Imagine a radiant flower bed that displays a full spectrum of rainbow colors:  red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.  This is a fun way to get children excited about gardening.  They could be involved in the flower selection, soil preparation, weeding and watering all summer while watching their ‘rainbow’ come to life.  Capture a rainbow and you can plant it in your garden.  You can choose just one or two types of plants for consistency or use different plants for each color.  Organization of the bed can vary.  The flowers can be arched like a rainbow, run from front to back or left to right.  Annuals would make an easy summer project, but perennials would promise a rainbow for years to come.  Low on space?  Plant each separate color in it’s own container and arrange on a porch or deck for rainbow on-the-go.  Following are a few flowers to get you started.   As indigo and violet are tricky to distinguish, let’s just go with purple.

Red:  snapdragon, celosia, carnation, gaillardia, begonia, dahlia, geranium, impatiens, petunia, verbena.

Orange:  calendula, marigold, gaillardia, dahlia, gazania, impatiens, zinnia, phlox.

Yellow:  marigold, snapdragon, sunflower, begonia, dahlia, hollyhock, impatiens, petunia, zinnia, rudbeckia.

Green:  grasses, hakonechloa, petunia, heuchera.

Blue: forget-me-not, verbena, lobelia, delphinium, salvia, cornflower.

Purple:  floss flower, campanula, cosmos, impatiens, petunia, verbena, lobelia, echinacea.