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My 4 year old daughter wants to plant a garden (flowers) and I don't have a clue of what to do.?

I live in chicago and I want to know if this is a good time to plant anything and if so, what is something simple and inexpensive to plant and maintain? Are there any plants or flowers that we put in the ground now or should we only put down seeds? I'm sure my daughter is going to want to see results fast. I don't have a green thumb at all, so I need to know where to go and what to do.

Public Comments

1. Its a little late in the year to start a garden maybe you can get some seeds and plant them in pots inside of your house and then transplant outside in the spring a garden center should be able to get you started on the right track
2. Annuals are all done for the year. It is getting too cold for them now. What you could plant is some mums for the fall time. Depending on the variety they may or may not come back next year. A lot of them don't come back the next year. You can buy them with the buds closed then eventually they will open up. This will make your daughter happy to see the flowers blooming. Or you could buy some spring bulbs. You can plant them now and they should come up in the spring time. Things like crocus, hyacinths, tulips, and daffodils.
3. have you considered forcing a few bulbs? narcissus work really well for this--get a shallow dish and spread about two inches of fish gravel in it. add some water and put 3-5 flower bulbs (root side down) in the gravel. keep the water level us, but be careful that the bulbs aren't sitting in the water or they'll rot. you should have lovely flowers in a short time. the wait will teach patience. find the bulbs at lowe's type stores. you could aslo try growing beans on a wet paper towel in a ziploc bag. moisten a papertowel (damp), put it into a ziploc bag. put in a few bean seeds, squeeze out the air, and leave it in a warm, kind of dark place. you won't get a great plant, but she'll be able to see the beans sprout.
4. Pansies!! Should be just about time for garden centers in Chicago to start getting in pansies. Lot's of different colors to choose from these days - they LOVE the cold, and except for a bit of watering are maintenance free. Plant these little guys now and they'll see you through until the end of Spring when you and your daughter can change them out for some summer blooming annuals or take the next step to perennial planting. Have fun! http://www.annetbaumphotos.com/Pansies.jpg http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/3608/pansies4kb4.jpg http://www.pansyflowers.com/Pansies.jpg Oh, and you can find these in any home improvement store like Lowes or Home Depot. As for planting...mix some good garden soil (like Miracle gro) in with your existing soil and pop them in.