat.Corýdalis).
This is what it looks like in color:
Corydalis are also considered poisonous. Photo: www.vespabellicosus2008.narod.ru
Goose onion (lat. Gagea)
Common coltsfoot (lat.Tussilago farfara). In this plant, leaves appear later than flowers. Photo: www.vespabellicosus2008.narod.ru
In the wild, you can find both crocus and muscari (mouse hyacinth).
Crocus (lat. Crocus)
Viper onion, or Mouse hyacinth, or Muscari (lat. Muscári). Photo: Wikipedia
Backache (lat. Pulsatilla) blooms later, in some regions called "sleep-grass". Common lumbago is a poisonous plant.
Beautiful flower carpets are created by different types of tenacity and lamb, which also bloom a little later than the very first flowers.
Creeping tenacious (Ajuga reptans L.), or dubrovka. Photo: www.files.school-collection.edu.ru
Purple lamb (lat. Lamium purpureum). Yellow flower next to her - clean, which is sometimes confused with marigold.
Spring chistyak, or spring buttercup (lat. Ficaria verna).
And the marigold looks like this and in our gardens it is very, very rare:
Marsh marigold (lat.Caltha palustris). She has only 5 petals; poisonous plant. Photo: Wikipedia
Well, just in case :) Plants that in some latitudes can bloom in January.
Veronica oak (lat. Veronica chamaedrys)
Daisy perennial (lat. Béllis perénnis)
Ivy-shaped Budra, Creeping Budra, (lat. Glechóma hederácea); sometimes called dognip or catnip. The plant has a pleasant aroma, but is also considered poisonous.
I won’t show the dandelion, everyone seems to know it :) Instead, I’ll show the beautiful violet.
Fragrant violet (lat. Viola odorata). The most fragrant primrose! Some reference books consider it a conditionally poisonous plant. *
* "In modern literature, it is customary to consider poisonous those plants that produce toxic substances (phytotoxins), even in small quantities causing death and damage to the body of humans and animals. However, this definition contains a certain measure of convention." (B.N. Orlov, D.B. Gelashvili, A.K. Ibragimov. Poisonous animals and plants of the USSR). Most researchers divide such plants into highly poisonous, poisonous and conditionally poisonous.
In early spring, your favorite garden lacks color. The lawn is only on its way to lush greenery, and the trees and shrubs are still sleeping. This is the time when primroses reign in flowerbeds and alpine hills. We present to your attention the best early flowers for the garden with a wide variety of colors.
About the features of cultivation
All primroses have a special development cycle. At a time when all nature is reborn after winter and begins to actively vegetate, they have already experienced the most active phase of their lives. This occurs in April-May, depending on the type of plant and variety.
Primroses are always planted outdoors in autumn from September to November to in early spring enjoy their blooms. Places are chosen open, drained, consecrated by the sun. Suitable areas between stones, under trees that do not yet have leaves in spring and the area is completely open to the sun.
Bulbs or perennial plots are planted with the condition that in summer they above-ground part will either be completely absent or lose its decorative effect. That is, you need to plant them in groups near summer ornamental plants and shrubs.
In the garden, the option of planting bulbs in the lawn is interesting. In a few years they will grow and will delight the eye with whole flowering glades.
Primroses are not only beautiful plants, but also very easy to care for. Do not require watering and any agrotechnical measures. It is enough just to feed them 1-2 times a year and seat them if necessary.
Ultra early bulbous
There is still snow, but the first heralds of spring, snowdrops, begin to break through from under its cover, and other flowering bushes will delight us one after another with bright colors.
snowdrops
Snowdrops are the first to wake up from hibernation. Their white bell flowers appear in March, as soon as the snow melts. The botanical name of the plant is. Propagated by daughter bulbs or seeds. Prefers growing conditions close to natural. Look especially impressive in the garden terry varieties snowdrop.
Groups of galanthus are planted under shrubs, trees, in partial shade, so that in summer scorching sun bulbs in the ground did not dry out.
- crocuses:
- hyacinths;
- blueberries;
crocuses
This is one of the most numerous color groups of spring flowers. They are yellow, blue, purple, pink, and have a two-tone color. There are natural forms and hybrid ones, bred in Holland and with large flowers. Most often, the unpretentious Tommasini and Ankir are grown on personal plots. The plant grows rapidly, as it forms numerous children after flowering.
Crocuses are like hyacinths and are great for early forcing in containers. To do this, in November they are planted in a light substrate with a high sand content. By March, the crocuses will bloom. For a spectacular appearance, 5-10 bulbs are planted in a container.
hyacinths
Bushes have not only an aesthetic appearance, but also a bright aroma, especially for Dutch varieties. In total, more than 300 varieties of this plant have been bred over a 5-century history of cultivation. They plant it both in groups and singly on alpine slides or in combination with crocuses and tulips.
Muscari
The most unpretentious and bright primroses appear in the garden. Depending on the variety, they bloom from April to May. They bloom for about 1.5 weeks, after which the aerial part dries up. planted in groups to create the effect of a flowering carpet. The predominant color of the inflorescences is white, blue, purple.
Scilla
A low growing plant small flowers fits in. The botanical name is scylla. The Siberian bluebell has bright blue flowers, it is she who is widely represented in the gardens middle lane. Exceptionally unpretentious and ideally suited to the landscape of a natural style garden. All the plant needs is moist, light soil during the flowering period. When planting a scilla in the garden, you need to be prepared to restrain its active growth.
Erantis
This plant is also included in the list of ultra-early bulbs. It blooms in April with bright yellow flowers with a diameter of only 2-2.5 cm, and does not lose its decorative effect even during snowfalls. The plant reaches a height of 10 cm. They must be planted in groups, in single plantings it does not look spectacular.
The list of early flowers for the garden can be supplemented by representatives such as irises (netted), daffodils, hazel grouse. The latter are the most numerous and are represented by both dwarf species, similar to snowdrops, and large ones, reaching a height of 80-90 cm.
daffodils
Representatives of the family are no less numerous in terms of varietal diversity. On the market you can find ultra-early bulbs and late ones that bloom in May. The most elegant among daffodils are:
Delicate irises
Reticulated iris is a dwarf representative of irises. The botanical name is iridodictium. It reaches a height of 10 cm, so I plant it in groups on or among the lawn.
Most bulbs do not need to be dug up. In one place, they can grow for at least 5 years. The exception is plants that grow quickly and require more space. This also applies to tulips, which every year go deep into the earth, from which the flowers become smaller or do not appear at all.
tulips
The brightest and long-awaited symbol of spring is the tulip. The plant is found both wild in fields and meadows, and cultivated. Hundreds of cultivars and hybrids have been bred. They differ in the size and color of the bulb, the height of the plant, the diameter and color of the flower, the timing of planting and flowering.
Tulip flowers can be goblet, oval, cupped. Petals can be simple, terry, fringed. There are varieties that form several buds on one plant.
