TheGardenLady received this question from Maryjane:

I summer in Maine under white and Norway pines. The soil is acidic. I want to plant flowers. What suggestions can you make for raised beds?

How lovely to summer in Maine and create your own flower gardens.

Your letter does not say whether you want to plant annual or perennial flowers to enjoy during the summer. Do you want a show garden or a cutting garden? Or do you want to plant flowering shrubs like azaleas, hydrangeas or roses?

There are many annual and perennial flower suggestions for flower beds. To decide what you would like that grows well in your area, it would be nice to walk around and see what is growing nicely in your neighborhood. Besides the soil acidity, you have to consider the amount of sun or shade where your beds will be located; so looking at your neighbors gardens or public gardens will let you know which plants are most successful and which plants you like. Since you are writing to TheGardenLady at this time, you apparently want to get an early start on choosing your plants or seeds and won’t have the time to look.

The first place to contact to ask about plants for the area is Maine’s extension/Master Gardener office. Not only will they have the best advice for your area, they offer this advice free and are most eager to help. See here. You can phone them from your winter home. Find their phone number online and check the hours they are open.

A great source for information about any plants one wants to grow in Maine is from the U of Maine website. They have great publications on plants that grow well in your area. This website has native plants for Maine.

Here is a site that has lists of native plants.

Another list of native plants is this.

For the best choice of seeds or plants that grow well in Maine, buy from local Maine nurseries. Two Maine nurseries that are online are here and here.

That being said, some of the annuals that TheGardenLady loves that would grow well in your Maine garden are plants like Impatiens that are easy to grow, especialy: Impatiens balsamina, Camellia Balsam lmpatiens; Cleome, which will probably self seed so that you won’t have to replant them; marigold or calendula, some of the calendula are used by herbalists; zinnias; chrysanthemums, Fedco has some that are edible; hollyhocks, TheGardenLady is partial to the single flower type

which is the old fashioned variety. These are flowers that are seen in gardens throughout the US so that you know them. TheGardenLady also loves Morning Glories. Note that some of TheGardenLady’s favorites are flowers raised in Victorian Gardens. There are also new hybrids every year that you might like to use in your garden.

Some of TheGardenLady’s favorite perennials are the Bleeding heart, Trilliums, Hellebores, Epimedium. Again the list is too numerous to print in one column.

Good luck with your garden. TheGardenLady and her readership would love to see photos of your garden with a list of the choice of flowers that you planted.

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