Start a flower garden to bring year-round color and beauty to your landscape. When selecting flowers to start one, choose those which complement both the architecture of your home and its surroundings as well as highlight them visually.
Research the growing zone and sun requirements of each plant you want to include in the garden, grouping plants with similar watering and sun requirements together to make maintenance simpler.
Choose Your Plants
As the first step of creating a flower garden, choosing your plants should be your top priority. Your goals will play an integral role in this decision: for instance, whether you wish to have a cutting garden that produces bouquets for bouquets, or low maintenance garden that supports pollinators colonies.
Consider the needs of the flowers you select when planting, such as water and sunlight requirements. Be sure that the area in which you plan to put them can provide enough resources to ensure their well-being and success.
Group flowers that require similar amounts of sun and water together to make caring for them easier. Doing this will prevent either overwatering or underwatering and will also create visual interest once their blossoms have faded. It’s a good idea to include flowers with different foliage colors like purple and yellow leaves – making for visual interest once blooms have died off!
Prepare the Soil
Flowers need healthy soil in order to thrive. Clear any weeds or rocks away from the flower garden area, then mix in organic material such as compost or manure to improve the structure of the soil.
Be mindful of the sun requirements for the flowers you wish to plant. A sunny spot will encourage blooming while shade may impede growth or cause leggy plants.
Plan on having some flowers that will remain attractive after their season has come and gone, such as Autumn Joy Sedum or Hameln Fountain grass which still bloom well into late fall, adding interest to your landscape when other blooms have gone dormant.
Consider growing flowers that will attract both pollinators and predators of beneficial insects in your garden, such as bees and butterflies for pollination and predators such as wasps, lacewings and ladybugs to keep pests at bay.
Plan the Layout
An urban garden can add color and dimension to any landscape while serving as a habitat for pollinators, yet cultivating one may seem daunting for novice gardeners.
Begin by sketching out your garden on graph paper using an appropriate scale (a ruler, pencil and set of colored pencils will work just as well). Additionally, it would be beneficial to mark out its boundaries using something such as hose, flour or landscape paint in order to easily visualize it all.
Once the border size is determined, begin planning a flower garden using this guide as a checklist: shrubs, perennials and easy-to-grow annuals such as zinnias and marigolds should all be included as shrubs; add perennials and annuals (zinnias or marigolds for example), colorful foliage plants to provide interest when the blooms have faded and finish off with trellises and accent pieces for year-round interest – this will create an attractive yet low maintenance flower garden! Taking these into consideration will enable you to design an attractive yet low maintenance garden!
Create the Borders
“Make Your Bed,” is the age-old advice every aspiring gardener hears growing up: the key to gardening success begins by prepping flower beds for planting. This involves amending soil, testing light and moisture levels and identifying potential obstacles such as underground utilities or drain inspection covers.
Consider what type of garden design you want: relaxing or formal, block of color or meadow-like. Mixing heights and textures creates visual interest throughout the year – for instance lamb’s ears contrast nicely with frizzy petals from tiger lily flowers and spikey ajuga blooms. Don’t shy away from using shape as part of the design either, advises Dutch garden designer Piet Oudolf; using plants that have spires, umbels, buttons or daisies will add depth and drama into any flower garden design scheme.
Plant the Flowers
Once your soil is prepared, clear away weeds and grass in the area where you wish to plant flowers. Make sure to add plenty of organic materials, like bokashi compost, to give your flower bed a healthy boost.
Edging garden beds with garden edging helps you define clear borders to keep weeds and grass away from your flowers, creating the look you want in each flower garden. Use different styles depending on what fits best with your landscape vision and desired look.
Choose a location with full sun as most flowering plants require it for proper development. Pay attention to how the sunlight strikes the site throughout the day and whether any trees or buildings obstruct its path; this will help determine where you plant flowers and foliage.