An attractive flower garden can add charm and value to your home. Before planting, it is essential to assess site conditions and select plants suitable to the climate and growing zone in which your home resides.
A good design features flowers with staggered bloom times so something is always blooming, as well as repetition of shapes and colors for visual unity.
Location
Flower gardens can be created anywhere on your property, from corners of your backyard near patio seating areas to long beds lining your front walkway. When selecting your flowers for each location, keep light and soil conditions in mind as various species require certain growing conditions in order to thrive.
Make an attractive garden with these tips from landscaping expert Mark Lane! First, pick an eye-catching focal point such as an arrangement of showy plants or garden decor; then plan out your flower bed composition around this focus point to achieve a cohesive design.
Keep in mind that planting flowers close together requires research on ideal spacing for each type. Paths between your flower beds will help prevent step on blooms from being trodden on, while even simple gravel pathways add visual interest and create an inviting entranceway to your garden.
Soil
Flowers grow best when planted in soil tailored specifically to them, so the foundation for flower cultivation should be strong. Most blooming plants prefer loose, well-draining soil that’s rich with organic matter; other kinds may require slightly acidic or alkaline conditions depending on what kind of blooms you select to cultivate.
If you’re planning a garden bed in an area covered with grass, use a shovel to cut through existing sod. Before digging, ensure the soil is dampened properly and don’t work when temperatures are either too hot or cold – otherwise your efforts might prove ineffective.
Attracting visitors and encouraging exploration is easy with compost and other organic material added to flower beds, improving soil structure and providing essential nutrients. A path can add texture and interest to a garden without breaking the bank; even gravel pathways provide attractive focal points that draw people in to explore your flowery landscape.
Plants
Once your flower garden has been cleared of weeds and its soil has been deeply cultivated, it’s time to plant. Choose an array of annuals and perennials you find appealing; consider including various heights of annuals to add visual interest and depth; low-growing flowers like sweet alyssum and lobelia make great front-of-the-border plants while tall perennials such as sunflowers or hollyhocks will create an inviting feel and help pollinators pollination efforts in your flower bed.
Once you know how much sunlight your yard receives each day, choose varieties that thrive in full sun (at least six to eight hours of direct sunlight per day). After understanding what your soil requires, amend it using compost, leaf mold, manure or peat as needed. It’s also worthwhile conducting a soil pH test – an acidic to neutral soil pH is ideal. Working with soil that’s either too dry or wet is difficult and potentially hazardous to your plants’ growth.
Maintenance
Care requirements for a flower garden depend heavily on what types of blooms are planted; nonetheless, you will need to water regularly, remove weeds and deadhead flowers (snip off faded blooms) on an ongoing basis. If your goal is to provide cut flowers for arrangements, try planting perennial varieties that bloom every year.
When selecting plants, take into account your USDA zone and whether or not they can tolerate your local climate conditions. Also keep a record of first and last frost dates so you can plan your garden appropriately.
Consider more than color when designing your flower garden: Form and texture should also play an integral part of its design. A combination of plants with varied foliage textures ranging from sword-like gladioli leaves to the lacy textures found on bleeding hearts add visual interest, while using different flower shapes adds contrast in your landscape design. Finally, watering plants before fertilizing prevents potential fertilizer burn.