The sunflower, the well-known sunflowers, is a favorite summer plant to decorate our garden or balcony to give us its impressive flowering. The name of the sunflower comes from the fact that its head constantly turns towards the sun’s rays during the day and turns again, in the morning hours, towards the east. The dwarf varieties of sunflower, which reach up to 40-50 cm in height, are suitable for pots, while for the garden we prefer the taller varieties that exceed one meter and are also edible. The characteristic color of sunflower flowers is yellow but now new sunflower varieties have been created in shades from pale yellow to red and brown.

Zinnia is an annual ornamental plant that impresses with the variety of colors and shapes of its flowers. The zinnia has upright strong shoots with a length of half to one meter and large flowers that remain in bloom throughout the summer.

Cacti need full sun exposure, with very few exceptions, and a long warm season exceeding 6 months to grow. The intense activity of the cacti takes place during the spring and summer period, during which, in addition to growth, they also give their unique flowering. As for winter, a period of dormancy, cacti seek temperatures of 5-15°C, although some of them can withstand sub-zero temperatures for a while. Cacti need coarse, sandy, draining soil to grow. An ordinary general-purpose potting soil is not suitable for cacti, as it retains a lot of moisture. That is why we use specialized potting soil for cacti enriched with nutrients. Cacti definitely need fertilization, especially during the spring and summer when they do most of their growth. Specialized fertilizers for cacti, water-soluble with enough trace elements, are needed to improve growth and give their wonderful flowering. We add water-soluble fertilizer to the cacti twice a month for the spring and summer periods.

Portulaca, also known as silk, is an annual ornamental plant ideal for ground cover in rock gardens, but also for planting in hanging pots on the balcony. Portulaca originates from Brazil and is characterized by creeping vegetation and fleshy oval leaves. The impressive flowering of purslane lasts from spring to autumn, with single or double flowers, monochrome, two-color and even three-color, in shades of yellow, pink, orange, red and white. Portulaca has no particular soil requirements, although it prefers fertile soils with good drainage.

Carnations, one of the classic and much-loved flowers that are traditionally found in the gardens, yards and balconies of Greek homes. The carnation (carnation or dianthus) stands out for its lush vegetation with its characteristic elongated lance-shaped leaves and its rich flowering in impressive colors. There are single color carnation varieties in shades of pink, red, yellow and white, as well as bicolor carnations with wonderful color combinations. This is an extremely popular ornamental plant that, especially in previous decades, was not missing from any home. After all, the carnation has been cultivated since ancient times and was known by the name Dianthos, which means the flower of Zeus. The carnation is planted in the spring and gives us the rich flowering from April to November.

This plant grows in the spring with beautiful clean green foliage producing beautiful colorful flowers with bright “neon” colors that close at night. Very easy to grow, the beauty of the day is the star in a small garden full of “wild flowers”. The beautiful of the day does not need particularly fertile soils, but sandy and well-drained. It is resistant to the marine climate.