Planning Cool Flowers in a Warm Climate

I don’t know about you all, but the heat this summer has really been crazy. We have had more days of 100+ temps than I can remember, and not a drop of rain in weeks. Things are starting to struggle in the garden, and I’ll be honest, I tend to let things go this time of year. I just don’t want to be outside every day fussing over my garden in this weather.

So because of this, I usually take late July to early September as a break from gardening (or doing a whole lot less than I normally do). I use this time to reflect on the past year… what worked, what didn’t, what do I want to change for next year. I comb through my planner/journal and read through my notes, and peruse my pictures from months past. This is a great time to really be reflective and consider what I want my gardening journey to move toward.

I also take the time to actually sit down and plan out what I will be growing over the next 12 months. If you haven’t seen how I plan out my YEAR in the garden, be sure to check out this post.

This next year, between October 2022 and July 2023, I am going to intensively focus on growing flowers. While I always enjoy growing edibles, and will likely try to squeeze a few in here and there, flowers have captured my heart and I want to see what all I can manage in the space I have, and what all will flourish in my climate. I am looking to really dig into what it means to be a backyard farmer, and hopefully start selling my flowers locally on a small scale.

In thinking about flowers, one area I have been really focusing on planning has been the cool flowers that grow from fall to spring. You would think that because we don’t get snow and hardly get any freezes that it would be easy to grow flowers over the winter, but most of the cool flowers can actually struggle if they don’t get enough chill hours. I had some really great success with some cool season flowers last year, but more struggled than I would have liked. I am going to change some things up this next year, so let me share with you what I am planning in case it helps you too!

Anemones

Overall, the flower that most pleasantly surprised me this past year was the anemone. I planted 20 corms of mixed pastels, and they grew beautifully! I was actually pretty sad that I didn’t have more of them. They really thrived over the winter and exploded in the spring. I will definitely be growing more of them this next year. Corm and bulb cool season flowers do best planted in the fall in the south, between Halloween and Christmas.

Wildflowers

The wildflowers also were a huge success this past year. I had a small bed of a mix of them in the back yard, and I sprinkled them all over the front as well. They really took over, to the point I had to pull some back! But it was so fun to see all the colors and textures and the wildlife they brought into the garden space. I will still plant more wildflowers this next year, although will place them a bit more strategically. I will also be planting specific varieties of larkspur, bachelor buttons and coneflower. All of these seeds do well planted in the fall, around October.

Stock

The last flower that surprised me was the stock. I had never grown it before, and it seemed like it would never flower. But when it finally did, it was gorgeous and smelled so good! I will be growing more varieties of this and succession planting them to extend their growing season. These I will start by seed indoors in December, continue through January, and transplant outside after growing for 4-6 weeks.

Bulb and Corm Flowers

A few flowers that struggled for me were the daffodils, tulips and ranunculus. I got a handful of ranunculus blooms, but they were small and short, and ultimately the plants succumbed to a fungus and too warm a spring. The daffodils and tulips were an utter failure. They either rotted and died or never flowered. I believe this was from the warmer temps we had over the winter. As I cannot control how warm or cold it is outside, this year as an experiment, I will be growing all of these in crates in a shadier spot outside, and covering them with shade cloth when the temps start to warm up in the spring. I am hoping this method will keep them cool enough to flower well. If this doesn’t work, I may be abandoning these beauties for now. The ranunculus and daffodils will be planted in November, and the tulips, after being chilled in the refrigerator for 6 weeks, will be planted around Christmas.

As well in crates I will be trying out lillies for the first time. I have seen many gardeners grow them well in crates, and they tend to bloom anywhere from mid spring through summer depending on the variety. I am excited to try these out and see what happens.

Other Flowers

My snapdragons also didn’t do so well, but I had more trouble with starting these by seed than I thought I would. I will be trying them again, and trying a few different varieties. I will also be growing statice, bupleurum, bells of Ireland and specific dill/dara for the first time. These are all filler flowers and greenery which I really need to fill out bouquets. All of these will be started between December to February either indoors or direct sown outside.

And there you have it! That is my plan for cool season flowers. All of these will occupy my garden space, and my time, between October to early May, when the warm temps of late spring do them in. I am very excited to devote my garden to flowers this next year, and can’t wait to take you all along with me! Be sure to stay tuned to my Instagram for daily pictures, videos and stories to see how everything is growing along.

Happy gardening, y’all!

Dani