Flower gardens make an elegant addition to any landscape, from small beds near the front door to full-fledged plots in your backyard.
As the first step of creating a flower garden, the initial step involves clearing away any existing grass covering it. An effective way of doing this is using a shovel to dig up chunks of soil from around it.
Location
Flowers add visual beauty and serve as a hub for pollinators in any garden, so learning how to grow flowers may seem daunting at first. But creating one is easier than you think!
Step one in creating your bed is choosing its location. Aiming for something near a source of water like a garden pond or stream is ideal to ensure it stays hydrated during its lifecycle.
When starting with an area covered with grass, use a standard pointed shovel to excavate it with ease. Or for a less labor-intensive option, cover the turf with several layers of newspaper which will eventually decompose and provide essential nutrients back into the soil. Add landscape edging around your new flower bed; options could include plastic, brick and stone as well as unique materials like glass bottles and large seashells for an eye-catching finish.
Soil
An ideal garden starts with healthy soil. Take the time to discover what type of environment will best support the flowers you wish to grow – be it calcareous for geraniums or silty for daffodils!
Before digging, contact your utility company to identify any buried lines and locate water sources so they are accessible while planting.
A good design includes plants of various heights to add visual interest. Add shrubs for structure and four-season interest, such as repeat-blooming roses or deciduous shrubs with colorful bark. Also remember to incorporate foliage colors and textures, like sword-like gladioli to fine lacy bleeding hearts; this helps ensure a cohesive garden that reflects your personal style as well as providing you with an opportunity to select a color scheme for your flower beds.
Sun/Shade
No matter whether you opt to plant beds on either the front or back yards of your house, it’s essential that they receive full sunlight most of the day. Also keep an eye out for when each area might receive shade during certain parts of the day.
Experts advise when designing a flower bed to use repetition of similar flowers to create a more cohesive aesthetic. For instance, planting multiple species such as Agastache or Columbine plants together will make your garden seem less disorganized and reduce the need for constant weeding.
Experienced flower garden designers also utilize flowers with staggered bloom times to ensure there is always something blooming throughout the year, adding visual interest and preventing your garden from looking lifeless in autumn.
Foliage
Flowers may be the centerpiece of a colorful garden, but an effective design also needs attractive foliage that lasts long after blooms have gone by. Considerations should include color variation, leaf shape and texture when selecting foliage for your design.
Once you understand your climate and space, start laying out a basic garden bed to complement its climate and environment. Include plants that thrive during both warm and cool seasons in your region as well as perennial and annual flowers to provide color fill.
Consider selecting plants with staggered bloom times and different heights for year-long interest, like low-growing, fragrant herbs like sweet alyssum or lobelia for use at the front of beds and around patio edges, while tall perennials like sunflowers or hollyhocks create visual interest along property fence lines.
Focal Point
An eye-catching flower or focal point can serve as the centerpiece of a garden design and provide visual interest throughout its growing season. World-renowned Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf suggests selecting flowers according to their shapes before combining them to achieve a harmonious design aesthetic.
Start a foundation or border garden from its center by placing tall plants at its core, before gradually moving out towards shorter ones, says Wiley. This approach will enable you to see each individual plant without blocking windows and doors.
When selecting plants for your flower garden, keep their maintenance requirements in mind. Flowers with similar needs work well together; drought-tolerant varieties should be combined with moisture-lovers. Fragrance and movement should also be taken into account: breezes carry the scent of blooming flowers through outdoor spaces into indoor rooms through open windows.