10 Flowers That Beginner Gardeners Can Easily Grow From Seed

If you're just starting your gardening journey, you might want to know if there are any colorful flowers that you can easily grow from seed. Luckily, there are plenty of gorgeous options for you to choose from. You can grow these directly in your sunny garden beds or select some lovely pots, fill them with seed-raising soil mix, and sow your seeds in them. Terracotta pots and hanging planters are ideal but any pot will work. Just remember that when you grow in pots, you'll have to pay particular attention to keeping them watered. The soil in pots dries out fairly quickly and may need watering daily in summer.

One of the easiest ways to sow flower seeds in garden beds is to scatter them evenly over the soil and cover them lightly with some additional soil. Just don't bury them too deep. As a general guide, seeds should only be buried twice their width. You can use a large sieve filled with potting soil to shake over the seeds that you've just scattered. This will ensure a nice, light coverage. Alternatively, you can just use a small trowel to make a shallow trench in the soil and scatter your seeds into this. Then just cover the seeds with the soil again. Remember to water after you've planted the seeds. Here are some easy flower varieties to get you started.

Nasturtiums are one of the easiest flowers to grow. Their bright, happy blooms will fill your garden with color. Some varieties will spread quite quickly with trailing vines and through self-seeding. But if they pop up where you don't want them to grow, they're really easy to pull out. Sow your seeds just after the last frost date straight into the garden or a large pot. Pollinators like bees love these colorful flowers. Plus the flowers are edible and great for adding to salads. The seeds are also edible and taste like capers after they're soaked in brine.

Marigolds are delightful flowers that you can easily grow from seed. They may take up to two months to flower, so you can start the seeds indoors as early as March according to the North Carolina Cooperative Extension. Sow them in small pots and then transplant them into the garden once all danger of frost has passed. Or you can wait and sow the seeds into the garden after the last frost date. You'll find that some varieties, like French marigolds, will attract butterflies. Plus there are many other benefits to planting marigolds in your garden.

Nothing is more attention-grabbing than a row of gorgeous sunflowers in your garden. Many varieties will grow very tall and the stems will bend over once the flower heads start to fill with seeds. For this reason, you might want to grow them along a fence to give them some support. While there are varieties that can grow up to 12 feet tall, there are others that only reach a height of 2 feet. Therefore, you want to check the seed packet to see how tall the plant will get and select a suitable variety.

Zinnias are available in a whole range of different colors from yellow to red and everything in between. They also make excellent cut flowers. These bright flowers are easy to grow from seed and if you cut the flowers or deadhead them after the flowers are spent, you'll get plenty of new blooms right through the season. The seeds can be sown in the garden after the danger of frost has passed. Plus you can also create an amazing display by planting these in a large pot on your patio.

Cosmos are available in a full range of beautiful colors. They look amazing when grown in drifts in large garden beds or along borders. These plants are very hardy and will grow in most soil types if planted in a sunny spot in the garden. You can even get packets of seeds that contain mixed colors. This makes it easy for beginner gardeners to create a lovely colorful display without too much effort. Plus, they are one of the many colorful flowers that will bring bees into your yard.

English daisies have delightful pompom flowers that will add a little whimsy to your garden. They're easy to grow from seed in spring after the last frost date. They'll also bloom right through the summer and into the fall. You can cut the flowers and display them in a pretty vase in your home. You'll also find that they'll attract beneficial insects such as bees and butterflies. Plus they're available in a range of gorgeous colors. Aside from English daisies, there are other types of daisies that will look perfect in your flower garden.

You'll love the fragrance of sweet alyssum if you decide to grow these flowers in your garden. They're available in either white or purple and will only grow to a height of around 10 inches. This makes them perfect as a ground cover to grow among your other flowers, especially because they don't mind a little shade. These lovely flowers will also attract beneficial insects to your garden and are a favorite with hoverflies. You'll find that the plants will self-seed and spread around your garden to fill in empty spaces.

Dianthus look a little like miniature carnations with their pretty frilled flower petals. They are very easy to grow and require virtually no maintenance except some watering during dry spells. They also benefit from deadheading the spent flowers as this will encourage more blooming right through the warmer months. These dainty flowers are also available in a whole range of different colors to brighten up your garden. You can grow them in any sunny spot and they make a vibrant low-growing border around your garden beds. They'll bloom from spring right through to mid-fall. 

You can fill your whole garden with vibrant color if you choose to grow Viola tricolor — better known as pansies — from seeds. The color range available is only limited by your imagination including multi-colored varieties with interesting markings. Pansies will grow in full sun and can be grown as perennials in zones 6 through 10. In warmer regions, they can even add a spot of color to your winter garden. These pretty little flowers also look amazing when grown in pots or hanging planters, especially if you mix up the colors for a bright display. 

For flowers that bloom from spring and right through the fall, you can't go past the colorful snapdragons. These intriguing flowers come in a wide range of colors and can be grown as annuals in cooler areas through the warmer months. But in zones 5 through 10, they can even be grown as perennials. They do need regular watering but are virtually maintenance-free. Depending on the variety, these can reach a height of 6 to 15 inches. They will also attract butterflies to your garden with their nectar-filled blooms.