An organized flower garden can become the center of any landscape. Creating one with year-round color requires using flowers, shrubs and annual plants in equal parts.
Consider plantings that thrive in full sun and can offer year-round interest, paying particular attention to plant height and foliage texture; from sword-like iris leaves to the delicate laciness of bleeding heart foliage.
Decide on a Design
An effective flower garden begins with an idea. Although its basic components such as selecting an appropriate site, improving soil, laying out planting beds and including hardscape elements remain universal, its design options vary depending on personal taste, the style of home you inhabit and whether or not flowers will be grown for cutting or display purposes.
Color wheels can help you select the appropriate plant combinations for your flower garden design. Gardens planted with various hues of pink look appealing together; purple and yellow complement each other nicely on the wheel as do foliage plants that add interest even after blooms have gone.
Flower gardens provide pollinators with food sources such as dill and buttercups. By including shrubs with colorful bark or twisty shapes in the landscape, evergreens and four-season interest, such as evergreens can add structure to the space as well as four-season interest.
Select Your Plants
An ideal flower garden begins with selecting the appropriate plants. Before heading out shopping, familiarize yourself with your area’s hardiness zone and frost dates so that you know which types of flowers will thrive in your yard. Consider purchasing local blooms if your goal is to create an insect-, butterfly- and hummingbird-friendly habitat that supports native pollinators species.
Experienced garden designers make use of perennials, shrubs and annuals with multiple bloom colors and heights for year-round interest, staggered bloom times to avoid having an empty garden in autumn.
Place taller plants at the back and medium-height ones in the middle, while shorter-growing varieties nearer to the front or edges to add depth and ensure all flowers receive adequate sun. This provides visual interest while making sure all flowers receive adequate light exposure.
Plan the Layout
Once you have chosen and pruned the plants for your garden, the next step should be planning its layout. Think carefully about how each season will impact its look – include plants that bloom throughout the year so your garden doesn’t become barren in winter or dead by fall.
Keep the mature height of plants in mind when planning the layout of your flower beds. Tall plants should go toward the back or in the center, and lower ones in front.
Expert flower garden designers frequently arrange similar plants in odd numbers – three, five, seven or more. This helps make the garden appear more dynamic and less disorganized; also consider shape; placing flowers with similar forms next to one another can create an impression of unity and balance in your garden.
Add Hardscape Elements
Flower gardens must feature unique design elements to add visual interest. Trellises, arbors, gazebos and other structures such as decorative trellises can help enhance the blooming landscape, as can fragrant plants that attract butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators.
Attain a vibrant landscape requires considering your color scheme carefully, using various flowers, shrubs and groundcovers with staggered bloom times to bring depth of colour throughout the year.
Accurate measurements and an organized layout are critical elements of successful flower garden design. It may help to draw a rough sketch of your space, taking into account mature plant heights, flower color combinations, focal points and any additional requirements that might need to be included.