Volunteering to plant flowers in the midwest... limited water... suggestions?

Hello! The church I attend is sending out about 2,000 people to volunteer around the Columbus, Ohio area to just serve the city. My team is going to be planting flowers at a local city school... unfortunately, I know almost nothing about this and have a couple questions:





1. Some of the areas we%26#039;re planting don%26#039;t have a convenient water source, so there%26#039;s a good chance they won%26#039;t get watered regularly. What flowers will do well without much water?





2. One area is in direct sunlight most of the day. Another area gets very little sunlight. What flowers would work here?





3. Because we are sending out so many groups to so many schools, each team has a flower budget of about only $150-$200. Is there a way to keep the cost down?





Any ideas? Thanks in advance for being willing to answer. There%26#039;s so much to do and we%26#039;re just clueless!

Volunteering to plant flowers in the midwest... limited water... suggestions?
1. Begonias tend to be pretty hardy without getting watered regularly





2. Petunias, marigolds, sunflowers work well in full sun.


Very little sun- pansies





3. Ha. Ha. well the obvious thing would be to have a %26#039;beautification fundraiser%26#039; at church to help benefit the youth.


I would say that just stick with normal plants that you would find at lowes or home depot, or your local nursery (all of the plants above are very common). I know pansies spread throughout the summer so you won%26#039;t have to plant as many so close together.





If you go to your local nursery now (independently owned), ask them if they have large flats that you could buy that haven%26#039;t been transplanted into larger pots yet that they could spare and say that you are doing it as a church project for the children. If they don%26#039;t and they have plans for all of them, then just go buy flats from the greenhouse. Don%26#039;t forget to sign up for a non-profit discount.





Also if you talk to a manager or an owner maybe they could give you a discount/ words of wisdom and some helpers.
Reply:Good work you are doing to beatify Columbus, Ohio. I know they will all appreciate it.





Yes, I know of a few good plants I will list them according to sun or shade.





Fun sun





Compact Texas Sage- This plant you need to keep the soil moist until established. Drought tolerant when established.





Bay Breeze Indian Hawthorn - Arid Dry





Vinca - Arid Dry





Walkers Low Catmint - Arid Dry





Blue Plumbago - Arid Dry





Hardy Oleander - Arid Dry





Spanish Broom - Arid Dry





Imperial Blue Plumbago - Arid Dry





Salvia de Rosa Pink Autumn Sage - Arid Dry





Green Cloud Texas Sage - Arid Dry





The Knock Our rose - No special care to grow, tough and hardy. set a standard of excellence in disease resistance. Rich fluorescent cherry red blooms from early spring until the first hard frost an requires no special Care to grow. It%26#039;s black-spot resistant, naturally mildew tolerant, self-cleaning and drought tolerant. Plant anywhere you have 5 or more hours of sun light.





Semi-Shade





Stokes Dwarf Yaupon Holly - Arid Dry - This is the only one I know for shade.





Good luck and


Blessings
Reply:I would definitely go with native wildflowers specifically ones grown for low maintenance and limited water needs. No matter what kind of seeds planted they will need water to get established. That is where the local community may have to pitch in and help provide water and members to water to get beds established.





Here is link to wildflowers seed source with helpful questions answered about growing wildflowers.


http://www.wildseedfarms.com/faq_main_pa...


You can purchase wildflowers specifically for midwest region.


http://www.wildseedfarms.com/north_centr...





Hope this helps!
Reply:It%26#039;ll be easier than you think. Just google xeriscaping. It involves plants that are native to your area and require less water and care than hothouse plants. The resulting landscapes are also beautiful! Have fun.
Reply:First, go to your county extension office! They are a wealth of information and they will be glad to help in any way. In fact, they might even have a master gardener who is willing to vollunteer time to help in the plant purchases. I understand that %26quot;extension offices%26quot; are common. However, if that option fails, go with indigenous plants. Try wild flowers that would have grown there when the pioneers were moving through Ohio. Coreopsis might be a good start, for example. You will want plants that are hardy perenials so that your efforts will continue to bless the community each year. Perhaps you can meet with a county historian and ask about prolific native flowers requiring little watering. As far as lowering costs, this could be done by scattering seeds mixed with vermiculite instead of purchasing nursery plants.



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