Most early varieties tulips that bloom at the end of March:
There are many more varieties of tulips that bloom from mid-April to the end of May. They are distinguished by a high stem up to 40-50 cm, a variety of shapes and colors of inflorescences. For abundant flowering, they need moisture and nutritious soil. The more organic components it contains, the larger and brighter the flower will be, and the bulb will give more babies.
Grown outdoors and in containers. Bulbs are planted in the ground in October-November, depending on the region and the weather. Soil temperature should not exceed +10°C. The bulb should have time to take root before the onset of persistent frosts, but not develop a green aerial part.
If the plant is used for container planting, the bulbs are planted in November and left in a cellar or other cool and dark room until January.
In the month of planting, water 1-2 times to prevent complete drying of the soil. In spring, tulips are fed 2 times with nitrogen and mineral fertilizers until flowering.
When the plant fades and the stem turns yellow, the bulbs are dug up, dried and stored in a ventilated area until autumn planting. Tulips differ from other early flowering bulbs in that they are ideal for cutting and arranging bouquets.
Herbaceous early flowering perennials
Perennials are very easy to grow, as they don't take much time and are usually less whimsical than annuals. For several years in a row, they occupy a permanent place in the garden, grow and delight with decorativeness. Knowing the exact timing of flowering plants, you can form the so-called gardens continuous flowering, highly decorative throughout the warm season of the year.
spring primrose
- the most numerous early perennial in terms of varietal characteristics. The first green leaves of the plant appear in March, and bloom from April to May. Primrose bushes are compact, from 8 to 20 cm high. Inflorescences are simple or terry white, yellow, burgundy. Propagated by dividing the bush and seeds. Can be grown outdoors and in containers.
Among the variety of varieties there are representatives with flowers similar to muscari, they are called so - muscariodes. There are so-called candelabra primroses, the peduncles of which are very high, and the inflorescences are arranged in a circle in a ring.
Varieties are distinguished by high decorativeness:
Primroses are divided into early flowering, medium flowering and late flowering, and some species bloom 2 times per season - in early spring and late summer.
Hellebore Caucasian
Hellebore - differs from other early-flowering ones in that it is planted in the garden in early spring, as soon as the soil thaws a little. Its green remains decorative whole season due to dense and tough green leaves. The plant is frost-resistant, strong and highly decorative. It blooms from February in warm regions, in cold regions - from April. In the garden, hybrid varieties are used, which are distinguished by a variety of flower colors and their diameter. Hellebore can be white, purple, yellow and pink.
Anemone longhaired
Anemone is a delicate and unpretentious flower, popularly called Anemone. It blooms in April with white, pink, pale purple flowers on tall stems. There are both simple and hybrid forms with double flowers. It grows rapidly due to the creeping rhizome, most often its growth must be restrained. After the plant has faded, the greenery of the bush remains decorative until the onset of winter. In a long and warm autumn, the anemone blooms again.
Marigold marsh terry
Kaluzhnitsa - a resident of wet and swampy regions. In the garden, it is used to decorate ponds. It is a compact shrub with bright yellow flowers. Hybrids have double flowers.
Early and mid-flowering primroses include daisies, forget-me-nots, periwinkle, bathing suit and dicentra, the flowers of which are similar to broken heart. All of them are unpretentious and perfectly adapted to climatic conditions middle lane.
Rare exotics
In temperate climates, adapted varieties of tropical plants feel good. One of them is Ornithogalum, a bulbous relative of the hyacinth. The second name of the plant is the Poultryman.
The following types of this primrose winter well and are unpretentious in care:
Sanguinaria terry
Canadian Sanguinaria is a miniature flower that blooms as soon as the snow melts. Flowering is long - about 3-4 weeks. The flowers look like tiny water lilies. This is a representative of the poppy family, whose homeland is North America.
The plant is shade-tolerant, frost-resistant, unpretentious. Not affected by diseases and pests, propagated by plots. In the garden, it is planted under trees and shrubs, quickly growing to whole glades.
Kandyk Siberian
Kandyk is a rare bulbous plant from the lily family, outwardly similar to cyclamen. It blooms in April, and both flowers and leaves with brown spots are decorative. It forms dense bushes 30-40 cm high. Peduncles are high, on which drooping flowers are located with bent petals of white, pink, purple and other shades. Winter-hardy and unpretentious plant, originally from the northern regions.
Early flowers for the garden have one main advantage - they are eagerly expected to bloom. It is they who symbolize the arrival of the long-awaited spring, even if there is still snow in the yard, and frost is getting stronger at night.
Primroses in landscape design - video
Dacha is not only garden beds, berry bushes and fruit trees. Perennial flowers help to create beauty on the site. For a garden, unpretentious long-flowering plants are indispensable, like a magnificent frame for a canvas created by labor of a summer resident.
It may seem to novice gardeners that laying out a flower garden and caring for it is too troublesome. But with the right selection of crops, caring for flowers will not take much time, and the buds will open with early spring and until late autumn.
The most unpretentious flowers for spring
Early spring in the middle lane does not please with colors. Annual flowers have not yet been sown, even the most unpretentious ones are just showing up from under the ground.
Are there really plants that are ready to bloom in the first warm days? Yes, wintering bulbous crops have formed the beginnings of buds since autumn and in the spring they are the first to illuminate the flower beds with all the shades of the rainbow.
crocuses
Corollas of white, blue, yellow and even striped crocuses appear practically from under the snow. Plants with a height of 7 to 15 cm bloom from March to May, and after the flowers fade, they retire. Planting of bulbs is carried out in the traditional terms for spring bulbous plants, from August to September. The best place for crocuses is well-lit areas or partial shade, for example, under the crowns of shrubs or trees that have not yet blossomed.
tulips
Tulip - not only the most common on summer cottages perennials, but also the most unpretentious flowers. Today, lovers of spring flowers have hundreds and thousands of magnificent varieties at their disposal. However, not everyone knows that these garden plants belong to several species that differ both in appearance and in the timing of flowering.
Having skillfully selected varieties, with the help of tulips alone, from 10 to 50 cm high, you can decorate the site up to the alpine hill. The flowering of the first tulips begins in March, and the most late varieties wither at the end of May.
Tulip bulbs are planted in the first half of autumn in sunny areas with loose, nutrient-rich soil.
During growth and flowering, plants need regular watering, which is stopped in the summer when the bulbs are resting.
Types of garden tulips react differently to frost. If in the southern regions the most lush terry and lily varieties can be considered unpretentious plants for summer cottages and gardens, then in the northern regions the common tulips of Greig, Gesner and Foster need to be dug up annually.
Undersized, but easily wintering in any climate, botanical tulips or Kaufman tulips will help to replace them.
daffodils
Along with tulips garden beds daffodils appear. Flowering lasts from April to the last days of May, while the flowers illuminate the garden not only with bright sunny shades, but also with an exquisite aroma.
