Flowers by Season and How They Grow

Creating a garden that's beautiful throughout the year can take some planning and basic knowledge about which flowering plants are suited for each season and how they grow. Selecting the right plant for seasonal conditions helps improve the chances of healthy growth and colorful blooms. Although people often think of spring as the time for flowers to bloom, one can establish a garden that sees flowers blossom in the summer, fall, or winter as well. Although one would need to check which flowers grow in their area, lilacs, pansies, crocuses, tulips, irises, and daffodils are examples of some of the more popular spring flowers. Popular summer flowers include the gloriosa daisy, dahlias, sunflowers, marigolds, gladioli, purple coneflowers, and hydrangeas. In the fall, there is the toad lily, fall crocus, Japanese anemone, goldenrod, and perennial sunflower. During the winter season, popular flowering plants include the English primrose, winter jasmine, amaryllis, and snapdragons.

In addition to recognizing seasonal flowers, one should have a basic understanding of pollination and how it enables plants to propagate. Pollination is a process in which the pollen from one flower is transferred to another flower of the same kind, which results in fertilization and ultimately the production of a seed. To start this process, a pollinator is needed to move the pollen. A pollinator is typically a living creature such as a bee, butterfly, or bird; however, the wind and even water can serve as a pollinator as well. When a living organism or animal is responsible for pollination, it is called biotic pollination. This is the process that is most often responsible for the pollination of flowering plants. When wind, rain, or something other than an animal is the pollinator, it is abiotic pollination. In biotic pollination, a bee or butterfly, for example, seeks nectar from a flower. In the process, sticky pollen from the anther of the plant adheres to the creature's limbs. The anther is considered the flower's male organ or part. The pollinator then lands on a flower of the same species and in doing so inadvertently transfers the pollen to the female part of the flower, called the stigma. The stigma is the uppermost part of what is called the pistil. At the base of the pistil are the ovules. The pollen that's left on the stigma may begin to form a pollen tube that leads down the pistil to the ovules. Upon successfully reaching them, fertilization may occur, resulting in the formation of a seed.