Flower gardens bring life and color into any yard, adding vibrancy and beauty. There is such a diverse array of blooming flora available that you can design your garden to fit with your personal aesthetic.
Proper soil preparation is key when starting a flower garden. Begin by clearing away any grassy patches. Next, work the dirt with a cultivator or bow rake to pull up any large roots that might remain.
Choose Your Location
Flower gardens require the perfect spot, depending on its intended use. Do you want a cutting garden for bouquets, low maintenance native plant garden or flower bed that draws pollinators in? Consider both sunlight availability and soil type when making your selection.
Assimilate layers into your flower garden by planting tall flowers at the back, mid-height plants in the middle, and ground cover at the front to add visual interest throughout the growing season. This will add visual depth.
Plant roses at the back of your flower garden and fill in between with blooming flowers that bloom at different times, like lilacs, peonies or feverfew.
Prepare the Soil
Once you’ve chosen where to place your flower garden, begin digging up grass and soil. This process aerates and enriches the ground while also eliminating weeds while providing extra nutrients to it. For optimal results, start this step early on in spring before the garden grows in full force.
Be sure to include native flowers in your flower garden to attract bees and other pollinators, as these native varieties thrive in local conditions and require less care than exotic varieties.
Once you’re ready to start planting, create a perimeter around the area with hedges or groundcovers and stones – this will mark off separate sections in your flower garden, giving each group of blooms its own space to shine!
Plant the Flowers
Flower gardens make an eye-catching addition to any yard, but before planting any blooms it’s essential that you understand their specific requirements in order for them to flourish. If your garden receives full sun then only perennial plants that tolerate such conditions should be included.
Experts advise combining different heights, colors and textures in your garden design for maximum impact. Shrubs also add four-season interest and structure; dwarf conifers, evergreens with twisty branches or colorful bark bushes add winter appeal, while repeat bloomers provide summer color and staggered flowering times.
Create the Borders
Flower borders add structure and orderliness to any garden, providing a cleaner appearance than loose beds in the lawn. Their edges can either be straight and formal or more natural-looking with curvy curves.
When selecting perennial plants for your flower beds, be mindful of shape and bloom time; size; as well as any show-stopping flowers you want to include in your design. Select those which attract pollinators while still offering additional features like fragrance.
Utilizing different plant shapes such as tall focal flowers like roses and shorter filler flowers like snapdragon, creates visual interest and balance in your flower beds.
Add the Edging
Once your flower beds have been built, the final touch is to add the finishing touches with edging. Edging serves to clearly separate lawn and flower garden while adding character and beauty.
Imagine what look you want your garden to have and use a garden hose to outline its boundaries. Walk around it; view it from different angles; envision what it will look like with plants installed.
Experienced flower garden designers know the secret to creating year-round visual interest is using shrubs and perennials with staggered bloom times, low ground cover plants or rock gardens as decorative accents.
Take Care of Your Flowers
An attractive flower garden adds vibrant, cheery color to any home. When starting from seeds or purchasing plants from the nursery, there are a few key considerations you need to keep in mind.
An important step to ensure your flowers receive optimal sunlight levels is spending a day in your garden and tracking how much direct light each area receives per hour of daylight. To do this, spend one full day recording what amount of sun each area receives throughout each hour of daylight.
Consistent yet moderate watering is also key to keeping a beautiful garden in shape; this helps prevent fungal disease on foliage. Deadhead spent blooms to encourage new blooms; additionally, plant species that attract pollinators for best results.