Depending on the variety, the plants reach a height of 30 to 60 cm. The flowers can be either simple or double, with a short or long crown. Daffodils prefer areas with loose fertile soil. They grow well in the sun and under the crowns that open at this time. The main thing is that the soil in which the bulbs were planted in the fall should not be oversaturated with moisture.
Daffodils are long-blooming, hardy garden flowers, used successfully in mixed landings with tulips, garden varieties, dicentra and other plants. For several years, daffodils feel great in one place. Growing, they form very dense clumps, which are planted after the leaves wither, that is, at the beginning of summer.
Wintering bulbous crops seem to appear “out of nowhere” in the spring, unpretentious and bright, but at the same time their foliage cannot retain decorative effect for a long time. It dies off, exposing a place in the flower bed, so you should take care in advance of planting a number of "replacement" crops, such as peony bushes, perennial poppies or aquilegia.
periwinkle
It's one thing to pick long-blooming perennials and hardy flowers for a sunny garden. Another is to find the same plants for both open and shady areas.
There are not so many shade-tolerant garden crops - a vivid example of one of them is the periwinkle. or small dwarf shrubs bloom in the midst of spring and spread quickly, rooting easily on contact with the ground.
Periwinkle cultivars create spectacular clumps of fresh greens flecked in all shades of blue, white, pink and purple. At the disposal of gardeners are specimens with simple and terry corollas, smooth and variegated foliage.
Romantic legends are associated with many ornamental plants. No exception - which, thanks to such a story, is better known not by its real name, but as a "broken heart".
Due to the powerful rhizomes of the dicentra, it tolerates winter cold without loss. The foliage dying off in the fall with the advent of heat rises again above the ground, at different varieties reaching a height of 30 to 100 cm. A spectacular plant in May is covered with white, pink or two-tone corollas collected in racemose inflorescences of a bizarre, heart-shaped shape. Flowering lasts about a month, and under the transparent shade of young foliage, the drooping inflorescences of an unpretentious plant for summer cottages and gardens look brighter and last longer.
Dicentra will be indispensable in a flower bed next to primroses and daffodils, muscari, ferns and ornamental varieties of onions.
A flowering plant is worthy of admiration in a single planting, and after the inflorescences wither, it will become an excellent background for other flowers.
Lily of the valley
The classics of spring flower beds are forest ones that bloom in May. Thanks to creeping rhizomes, plants hibernate. In the spring, leathery leaves folded into dense tubes first appear on the flower beds, then flower stalks up to 30 cm high rise above the unfolded rosettes. Each inflorescence has from 6 to 20 white or pinkish, fragrant bells. Flowering lasts until the beginning of summer, and then red rounded berries appear in place of the flowers.
The dignity of these unpretentious garden perennials- flowers that do not lose their beauty in the sun and in the shade, the ability to grow in one place up to 10 years.
Kupena
In the forest, next to lily of the valley curtains, you can see graceful kupen plants. Blooming from May to June, the perennial is not as bright as other spring flowers.
But in shady areas, near coniferous crops and shrubs, a culture from 30 to 80 cm high with drooping white or greenish bell flowers is simply irreplaceable.
Brunner
May is the month of the brightest greenery and unusually lush flowering of garden perennials.
At this time, under the crowns of trees, near paths and ponds, under the protection of walls and fences, blue brunner flowers appear. Plants with a height of 30 to 50 cm, with decorative pointed-heart-shaped foliage, prefer to settle in partial shade, where there is enough moisture and nutrition for lush deciduous rosettes and inflorescences towering above them.
Pale blue, unpretentious garden flowers enliven the most shady corners, do not require special care, thanks to their attractive, often variegated foliage, they protect their decorative effect for a long time and can do without a transplant for many years.
Under favorable conditions, Brunner grows excellently and reproduces by dividing the bush.
Summer, beautiful and unpretentious flowers for a summer residence
Bright, fast-growing letniki, 1-2 months after sowing, bloom flower beds in the most incredible colors. But autumn comes, and the plants complete their short life. The next spring, the summer resident begins with the selection of annual, ornamental crops, sowing and caring for young seedlings. It takes a lot of precious time that could be devoted to vegetable seedlings, caring for fruit and berry plantations.
Long-flowering, unpretentious flowers specially selected for the garden, blooming in different seasons and not requiring painstaking care, will help save time and energy. Although they bloom only in the second half of summer or in the second year, they live in one place without a transplant for several years.
Summer is the most fertile time for flowering plants. An incredible number of species are ready to give their flowers to the summer resident. The main thing is to choose them from those plants that can rightly be called non-capricious and beautiful.
Aquilegia
When late tulips and daffodils bloom in the garden at the end of May, decorative foliage of aquilegia or catchment areas begins to rise above the ground. The bizarre bells of this, one of the most unpretentious perennials for giving, as on, are revealed on tall erect peduncles.
Flowering almost without interruption lasts from late May to September. And even without flowers, plants do not lose their charm. Their leaves take on purple and lilac tones by autumn. Depending on the variety, aquilegia can grow from 30 to 80 cm in height. All of this species grow well both in the shade and in open areas. Already by the name it is clear that the catchment loves moisture, but even with a lack of irrigation, it can find water thanks to its powerful taproots. Aquilegia grows best in light, well-drained soils.
Flowers appear in the second year of life. Mature plants can be divided. You can do this in early spring or autumn.
Although, under favorable conditions, aquilegia propagates by self-sowing, this method does not allow preserving the properties of hybrid and varietal specimens. Seedlings are most often purple or pink in color and can become a kind of weed plant if immature seed pods are not removed in time or flower beds are not weeded.
bathing suit
To moisture-loving unpretentious garden flowers applies and loved by many summer residents.
Her yellow or orange flowers open in May and with regular watering do not disappear until the second half of summer. The plant, with a height of 50 to 90 cm, is noticeable enough to lead in group plantings near and in shady corners of the garden. Tall flower stalks will be safe next to fences and ornamental shrubs.
Arabis
Although the flowering of arabis begins in the second half of spring, this unpretentious perennial can rightfully be considered summer, since its flowering does not end until the very frosts.
A ground cover or creeping plant with stems 20 to 30 cm long, the planting field quickly forms dense, cushion-like curtains covered with brushes of small white, pink or purple flowers.
Shearing helps to prolong flowering and maintain the shape of plantings. Arabis does best in open areas with light, aerated soil. This culture with variegated foliage is indispensable for decorating, slides and other parts of the garden.
Doronicum
At the junction of spring and summer, many rhizomatous perennials take the baton of flowering in bulbous plants. No exception - a bright doronicum with large yellow inflorescences-baskets resembling daisies. Flowers open on erect, bare or leafy stems 30–80 cm high. Unpretentious flowers for summer cottages and gardens are planted in the sun or in transparent shade, but not under the crowns of trees.
Doronicum plants love moisture in order to save it in the soil under light green foliage, the soil is mulched.
