Picking The Right Flowers

There is a lot more to picking flowers than finding the best deal. Here are a few quick tips for picking the right flowers and plants when you’re out shopping.

Tis the season for floral decoration, landscaping updates, and gardening inspirations. And during this gorgeous season, knowing what to buy is a shopper’s secret that we are glad to bring to you!

Spring is the season of color, rebirth, and vibrance. So naturally, we all want our front porches, gardens, table settings and entryways to be dressed with the best arrangements and plants possible. But how do you know what’s just right? Here are some helpful tips from your plant-loving friends at Tacoma Boys.

Plants, Flowers, & Flowering Plants, Oh My!

Picking flowers is not picking flowering plants. And some plants don’t bloom any kind of flower. So first, what are you actually shopping for?

Plants

We kind of know this one. But for this article, plants can be anything from mosses to ferns to trees. Shrubs and bushes are plants too. So when looking to purchase a plant for one’s home or garden, a good question to ask references flowering.

Flowering Plants

In simple terms, flowers are a component of the plant reproductive system. Flowers, fruits, and seeds are all used naturally to create more generations of plant life. And if you’re looking for a flowering plant for your garden or home, just remember that anything that has a flower reproduces through pollination. So place the plants wisely, and know if you’ll be attracting bees, hummingbirds, or butterflies.

Flowers

But sometimes we just love a flower! We want a bouquet of tulips in the springtime, and roses on Valentine’s Day for our love. So what are you buying then? We’re really just purchasing the bloom off of a plant, and using the stem of the plant for support to the arrangement. It’s just a much larger bloom, and a much more frail plant. The lifetime of flowers is always short, because they are just blooms broken away from their root system. But if you’re looking to grow these flowers yourself, you’ll want seeds and right conditions.

Know What You Want

Even if you come to the store unsure of exactly what you want, here are some things to consider that might make your flower shopping experience go much more smoothly.

Annuals v. Perennials

This is more for the planter in the audience, and there are a lot of differences between these two types of plants, but let’s keep this brief. Perennials come back every year. So if you’re looking for a yearly bloom, that’s your pick. However, if you’re looking for something to fill a pot or garden for just a season, never to return, that’s the job of an annual. So if you know you want a more frequent change, look for annuals.

Lifespan

Knowing how long you want your flowering plant around is also important. And plant lifespan can vary, based on the plant, where you intend to grow it, and what season you grow it in. Tacoma Boys and H&L Produce work hard to carry seasonally appropriate annuals and perennials for your garden, but the old adages for good gardening will always apply: water consistently, give good lighting, and plant on a cloudy day if you can, and your plants will bloom and thrive throughout their seasons.

Quick tip to increase lifespan: Add a small layer of mulch to prevent evaporation when the sun beats down.

Baskets, Pots, & Vases

If you know what you want to plant or keep around your home, but you aren’t looking to start or maintain a garden, you’d be wise to hunt for vessels to go along with your flowers and flowering plants. Vases are great for fresh cut flowers, of course. And hanging baskets are show stoppers for your front porch, gazebo, or sitting areas. And that leaves us with pots. The uses for pots and the variety of shapes and sizes makes them the ultimate gardening and floral multi-tasker. Succulents, hanging baskets, small trees, herbs, and all of the flowers, whether you’re planting seeds, bulbs, or starts, can go in pots. They can be the centerpiece of a garden, rest around the outside of your home, or even make their way inside. Tacoma Boys and H&L Produce always have a special on pots, so come by and get to creating.

Every Rose Has It’s…

You know the phrase. And while we’ve tried to make this as user-friendly as possible, we know that everyone of us isn’t blessed with a green thumb. So if you have more questions, please swing by Tacoma Boys and ask for help! We are always glad to serve.