Springtime is here and with miles of multicolored flowers encircling local landscape, now is the perfect time to get your flowers in the ground.

And for those who aren’t yet ready to be a master florist, James Miles, regional extension agent for Alabama Cooperative Extension-Dallas County, said there are some simple choices to consider.

“If you want to stick with the tried-and-true flowers, you can try the Petunias, Marigolds or Mexican Heather,” Miles said. “You can’t go wrong with these. They’ll survive in tough situations.”

When planting, Miles said the biggest thing to remember is sunlight.

“Most flowers need up to six hours of sunlight,” Miles said. “It’s important to take a sunlight assessment and put plants that need lots of sun in sunny places. Make sure you water your plants every other day and check for dryness. Also, I don’t recommend repositioning them.”

Whether you plan to plant Caladiums, Swamp Sunflowers, Zinnias, Verbenas, Buddleias or Rudbeckias, which Miles said are ideal to plant in early spring, consider a color scheme.

“Pick a variety of flowers and pick one color for the backyard and another color for the front yard — like purple in the back or yellow in the front,” Miles said. “Remember that there’s more sunshine in the front yard and more shade in the backyard, so consider that too when deciding what to plant.”

Miles, whose been working for 20 years in the field, said there are many benefits to planting flowers.

“You’ll have beautification, which increases the value of your home,” Miles said. “They can also reduce power bills and also purify water while helping the soil.”