When flowering ends, the greens also wither. Ornamental ferns, curtains of leucanthemum and aquilegia, with which doronicum is perfectly combined, will help to hide the gap formed in the flower bed.
astilba
It's amazing how one type of perennial can decorate an entire garden. This is within the power of numerous, blooming from June to September. Lush inflorescences, racemose or panicle-like, are not the only decoration of this plant. Shade-tolerant carved foliage no less enlivens the site. To do this, you just need to cut the flower stalks with dead inflorescences in time.
Depending on the variety and species, plant height ranges from 40 to 120 cm. Astilbes bloom better with regular soil moisture, but do not like stagnant moisture. AT garden plantings these beautiful and unpretentious flowers for giving look great on the background conifers, and themselves will be a luxurious frame for .
Geranium
Many cultivated varieties of garden perennials are descendants of wild-growing species, which can be found literally behind the fence of a summer cottage.
From May until the end of summer, amazingly quivering flowers continue to bloom. Corollas solitary or collected in inflorescences of all shades of pink, purple, lilac and blue flowers short-lived. Just a day, and in place of a wilted flower, a new one appears.
When the flowering season ends, the garden does not become empty thanks to the decorative cut foliage of geraniums. By autumn, it is painted in bright golden, orange and purple tones and enlivens faded flower beds and hills until the very snow.
The height of the most unpretentious perennial flowers for giving, depending on the type, is from 10 cm to a meter. All plants are unpretentious and do not impose special requirements on the soil; they grow in the light and under crowns.
Loosestrife
If the garden has a place for, or needs to be planted tall plant with bright colors and the same decorative leaves, the answer can be one -!
How is this possible? We are talking about different types of loosestrife, equally unpretentious and suitable for decorating the site.
Depending on the variety and species, easily adaptable to different conditions flowers have a height of 20 to 80 cm.
For shady corners and partial shade, a loosestrife or meadow loosestrife with long recumbent stems covered with rounded leaves similar to coins is perfect. This culture is indispensable near the reservoir, in wet areas, which will be successfully revived by light green foliage and yellow flowers.
To decorate flower beds, mixborders and rocky hills, upright types of loosestrife with green or variegated foliage and yellow flowers are used, forming spectacular spike-shaped inflorescences in the upper part of the stem. All loosestrife are unpretentious, tolerate frost well and are rarely affected by pests.
Cornflower perennial
Annual cornflowers relatively recently moved from the meadow to the garden. They were followed by their perennial relatives. Blooming from June to September, plants form spectacular, thanks to the carved, rich green foliage of curtains from 40 cm to a meter high.
One of the most unpretentious perennial flowers for summer cottages, cornflowers grow well in the sun and in partial shade. They do not impose special requirements on the soil, get along well with other crops and will be an excellent backdrop for peonies, leucanthemum, low-growing flowering and decorative leafy plants in flower beds.
Today, gardeners have at their disposal varieties of perennial cornflower with flowers of purple-pink, lilac, purple and white. The large-headed cornflower has fluffy flowers of the original yellow color.
Turkish carnation
In June, multi-colored caps are revealed Turkish cloves. Bright flowers with jagged petals are quite small, but collected in dense inflorescences, they will perfectly enliven the summer cottage, create a summer mood and color the flower beds in all shades from white to rich purple.
A distinctive feature of the plant is flowering, lasting until September, the possibility of reproduction by self-sowing and incredible combinations of colors. The height of the Turkish carnation, depending on the variety, ranges from 40 to 60 centimeters. Plants show maximum decorative effect in the light or in partial shade, if they are planted next to decorative leafy crops.
Lupine
Not only belong to the most unpretentious garden flowers. This perennial culture alone can bloom the entire site. Blue, white, pink, purple and two-color spike-shaped inflorescences appear in the first half of June, and then re-blooming begins in the second half of summer.
Plants up to one meter high bloom magnificently in the sun, do not like too fertilized soils and, thanks to a powerful rhizome, are able to survive in conditions of moisture deficiency. In the garden, lupine is an ideal neighbor for leucanthemum, multi-colored aquilegia, perennial poppies.
Poppy
In terms of flowering splendor, perennial poppies can only be compared with. Just one plant with corollas of scarlet, pink, white and purple is enough to change the look of the most inconspicuous corner of the garden.
Despite their exotic appearance, poppies are quite unpretentious. They are not afraid of frost, grow excellently on any soil and endure drought without loss. But they react negatively to excessive moisture. Once settled on the site, with the help of very small seeds, the poppy can settle on its own, creating spectacular clumps of densely pubescent carved foliage.
irises
There are more than a hundred species of irises in the world, many of which are actively used as ornamental plants. The flowering of garden varieties begins at the border of spring and summer, and continues until mid-July.
With a difference in color, size, habitual habitat, these perennial rhizomatous plants have in common the appearance of pointed xiphoid leaves collected in flattened bunches, as well as the graceful shape of flowers. Although corollas that open for a day or a little more cannot be called centenarians, amia plants bloom profusely and for a long time due to the many simultaneous rising peduncles.
In the garden, irises choose light or barely shaded areas with light, loose soil.
During the growing season and flowering plants need regular soil moisture. But it is necessary to intervene in the development of the curtain carefully. Loosening and weeding can affect powerful rhizomes closely located below the surface.
Flowering shoots of irises rise 40–80 cm above the ground. White, yellow, pink, purple, cream, blue or light blue flowers make a great garden decoration and are ideal for cutting.
Nivyanik
Daisies, along with cornflowers, are traditionally considered a symbol of Russian expanses. Garden varieties of leucanthemum are the same daisies, only much larger and more expressive. Simple and double inflorescences-baskets are crowned with erect stems from 30 to 100 cm high.
In the garden, cornflower prefers to grow in open, well-lit areas with loose, nutrient-rich, but not too light soil. The plant responds to the lack of moisture and organic matter with flowers shrinking over time and with the rapid withering of the baskets.
Nivyanik propagates by seeds, division of adult curtains, as well as self-sowing. This must be taken into account if all cultures have clearly defined boundaries in flowerbeds and mixborders. For the most lush flowering rosettes, it is advisable to divide the rosette every few years.
The best neighbors for one of the most unpretentious perennials to give, as in the photo, flowers, gypsophila, bright poppies and bluebells. White inflorescences look great against the background of carved greenery and cornflower inflorescences, next to decorative cereals and onions.
Bell
Growing bells in the country is not difficult even for beginners. Plants are unpretentious, resistant to diseases and pests, winter well without shelter. The only thing that interferes with the perennial is an excess of moisture and dense, poorly drained soil.
In nature, there are many types of bluebells with simple, semi- and double flowers in white, blue, lilac, pink and deep purple tones. Plants from 20 to 120 cm tall, depending on the type and shape, find a place on the hills and as part of group plantings with cornflower, pyrethrum, lush peonies and strict cereals.
stem-rose
Easily tolerant of drought, with luxurious decorative greenery and racemose inflorescences, it can rightfully be considered the queen of the summer cottage. Plants up to 2 meters high are among the largest in Russian gardens. They rise above the rest of the flowers and even fruit bushes.
