Begin your garden planning process by drawing up an outline and setting specific goals – for color, structure and four-season interest.
Experiment beyond the standard tall-at-the-back and short-at-the-front rule by adding layers using short early flowers like hellebores.
Pay attention to foliage, which lasts long after perennial blooms have faded, and consider adding shrubs for texture and height.
Choose Your Plants
Flower gardens should fit seamlessly into their surroundings rather than look like add-ons, similar to how shade trees and flowering Crabapples blend in seamlessly. When designing the space for a garden consider how it will appear from indoors as well as from outside living spaces such as roads.
An attractive flower garden depends on several key elements, including the type and size of flowers you wish to grow. Select plants with year-round interest and staggered bloom times so your garden doesn’t become dull by fall; otherwise it could end up looking barren by then!
Remember that most flowering plants need full sun exposure. Aim for areas receiving six to eight hours of direct sunlight each day. Soil should also be loose and well-draining – if your yard contains heavy clay or sandy soils, amending them with organic material such as compost may improve texture and drainage.
Prep the Bed
Flower gardens should blend into your landscape seamlessly. Study local gardens as inspiration and read gardening magazines for ideas for your own flowerbed.
Clean out your future garden area by clearing away grass, large sticks, and any debris. When ready to dig, try working with soil that’s moist but not waterlogged as this will make digging easier while helping prevent damaging to the soil itself.
Prior to planting flowers in your flower garden, spread a layer of mulch. This helps deter weeds while also keeping soil moisture levels balanced. Organic materials are ideal, such as shredded bark or wood chips, chopped leaves or compost; landscape cloth may make planting difficult without deterring weeds effectively.
Planting
Once you have an idea in mind for how your garden should look, it’s time to start designing it. Before taking any major steps toward implementation, take an objective view of your available space as well as reading up on sun and soil requirements for each flower you select.
Before planting in existing garden beds, conduct a soil test to ascertain any necessary amendments that need to be done first.
A well-designed flower garden layout should take into account each plant’s mature height, color and any desired focal points that you want to include. In addition, its size at maturity should also be taken into consideration as well as how its presence interacts with other elements in the garden such as borders or pathways.
Strategic repetition of key shapes, colors and textures provides visual unity and creates a balanced composition. Include flowers with staggered bloom times so that the garden remains attractive all season long.
Care
Flowers may be the focal point of a garden, but there’s much more than blooms to think about when designing it. Consider adding shrubs and perennials for year-round color as well as annual plants to fill any gaps or provide constant hue.
Make sure your flower garden is located in an area with sufficient sunlight for its plants, as planting in areas of partial or full shade could stifle growth or even kill them.
Over time, garden soils deplete their nutrients over time, so to maintain healthy plants you’ll need to add an all-purpose balanced fertilizer when creating or renovating beds and on an ongoing basis. Be wary when working soil when wet as this could compromise its structure and cause compacting of its layers.
Along with regular watering, ensure your plants receive plenty of sunlight; otherwise they won’t bloom as effectively. Also, clip off spent flowers as soon as they fade to promote rebloom, and cut back any brown foliage when necessary.