What flowers should I plant?

I am planting flowers in our island in our front yard. We have a Japanese theme. I have seeds and a few germinated plants. My germinated plants are sweet williams. My seeds are Marigolds, Forget Me Nots, and Lavander. What else should I plant?

What flowers should I plant?
you need a focal point. I would go with a Japanese maple. That is a perennial tree that grows slowly, has wonderful leaves, and will be there for a very long time
Reply:Roses.
Reply:Jasmine flowers.


And sun flower.
Reply:Hmmm ... a Japanese theme amidst marigolds and the rest. I'm not getting a sense of the Japanese here yet but maybe you've left out some other details.





We are going for a more oriental style of garden as well. We live on an island, on the very shore line of a cove. We have stunning Japanese lace-leaf trees, sculpted to near-perfection, tall ornamental grasses (zebra grass, New Zealand Flax). There is a clumping bamboo which I'm thinking about picking up as it remains clumped and does not spread as invasively as other types. And someone introduced me today to an Enkianthus tree-like shrub which has very nice foliage and drooping pink flowers that is of Japanese origin and can be quite the show piece. It does well in a Zone 5-9 and prefers partial shade although it can do nicely, apparently with more than that.





Heathers are good with the combination you gave above. Rosemary as well (plus very tasty as an herb in cooking). They both do quite well in a coastal setting and are quite hardy. Always good to have some evergreens around to add some life during the winter months.





There's melianthus which is a peculiar looking plant with soft leaves shaped similar to mahonia (or oregon grape) but more succulent. They produce yellow flowers. The leaves smell somewhat of peanut butter. They grow to about 2 or 3 feet, sometimes taller. Ferns, so many to choose from but I would go with a variegated variety.





I could go on forever but that requires actual thinking and not knowing exactly what sort of climate you live in or the garden lay-out makes it harder. My brain isn't very big either. So ... best of luck. It'll be pretty whatever you do.