Stock roses or mallows can easily create living wall or turn into the center of a lush flower bed. Beautiful, unpretentious flowers for summer cottages grow on light, well-drained soils, propagate by seeds, including self-sowing. But moving a large plant to another place will be problematic. Transplantation is hampered by powerful long rhizomes, damage to which leads to weakening and even death of the mallow.
Simple and double, white, yellow, pink and red, burgundy and bright crimson flowers on powerful erect stems are used to decorate hedges and walls, in flower beds and in, as background plants. Incredibly beautiful group plantings of mallow different shades. In front of them you can land the same unpretentious phloxes, bells, decorative forms onions, cornflowers and undersized varieties, as well as any letniki.
Spicy aromatic unpretentious perennials for summer cottages
When choosing long-blooming unpretentious flowers for the garden, one should not lose sight of plants that are more often popular as spicy, medicinal or fragrant herbs. At the same time, many of them are in no way inferior to flowering perennials, their flowers will decorate flower beds and can be used for cutting.
Today, numerous varieties are available to gardeners, lemon balm, catnip. On the site, if desired, you can plant hyssop, thyme and even lavender. These plants look great in a separate, “pharmaceutical” garden, but they can also be easily imagined as part of a mixborder, in a country-style flowerbed or in the form of free curtains near a hedge or wall of a house.
Unpretentious and useful perennials, thanks to lush greenery, are decorative from spring to frost. And during flowering, they attract a lot of bees and other pollinating insects.
Oregano
Oregano is a native inhabitant of the European part of Russia. The plant, familiar to many by the characteristic aroma of greenery and pink-lilac caps of inflorescences, prefers to settle in open, well-lit areas with light soil. In nature, oregano can be seen in clearings and forest edges, in oak forests and in dry meadows.
The first green of oregano appears in March, literally from under the snow. By June, the plant forms a lush cap of densely leafy shoots from 20 to 50 centimeters high. A month later, stems with delicate inflorescences-baskets rise above the greenery.
The entire aerial part of the plant, incredibly revered in France, Italy, and the USA, has a spicy aroma. Here, oregano is grown as natural seasoning to sauces, salads, to pasta and poultry meat, pastries, in particular, in pizza. Tea with herbs and oregano flowers is no less tasty. Harvesting oregano or oregano is carried out from July to October, while the perennial blooms.
Herbaceous shrubs of oregano, covered with flowers, are magnificent in the company of nivyanik, lupins, rudbeckia, clouds of white-pink gypsophila and cereals.
Lofant
Lofant or polygon with lilac-violet or white spike-shaped inflorescences is one of the most noticeable medicinal and decorative perennials. In the garden, the culture easily settles in the lightest areas, does not feel discomfort even in the sun itself and winters well, showing everyone the first green with a purple or bluish tint from early spring.
Lofant is so unpretentious that it grows and blooms not only with a lack of moisture, but also on poor soils. Simple care and a little attention - and an unpretentious plant will generously share with the summer resident a fragrant, smell reminiscent of anise or licorice, a herb rich in essential oils and useful for colds, diseases of the digestive system and urinary system.
In the garden, the spectacular inflorescences of the lofant will not go unnoticed by either people or bees. The plant, which blooms from June to the end of summer, is suitable for decorating front gardens and easily tolerates cutting.
Monarda
Monarda with white, pink, purple and purple inflorescences is also a resident of the sunny, wind-protected corners of the garden with light soil.
AT decorative purposes this fragrant perennial is planted next to other similar plants, as well as in the vicinity of coreopsis and, nivyanik and undersized annuals, for which a monard up to a meter high will be a luxurious background.
The combination of this plant with annual, blue and white large-flowered bells, stonecrops and other crops is interesting, allowing you to imitate a corner of a wild meadow in the garden.
In summer cottages, you can often find lemon monarda. Its greenery during the flowering period, that is, from July to September, accumulates a lot of essential oils, close to the oils of lemon balm, hyssop, and other spicy-flavoring and medicinal plants of the Lamiaceae family.
Autumn unpretentious flowers: long-blooming perennials for the garden
With the onset of September, autumn comes into its own faster and faster. But it is too early to part with the beauty of the garden. Until the snow falls, garden geranium curtains amaze with the play of bright colors, bergenia dresses up in purple tones, on hills and curbs they surprise with bizarre forms of stonecrop. There are many flowers of unpretentious garden perennials in the garden.
Phlox
One of the brightest "stars" of the autumn flowerbed is considered. These plants overwinter excellently in most regions, form green clumps in spring, and bloom in the second half of summer, almost until October, retaining an incredible variety of colors and splendor of inflorescences.
Depending on the type and variety, phloxes will be indispensable on alpine slides and traditional flower beds, near small ponds and next to buildings that tall plants perfectly decorate at any time of the year.
The list of cultivated phlox today includes more than four dozen species, among which only Drummond's phlox is an annual. All other creeping, bushy, semi-lodging forms with stems from 20 to 150 cm tall are ready for many years to settle in the garden of a lover of decorative and unpretentious perennial flowers.
perennial asters
Annual asters are the unchanging leaders in the list of garden flyers for summer cottages and gardens. However, the true ones are often and undeservedly forgotten.
From August until the very snow, these plants bloom, illuminating the whole area with flashes of blue, white, pink, purple hues. There are more than 200 species of perennial asters, varying in size, lifestyle and shape. The Alpine aster is quite small, and its inflorescences-baskets are located on grassy erect stems, resembling the familiar chamomile. And in the Italian variety - the form of a grassy, densely leafy shrub, completely covered with medium-sized flowers. Moreover, all types are extremely decorative and non-capricious.
The height of perennial asters varies from 20 centimeters to one and a half meters. Flowers can be not only different colors, but simple and double. These perennials form dense dark green clumps from spring, easily tolerate excess light and moisture deficiency in summer, and completely transform the garden in autumn.
Bush forms can be molded, they can be used to create dense living borders and picturesque groups with other autumn plants.
The only drawback of the perennial aster is inherent in many perennial crops. A plant that takes root in the garden begins to multiply uncontrollably, quickly mastering all new territories. So that the flowerbed that was previously motley does not turn into the “kingdom” of asters, you will have to monitor the resettlement of the shrub and regularly remove the shoots.
Each of the 30 described ornamental plants can claim the title of the most unpretentious perennial flower to give. All of them are beautiful and amazing in their own way. In fact, the list of non-capricious, requiring minimal attention and generously sharing their beauty of cultures is not three dozen, but much more. One has only to look around, notice and transfer an interesting plant to the garden, choosing for a flower appropriate place and neighborhood.
Video about ground cover perennials in the garden
Forest spring primroses. Excursion. April 1st, 2014
A good tale about 12 months, the one where brother April helped a kind girl to find snowdrops in a snowy forest. A fairy tale is a lie, but there is a hint in it. They say that Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak “spied” the plot of the fairy tale from the Greeks or from the Czech writer, and there such phenological phenomena are quite possible. Recently, in Central Russia, in the fall, the wild rose suddenly blooms, then the alder. But still, these are exceptions to the rules that nature has developed for its own good, adapted to possible short-term temperature fluctuations. Such as yesterday's Moscow blizzard with snow.
