If your space is limited, look for flower plants that are easy to cultivate from seed or plant as perennials. Annuals (such as petunias and geraniums ) bloom rapidly throughout the summer season and should remain flowering through fall.
Choose flowers with eye-catching shapes and colors for an interesting aesthetic in the garden. Repetition of flower shapes helps create visual cohesion. Be mindful of color combinations as well as texture within their foliage when selecting blooms for your garden.
Design
Flower gardens can add color, fragrance and beauty to your days while also drawing butterflies and pollinators species to your yard. However, before beginning planting your own, there are some basic rules you need to remember.
Establish the general aesthetic for your flower garden before selecting plants appropriate to its environment based on factors like height, year-round interest and staggered bloom times.
Expert gardeners design their landscapes with both form and texture in mind. Contrasting flower shapes create visual interest while rhythm in the garden draws your eye even when the blooms have withered away.
To visualize your flower garden layout, sketch its design on graph paper using a scale (one unit on the drawing equals a certain number of units in your real garden bed). For added precision when sketching circles and arcs, consider investing in transparent tracing paper as well as an artist compass or plastic template used by artists when drawing circles and arcs.
Soil
Your garden’s success depends on its soil. Flowers thrive in rich, loamy soil that drains well, so before planting add compost or well-rotted manure to increase fertility and structure – especially important if your garden lies in low-lying areas prone to flooding.
Once you’ve selected an ideal location, remove any grass or weeds from the planting bed. For new beds, add about an inch or so of compost before raking over its surface before digging into the soil. If you don’t have garden compost available to you, soak a piece of cardboard in water before layering it in your flowerbed to kickstart its decomposition process.
Focus on shape. According to world-renowned Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf, shape is more important than color when designing gardens. When selecting plants with similar shapes for grouping together in your garden this will provide order and visual unity within it.
Digging
As with any garden, accurate measurements and an in-depth layout are key to creating an eye-catching flower bed. Include focal points, heights of mature plants at maturity, color combinations, as well as elements such as garden edging and seating in your plan for optimal results.
Cowan suggests selecting flowers appropriate to your region and soil type, and taking into account how much sun each bed receives on a typical day; otherwise plants in these locations may not bloom as frequently.
As soon as it comes time to dig your flower bed, start by improving its soil. One method of doing so is covering all of the area with newspaper sheets which will gradually break down while adding rich compost into the ground. Another approach would be using landscape edging materials like brick, stone or wood edging materials around your bed’s edge to encase your garden bed and frame your flowerbed before prepping it for planting by digging down at least to the depth of a spade’s depth and eliminating all weeds before beginning work on planting your bed.
Planting
An expansive flower garden adds vibrant hues to your landscape and is also an invaluable habitat for bees, butterflies and hummingbirds, providing food and shelter to wildlife in return. Choose perennials, annuals and shrubs as part of an all-season landscaping strategy for maximum impact!
Strive for full sun as flowering plants tend to thrive there. Assess the soil condition, adding compost or organic material such as mulch for improved drainage and light weight drainage. It would also be wise to test its pH level to see if any additional amendments might be needed.
Piet Oudolf, an internationally acclaimed garden designer, advises planting in layers. Start with tall plants at the back, transitioning to medium-height flowers before finally adding short ones at the front or edges of the bed. Varying heights creates depth while mixing shapes like spires, bells, buttons, umbels and screens create visual interest – don’t forget foliage plants either for additional texture and interest throughout all four seasons!