Flower gardens benefit from plants with year-round interest and staggered bloom times for maximum visual interest and bloom time stagger. When selecting plants to add, take note of both their colors and bloom time before choosing where you should place each one.
Flowers planted in colors that sit next to each other on the color wheel, such as pinks and purples, look stunning together. Foliage also adds visual interest.
1. Determine Your Plot’s Sunlight
Most flowering plants require 8-10 hours of direct sunlight daily in order to produce abundant blooms, though other factors may influence how much sun an area receives; for instance, bare-branched trees can create the appearance of sunny spots during spring while once leafed-out they create shade over the course of summer.
To ascertain your garden’s sunlight levels, sketch a map on tracing paper and regularly review where light and shadow fall. Take notes when checking maps.
2. Determine Your Plot’s Soil
Your flower garden should complement its surroundings seamlessly. To do this, design pathways with curved lines to guide people past your flowers.
Instead, create a feature in your flower garden such as an eye-catching focal point such as an elegant trellis or birdbath to draw visitors’ eyes towards it. Furthermore, consider adding seating options so guests can unwind while taking in the sights and wildlife in your flowerbed garden.
3. Determine Your Plot’s Water
Once you understand the features of your site, the next step in selecting flowers that thrive will be selecting ones that flourish within its light and soil conditions.
Integrating different flower heights, textures and colors creates visual interest all year-long. Tall plants like shrubs and perennials should be planted at the back row, followed by medium-sized flowers in the middle row and low-growing annuals in front.
4. Determine Your Plot’s Drainage
Like with real estate, drainage is equally essential in designing a flower garden. This is particularly relevant if your beds border a body of water.
Typically, taller flowers should be planted at the back of a bed while shorter plants should occupying its center space. There may be exceptions such as spire-shaped blooms with delicate sprays of blooms that may be planted front.
Experimenting with flower shapes is a sure way to add visual interest and contrast in your garden. Play with combinations of textures and sizes too–using coarse foliage with fine leaves as well as mixing flower sizes can create contrast and intrigue!
5. Determine Your Plot’s Temperature
When selecting flowers for your garden, be mindful of where they will be planted. A flower that thrives in direct sunlight might look unsightly if planted somewhere shadier.
Know what height your plants will reach as time goes on and plant accordingly. Layering tall shrubs at the back, medium-sized perennials in the middle, and low-growing annuals up front will create visual interest once everything has fully grown out.
6. Determine Your Plot’s Climate
Choose plants that thrive in your region to ensure that your flower garden remains vibrant and healthy throughout its growing season.
Mixed flowers of various colors, heights and textures create an appealing design. Try pairing delicate blooms like marigolds and zinnias with bolder plants like sunflowers and cleome for an eye-catching display.
Include perennials in your design to provide continuous color and create a mature aesthetic in your flower garden, as well as adding annual plants to fill in gaps and extend blooming season.
7. Determine Your Plot’s Space
As you plan your flower garden, keep space in mind. Many varieties of blooms grow wide and tall; therefore they should be evenly spaced to prevent overcrowding.
Create a design that strikes a balance between beauty and functionality, for instance by installing a birdbath which draws birds and pollinators while serving as a visual centerpiece.
Make sure your flower garden features plants with staggered bloom times that bloom at different points during the season; this will keep it looking lush even as other blooms wilt or fade.
8. Determine Your Plot’s Focal Point
Flowers gardens are a timeless art that many gardeners have perfected over time. A beautifully designed flower garden can serve as both an impressive focal point or simply add color to a landscape.
Piet Oudolf, one of the world’s foremost garden designers, suggests paying special attention when designing a flower bed. Planting similar-shaped flowers together creates an aesthetically pleasing garden scene when in bloom; additionally he recommends considering bloom times throughout the season in case some are beginning to wither away.
9. Determine Your Plot’s Background
Keep in mind that the backdrop for a flower garden – whether it’s a fence, wall, walkway or focal point – can make all the difference in terms of how appealing and balanced its floral borders appear. Elements such as fences and walls draw the eye in while providing structure and contrast – elements which prevent your carefully planned floral borders from looking too full of blooms!
Make an impression by planting plants of various heights. Alternate the position of taller flowers behind dwarf varieties so all blooms have equal representation in the limelight, as well as growing contrasting foliage and ornamental grasses to engage multiple senses and add texture.