It is still cold and there are no pollinating insects at all, but there are heavy gusts of wind, aspen and alder are blooming. They have adapted to the fact that there are no winged helpers. Therefore, pollen is produced in large quantities and there is even such a concept as “Alder has become dusty”.
On the same days, willow begins to bloom, and a little later, other willows. It is to them that the first awakened insects fly, but the willow has a protective device against the cold. All of a sudden it will start flying for a week in April, all the bees will sleep. So good ability many of our willows sprout play a major role in their resettlement - an abandoned field in a few years can turn into impenetrable willow thickets.
At the same time, one of its main plants, cotton grass, begins to bloom in the swamp. In the harsh conditions of the tundra and swamps, insects also cannot help in pollination.
And again the wind comes to the rescue. Pollination occurs throughout the entire territory of one swamp at the same time, and therefore all plants bear fruit together and at once, in summer the swamp begins to resemble a large cotton field.
In humid places, in swampy clearings, an inconspicuous plant begins to bloom - the spleen. Tourists walking in the forests in spring may not even understand that they are walking on flowering plants - it is so inconspicuous to the eye. Perhaps it would be inconspicuous for insects, but they also see in the ultraviolet range. And if they don’t see it, the “adapted” spleen can pollinate itself and disappear underground in a couple of weeks until next spring. Such plants are called ephemeroids.
But this plant is difficult not to notice, or rather not to smell. You walk through the April forest, the snow is still crunchy, but on warming, more often on the edge or clearing, a surprisingly pleasant, subtle and alluring aroma covers the traveler. Here it is - an inconspicuous bush of a wolf's bast.
Its scent attracts overwintering butterflies and bees like a cat's valerian tincture. In the repeatedly cut forests of the middle zone, the wolfberry is usually a thin small bush. And only once I caught it in the Valdai National Park real giant with a trunk 4 centimeters thick and a huge dense two-meter cap of flowers.
The wolfberry pleases us with the smell, like many early-flowering shrubs even before the leaves are fully blooming.
In the undisturbed dark spruce forest, which both in winter and summer will flare up in one color with rich blue paint, a noble liverwort. It seems to me that she retains this rich color in the first few days of flowering.
And nearby, under the spruce paws, if you look a little closer, you can find a completely inconspicuous plant with almost black flowers. This is an evergreen European hoof.
backdrop for spring forest Anemones forever trembling in the wind serve - to the north and west of Moscow this is a white oak anemone.
To the south and east, yellow buttercup anemone dominates.
For me, sleep-grass has become a real fairy tale of pine forests, old birch groves, and sunny edges. Twenty years ago, it was quite common in nature at a small distance from cities. But everything is changing, today this plant is in almost all central regions in the regional Red Books. In the Novgorod region, together with the Valdai National Park, we organized a small expedition, but found only a few plants in two places.
Another interesting plant of the spring forest is the petrov cross.
It does not have green leaves, as well as chlorophyll. The short flowering period will end and the mysterious Peter's Cross will end, as Count Dracula will go underground until next spring or even for several years.
In the meantime, last year's shoots of the fern-ostrich are beautifully glowing in the setting sun in the aspen forest. Not a primrose, of course - but pretty. Some even put it in vases, but these are certainly not villagers, but biologists.
In more southern or eastern oak forests, the grassy cover in spring is not green, but blue. As botanists say, this blueberry aspects, i.e. creates a specific color background.
The Siberian blueberry, like all lilies, accumulates nutrients in the bulb for a whole year. And then it breaks through dry and rather dense litter deciduous forests and rushes
up to the light.
The goose onion does the same in the oak forest.
Once there was a calm in the riverine ribbon oak forests on the right bank of the Seversky Donets. Quiet, the foliage is not yet noisy, because the buds have not blossomed. Taking off this goose bow from a low point, I always felt a very quiet rustle. Do voles rustle? No - it was thousands of woods and goose onions rushing towards the light through the old foliage.
And on the sandy alluvial dune on the left bank of the Oka, the goose onion does not need to overcome the crust of old leaves. That's how he grew up so sloppy.
And in a small forest stream, and on floods, on rivers, marigold rises from the water
The marigold is beautiful at the very beginning of flowering, while the buds look like small yellow-green balls, or on the first day of full flowering.
And then huge burdocks of leaves will stick out of the water, petals that have flown around will float on the water and try, build a picture in complete chaos of yellow.
So the first mosquito appeared, which means almost summer. There will be other herbs - violet, oxalis, bathing suit, orchis and venus slippers, bells and gentians. But this is another summer story about flowering plants.
And finally. I think it’s not even worth reminding the readers of my blog that primroses are good where they could grow. In a bouquet, they will droop in a few minutes. But digging is not worth replanting, only a super experienced person will be able to simulate natural conditions on personal plot, observe all the conditions of hydration, shading and nutrition for such fragile creatures. But if you have time - go out into the spring forest with a camera, look for the heroes of my story, at least to find out their names.
Despite the fact that beautiful, bright varietal flowers and shrubs delight the eye in almost every garden, we cannot pass indifferently past their modest forest relatives. Surrounding ourselves with lush floral splendor, we lose the thread of natural harmony. And simple forest flowers give us it again. This is probably why many of us want to move a “piece of forest” to our site. And it is quite possible to do this, because wild plants, for the most part, unpretentious. They are well adapted to their natural habitat. They do not need weeding, additional watering, artificial pollination.
However, when planting forest flowers, one very important thing must be taken into account. important factor- their compatibility with the new conditions. For example, if a tall bell, accustomed to shady, damp places, is planted in a sunny flower bed, then in the first year it will become small, and in a year it may not bloom at all. And his neighbors marigold, wintergreen and calla in such conditions can die immediately. Also, not everyone normally tolerate loosening the soil. Weeds around the two-leafed love should not be weeded out, but periodically cut short. But wild-growing bulbs are normal for weeding. Some flowers in a cramped bed may not have enough space, while others can multiply very strongly and will be difficult to get rid of. Therefore, before planting wild plants in your area, you need to study how they grow in their natural habitat.
Forest plants prefer moist soil with a large proportion of leafy soil. It is necessary to plan their landing in such a way that the chosen place is as close as possible to their natural conditions growth. If the plant becomes larger every year, grows and blooms profusely, then these conditions are suitable for it.
Let's get to know some of the green inhabitants of the forest closer.
In spring, snow still lies in the forest, and the first leaves and flowers are already visible on the thawed patches. There is no need to introduce such inhabitants of the spring forest as snowdrop, blueberry, muscari, crocuses, lilies of the valley, violets, anemones. They are well known to everyone, breeders have bred many ornamental varieties of these plants. In spring, you can also find such forest flowers as sleep-grass, lungwort, marigold, ivy-shaped budra, fragrant violet, spring primrose, fragrant woodruff and many others. Let's get acquainted with some of the more rare guests of garden plots.
