Flower gardens make an attractive addition to any landscape, but taking time and dedication to establish one takes effort and patience.
Select flowering plants with staggered bloom times to add color throughout the year. Perennials provide continuity while annuals provide freshness.
Compost will increase nutrients and moisture in your new bed for flowering plants to thrive.
Location
As with any garden project, finding an ideal spot is key in creating a flower garden. Consider factors like sun and shade distribution as this affects photosynthetic processes in plants – make sure it gets enough light! Furthermore, think about soil type: an area which holds water or holds puddles could prevent certain flowers from flourishing there.
Consider what kinds of flowers you wish to grow; for instance, a pollinator garden should receive full sun but may need partial shade in the afternoon. Experienced garden designers use various plant types to offer four-season interest, such as shrubs with colorful bark or twisty shapes that provide winter structure; perennials or annuals offering summer color are an added feature; repeating colors and shapes throughout a garden creates continuity and creates a sense of peace.
Soil
Flower gardens require soil that provides ample nutrition. An appropriate type of soil allows a plant’s roots to freely spread outward, which in turn leads to healthy blooms on its plants.
To prepare the site for a new flower bed, clear away existing grass and weeds. If the bed will be surrounded by turf grass, add landscape edging to keep flowers separate from turf. Shovels with rounded tips or garden forks make good digging tools; while trowels or long-handled stirrup hoes work great as weeders.
To create the optimal flower garden soil mix, sterilized sandy loam is recommended as it helps prevent insect and disease infestations. You should also mix organic matter such as compost, manure or peat moss into your mix in order to retain moisture levels and increase pH levels in your soil mix. When selecting your soil choice make sure it has passed through a sieve first and removed large rock fragments that might block root runs and interfere with drainage systems.
Planting
No matter the style or size of garden you desire, from formal with straight edges and ordered patterns to natural with curving curves and clusters of blooming blooms that appear as though they have naturally occurred, the foundation remains essential. Careful soil preparation as well as selecting suitable plant varieties is necessary, while being aware of each flower’s individual requirements must also be prioritized.
Consider placing flower plants in an area of your yard which receives full sun; most flower varieties require six to eight hours of direct sunlight per day for optimal development. It’s also helpful to learn the USDA growing zone so you don’t purchase plants which won’t cope with local conditions.
Before planting flowers, first clear and prepare the area by adding plenty of organic material such as compost to enhance drainage and decrease soil compaction, as well as boost nutrient availability for your chosen varieties of blooms. Finally, water thoroughly early morning to give them time to absorb moisture before the heat of the day arrives.
Care
Selecting the ideal plant varieties can make any flower garden beautiful year-round. Experienced garden designers combine plants that provide year-round interest with staggered bloom times and additional benefits like fragrance or wildlife attraction to achieve this goal.
Example: Shrubs provide winter structure and spring flowers while perennials provide summer color and dependable foliage; flowering annuals take over for fall/winter blooming.
Location and soil also play a significant role in what types of flowers thrive in a garden bed, as full-sun perennials will succumb to too much shade, while low-growing flower varieties won’t reach their full height potential in sandy or clay soil.
Before purchasing plants from any nursery, make sure that you understand your USDA growing zone and take note of first and last frost dates when planning. If you decide to plant flowers outside their zone, they may not tolerate either cold or heat as expected and could die prematurely.