What Can I Plant Now? Cool Season Flowers and Vegetables for April and Early May

We are often asked “What can I plant now while it is still cool and our spring weather is somewhat unpredictable?” Listed below are a few options that have proven to do well in Michigan with our fluctuating spring temperatures. These plants are tolerant of dips in evening temperatures and perform well in cooler weather. ANNUALS Ranunculus – An annual in our growing zone, are brilliantly colored flowers with multiple layers of crepe-paper like petals. The leaves of the plants …

Cool Weather Vegetables

As it gets warmer and we have more sunny days, I can almost taste all those fresh vegetables from my garden. While it is still too early to plant some vegetables, there are some varieties of veggies that tolerate, even love the cold. They thrive in early spring’s cold soil temperatures, frost or even snow. Most of these grow great in containers as well as in the garden. And they have two growing seasons! While cold-crops will not withstand the heat of the mid-summer months, they can …

bouguet of flowers

Ridiculus Rancunculus

Instant impact! That’s what you get when you add ranunculus to your early spring garden. Each plant produces wave after wave of petal-packed, crepe-paper-like flowers in a bold array of colors. These flowers grow 12 to 18 inches tall and are so frost tolerant that they can survive occasional temperatures as low as 20 degrees F. Ranunculus is a perfect companion to other cool weather loving annuals and perennials. Pink and orange ranunculus flowers will pop against blue pansies. Yellow snapdragons would be amazing …

Pansies: A Spring Garden Favorite

Pansies have been in fashion since Victorians thought them to be the flowers of lovers, and have been a popular ingredient in “love potions”. It has been told that pansies could transfer the thoughts of sweethearts without a single word being spoken. Pansies have been present in the writings of many authors, including D. H. Lawrence, Hawthorne, Wordsworth, and Shakespeare. Pansies remain one of our most popular spring flowers. They are carried home by gardeners to perk up otherwise dull spring …

Cold Tolerant Annuals for Fall Color

Old-man winter comes knocking before you know it, so if you live in a climate with frost and cold like we do, these plants will keep your beds and containers lovely as long as possible. To extend the beauty of your garden into autumn and put some color back into your landscape, consider planting some cold-tolerant annuals.  Many of these can take temperatures to 20° F.  As our seasons change, so can your garden by highlighting these beautiful tough plants …