Liverwort
Noble liverwort (Hepática nobilis)- the Ranunculaceae family, a small herbaceous perennial (5-15 cm). Flowering occurs in April, the color of the flowers is from whitish to blue-violet. One flower does not fade for almost a week. The diameter of the corolla is 2-4 cm. The three-lobed leaves vaguely resemble the human liver in their shape (hence the name). The leaves remain under the snow all winter (only fade a little). Numerous fluffy hairs on the bottom of the leaves and on the petioles help to keep warm and survive the spring frosts. After flowering, a fruit is formed with seeds about 8 mm in diameter. It is odorless and attracts insects with its pollen. Most often, this flower can be found in a spruce forest. Therefore, the noble liverwort is suitable open space where the sun will be from early morning until 2 pm. The soil needs loose, rich in humus. Is medicinal. Often this plant is confused with snowdrop and blueberry.
Corydalis
Corydalis (Corydalis)- Dymyankovye family, herbaceous plant 10-20 cm high. Dissected leaves. Inflorescences - a dense brush. The flowers are sometimes white, but more often red-purple or light purple. Flowering continues from April to June. Tuberous plant. Grows in mixed forests. Very resistant to frost, as well as pests and diseases. Prefers slightly acidic humus soils. It multiplies quickly, does not like stagnant water. Has many types.
Chistyak spring
Spring Chistyak (Ficaria)- family Ranunculaceae, low perennial (10-30 cm). Lacquer leaves in the form of a hoof of emerald green color. The flowers are small bright yellow glossy stars. Blooms one of the first along with snowdrops. Looks like a small bouquet. It looks bright and delightful against the backdrop of the still bare earth. But it multiplies very quickly and can become a weed. By the time the seeds ripen, it becomes poisonous. medicinal plant.
summer flowers
In summer, the flowers in the forest surprise with their variety. These are gentian, leucanthemum, wild bergenia, Veronica officinalis, bluebells, forget-me-nots, cornflowers, moonwort, common sorrel, wild poppy and many others. Let's take a closer look at some of them.
Fireweed angustifolium or willow-herb (Epilobium angustifolium L.)- Onagric family. The stem of the fireweed is erect with lanceolate leaves, it will grow from 50 cm to 2 m. The inflorescence is a brush of large pinkish-crimson flowers that bloom gradually from bottom to top. Flowering occurs in the second half of summer and lasts about 30 days. It grows in forests, on the edges, conflagrations, clearings, slopes of ravines. Unpretentious, frost-resistant. The rhizome grows very strongly, so it needs to be thinned out before the seeds ripen. Amazing honey plant. It has a lot of useful medicinal properties.
Kupena or Solomon's Seal (Polygonatum multiflorum)- the Liliaceae family, a herbaceous plant with a curved stem 60-70 cm. Oval leaves (10-12 cm) are located on the stem in symmetrical pairs. Axillary flowers, whitish-cream in shape, resemble elongated bells up to 1.5 cm. They practically do not smell. Kupena remotely resembles a large lily of the valley. Blooms in early June. Then black berries form in place of the flowers. The shoot dies off every year. Kupena is unpretentious, but does not like dry places. A wild plant can be propagated on the site by dividing the rhizome. Toxic. Has medicinal properties. Grows in deciduous-spruce forests.
Blue or azure cyanosis (Polemónium caerúleum)- the Sinyukhov family. The stem is erect, from 40 cm to 1 m. The leaves are oblong, pinnate. Blooms in June-July. The inflorescence is a panicle of beautiful blue flowers. After flowering, the plant does not look decorative, it is recommended to cut it immediately. After cutting, it quickly recovers and becomes pretty again. The cyanosis is winter-hardy and unpretentious, but loves low-lying areas where groundwater is close. In nature, it grows in forest-steppe zones in damp places. Has medicinal properties.
Meadowsweet
Meadowsweet or meadowsweet (Filipendula ulmaria)- the Pink family, has an erect stem, reaching two meters. Dark green large three-lobed leaves are pubescent below. When rubbed, they emit a characteristic cucumber smell. The inflorescence is an upright panicle of many small white-pink or pale yellow flowers. Blooms in mid-summer. Has a very strong aroma. Thick, creeping rhizome forms new shoots by August. Meadowsweet - cold-resistant and moisture-loving plant. Distributed in forests and forest-steppes, in humid places. Excellent honey plant. It is a medicinal plant.
Among spring primroses The leading position is undoubtedly occupied by bulbous flowers. And it is well deserved. After all…
Autumn flowers
In the autumn forest, which is full of bright colors, the flowers become less flashy and not so noticeable, they also bloom in autumn, but in a special, more modest way. What flowers can be found in the forest in autumn? Basically, these are summer autumn flowers that continue to bloom, gentian, meadow calico, calico, clover, cinquefoil, oak maryannik, cumin, umbrella hawk, autumn kulbaba, black cohosh and others.
At the beginning of autumn in the forest, the flowers of oregano, goldenrod, twisted bluebell, violets are delighting us with farewell to summer.
Oregano or oregano (Origanum vulgaris L.)- family Lamiaceae, a small perennial (30 to 80 cm). Small two-lipped flowers are collected in oval spikelets, which at the end of the branches are collected in panicles. The color of the flowers is pinkish-purple, rarely white. Blooms all summer and early autumn. In August, the seeds begin to ripen. The plant is cold-resistant, undemanding, but does not grow well on heavy acidic soils. Light-loving. Distributed very widely. It grows in the steppes, in clearings and forest edges, on the slopes of ravines. He loves pine and aspen forest areas. It has a pronounced pleasant aroma and a bitter-spicy taste. It is a medicinal plant and is used in cooking as a spice. It is used in the design of mixborders, rockeries, discounts.
goldenrod
Common goldenrod or golden rod (Compositae)- Asteraceae family, perennial with reddish stems from 40 cm to 1 m. Oblong-oval leaves with small teeth along the edge. Paniculate inflorescences are collected from baskets, which, in turn, consist of small yellow flowers. From the second half of summer until the end of September, they bloom. It grows in forests, on the slopes of ravines, on the edges, clearings, clearings. Unpretentious. Sometimes requires a garter. If you want to avoid self-seeding, then immediately after flowering, you should cut it off. Goldenrod is possible, also suitable for flower beds and mixborders.
Twisted bell
Twisted or assembled bell (Campanula glomerata L.)- family Bellflowers, perennial up to half a meter high. It has broad lanceolate leaves. Capitate inflorescences resemble small bouquets, consisting of small blue-violet bells (sometimes white). Blooms all summer and early autumn. Unpretentious. It grows on the edges and clearings in the forest, as well as among shrubs. Medicinal plant. In landscape design, they are used for planting under trees, in flower beds, natural gardens and for cutting.
