Flowers

From roses and lavender to sunflowers and cut flowers grown from seed, these guides cover planting, feeding, pruning and fixing blooms that won't flower, plus the best picks for butterflies, bees and hummingbirds.

• How to Grow Roses: Planting, Pruning and Care

  Choose the right type, plant it properly, then feed, water and prune at the right times. A plain-English rose guide, plus fixes for black spot and aphids.

• Why Your Roses Aren't Blooming (and How to Fix It)

  Healthy leaves but no flowers? The 9 most common reasons roses stop blooming, from shade and over-feeding to the wrong pruning, and how to fix each one.

• 7 Cut Flowers You Can Grow From Seed This Spring

  Seven easy cut flowers to grow from a packet of seed: when to sow, how long until they flower, how to pick them and how to make them last in a vase.

• 9 Flowers That Attract Hummingbirds to Your Garden

  Nine flowers hummingbirds actually feed from, with bloom times and growing tips, plus how to plan your garden so there's nectar from spring to autumn.

• How to Grow Sunflowers From Seed to Bloom

  Choose the right sunflower, sow at the right time and depth, protect seedlings from slugs and birds, support tall stems, and harvest flowers or seeds.

• How to Grow Lavender: Planting, Pruning and Care

  Lavender needs sun, sharp drainage and the right pruning. Which type to choose, how to plant it in beds or pots, when to cut it back, and why it goes woody.

• Best Flowers for a Butterfly Garden: 15 Plants That Work

  15 nectar flowers and caterpillar host plants that bring butterflies back every year, with bloom times, sun needs and a simple spring-to-autumn plan.

• 15 Low-Maintenance Flowers Perfect for Beginners

  Fifteen flowers that need little care once planted, grouped by sun, shade and pots, with honest notes on what each one still needs from you.