DIY Network

Gardening Tips Find out how easy water gardening can be, how to build a garden path and much more about making your garden beautiful. From "Today Show Tips" episode DTST-114

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The lazy person's way to grow flowers: Plant them directly in a bag of soil.

Planting in a Bag of Soil

It may sound like a ridiculous idea, but growing plants directly in bags of soil can provide astonishing results with flowers and vegetables. To try this trick, punch drainage holes on one side of the bag. Lay the bag so that holes are on the bottom. Cut an X in the top of the bag and rip open the plastic enough to fit the plant into it. Close the plastic back up around the plant and cover the bag with mulch to keep the soil cool.

So what he did was he just took bags like this, cut an "x" in it, like you can see here, so you just open it up, and then he just took the plant — we'll take one of these Broadway Lights, just work it in like this, plant it, pull the plastic back up around it and then mulch it to keep the soil cool.

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Today's marigolds are bigger, brighter and available in more colors than earlier varieties.
A variety of sedums grow in this strawberry pot. The sedum's drough-resistant nature makes it perfect for planting in terra cotta pots, which tend to dry out quickly.

Retro Plants

Some old-fashioned garden favorites are back in style — but with modern twists. Check them out:

• Daisies. Plant breeders have made amazing changes in ordinary flowers, such as the daisy. Today's daisies are many times larger than the ones that grew in your grandmother's garden. One top variety is "Broadway Lights," which opens with yellow petals that fade to creamy white. It blooms all summer long if you remove the faded blossoms.

• Zinnias. These flowers are very easy to grow, and it comes in an amazing range of colors. The "Envy" zinnia is lime green — a very retro color. Sprinkle a packet of seed over potting soil, cover them with 1/2 inch of soil, keep them slightly moist, and in about a month, you'll have blooms. Zinnias are great plants for kids' gardens, since they produce results so quickly.

• Coleus. These are a great way to add color without flowers. They'll grow as tall as 4 feet, and the newer varieties will take full sun.

• Marigolds. With bigger and better blooms, these classic garden stalwarts also act as a natural repellant to some garden pests, such as nematodes and aphids. They're also very easy to grow from seed and are available in just about every shade from almost white to deep rust.

• Sedum. This huge family of plants offers gorgeous foliage. They can be grown in any sunny location and are terrific in containers, such as strawberry jars. Try several different varieties; they're tough, drought-resistant and come in many sizes, colors and textures.

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