Violet tricolor
Violet tricolor or pansies (Viola tricolor L.) and field violet (V. arvensis Murr.)- the Violet family, annual and biennial herbaceous plants with an erect, slightly ribbed stem 10-45 cm. The leaves are ovate in shape and have jagged edges. The flowers are solitary, irregular, consisting of 5 petals, located on a long pedicel. The violet has a tricolor long corolla. The upper two petals are purple or dark blue, the two side petals are of the same color, only lighter, and the lower large petal with a spur is light yellow (maybe with a purple edge). And in violets, the field corolla is not long and the flowers are smaller. They also differ in color. The field violet has white upper petals, while the middle and lower petals are bright yellow. Violets bloom from May to early October. It is found everywhere on the edges and clearings in the forest, in forest belts, as well as along roads. Violet is undemanding and hardy. Soils prefer neutral. Does not like fertilizer with fresh manure! Care for wild violets is the same as for its ornamental varieties. It is a medicinal plant.
But there are flowers in the forest that bloom in autumn, these are autumn colchicum. The name itself suggests that it blooms at the wrong time, not like all its bulbous counterparts. He confused spring with autumn.
Colchicum autumn
Colchicum autumn or Colchicum (Colhicum autumnale)- the Liliaceae family, a bulbous plant about 10 cm. The aerial stem is erect, rounded. Three or four broad-lanceolate leaves are collected in a rosette around the fruit, they die off in the middle of summer, and with the onset of cold weather, large flowers up to 25 cm appear, similar to crocuses. Flower color ranges from white to purple. Blooms in the first half of autumn. In nature, it is found in wet water meadows, along rivers and streams. Colchicum is an unpretentious plant. In the fall, he will be able to decorate the site, and will stand in a vase for about 5 days. It is only necessary to remember that the whole plant is poisonous. You need to work with it with gloves and take precautions.
Non-flowering forest plants
Walking through the forest, you suddenly stop looking at a plant that does not stand out for flowering, but still has some kind of special attraction. After all, not only the delicate charm of forest flowers, but also beautiful or unusual leaves make wild plants very decorative.
Cuff (Alchemilla)- Rosaceae family, creeping perennial (15-60 cm). The cuff has unremarkable flowers, they are small, false umbrellas are collected in inflorescences, an inexpressive greenish-yellow hue. Blooms from May to late summer. But the main advantage of this plant is the leaves. They are light green, round, fan-shaped, pubescent, with slightly concave lobes. Due to the pubescence, dew drops linger on the sheets. In the light of the first rays of the morning sun, it looks just amazing! The plant is unpretentious, but loves moist soil. Self-seeding well, so you need to immediately cut dry flower stalks. Successfully coexists with tall plants (bells, delphiniums, etc.). Medium-sized undersized plants should not be planted near the cuff (more on which you can learn), growing, it can simply close them. A good cuff on an alpine slide and as a curb. In the wild, it is found in ravines, forest edges, banks of water bodies and wet meadows.
Ferns and horsetails will add a unique pristine atmosphere to your garden. These ancient representatives flora have interesting and lush foliage. They grow in our forests many species.
Kochedyzhnik (Athyrium)- This genus includes approximately 200 species of ferns. There are 12 species in our area. These are large ferns up to 1 m, growing mainly in the forest. Leaves with short petioles, pinnately dissected, covered with brownish scales. Very widespread in moist forests, can form entire thickets. It reproduces intensively by spores. Considered poisonous. He likes wet shady places, often planted near artificial reservoirs.
Common bracken (Pteridium oquilinum)- perennial fern plant up to 1 meter high, branch width with leaves up to 70 cm. Pinnate or pinnate, lanceolate leaves are blunt at the ends, located on long petioles, dense. They have a peculiar smell. It does not grow as a bush, the leaves are arranged singly and are connected underground by a rhizome. Reproduces by spores. It grows most often in oak and pine forests. Unpretentious. It is considered poisonous, although it is used as food by the peoples of the Far East.
horsetail- herbaceous perennial spore plant, which has an interesting texture. It has hard branched green jointed shoots 30-60 cm and cone-like spore-bearing spikelets. Often found in forests in marshy areas. Some types of horsetails are used in landscaping.
forest shrubs
There are many in our forests beautiful shrubs, you just have to look. Here hung beautiful long catkins hazel, wild species of willow meet spring with fluffy “seals”, wolf bast, euonymus, honeysuckle, dogwood, brittle buckthorn, privet delight with flowering and decorative fruits. Beautiful and useful black elderberry, hawthorn and blackthorn. Do not count everyone.
Black elderberry (Sambucus nigra)- this shrub in the wild is found everywhere. Its height is 6-10 m, the leaves are large, slightly shiny. In May, it is covered with fragrant whitish-cream umbrellas of inflorescences. And closer to autumn, flower umbrellas turn into brushes of black berries. This unpretentious shrub on the site causes trouble with active reproduction. However, this is not a reason to refuse this pretty and very useful medicinal plant.
Hawthorn
Hawthorn (Crataegus)- tall bush, Rosaceae family. Has many types. This plant retains its decorative effect for almost the entire warm season. At first, the bush pleases the eye with beautiful white flowers, and in autumn it flashes with red-orange clusters of very useful berries. Fruit color can range from light orange to black. Very undemanding and strong plant. Beautiful in hedges, thorny branches will make such a barrier impenetrable. It also looks decorative alone on the edges.
Blackthorn or blackthorn (Prunus spinosa L.)- branched thorny shrub from 1.5 to 4 m, from the Rosaceae family. Oblong-oval leaves with denticles along the edges. In spring, it is covered with medium-sized white five-petal flowers, and in autumn, black-gray fruits resembling small cream appear in their place. Sweet and sour in taste, they have a slight astringency. The plant is medicinal. In the wild, it grows in the forest-steppe zone. Unpretentious.
Forest plants in landscape design
We can “invite” a lot of forest guests to our garden plot. Growing in the harsh conditions of the wild, in a well-kept garden, they can reveal their full potential. It is best, of course, to use plants from your area.
For the Mauritanian lawn, some forest flowers are suitable: leucanthemum, bluebells, wild poppy, forget-me-nots. On a shady area, you can plant ferns, horsetail, kupena, they will give this part of the garden a touch of mystery and peace.
Liverworts will decorate rocky hills in a group with small-bulbous primroses. Kaluzhnitsa, Ivan-tea, meadowsweet will look great on the shore of an artificial reservoir. Sinyukha will decorate any flower bed. Oregano can be used for mixborders and discounts.
Most shrubs are suitable for creating hedges and will perform well in a single planting. A wonderful border will come out of the cuff.
Now such a direction in landscape design as “natural garden” or “eco-style garden” is coming into fashion. The basis of this style is the recreation of a corner of wildlife in the garden. Of course, everything should be done as naturally as possible. For this, the wonderful plants of our forests are used, which are in perfect harmony with inner world person.