Finding the ideal spot is key to designing a flower garden, from selecting a garden bench or birdbath as its backdrop to inviting visitors in and drawing attention away from unsightly blooms.
Flower gardens require rich, well-draining soil such as loam. Understanding each plant’s lighting requirements and researching color combinations with staggered bloom times are both key considerations of experienced gardeners.
Layout
Planting a flower garden is both enjoyable and rewarding; it brings color into your landscape while drawing pollinators in. However, to achieve success at designing successful beds requires planning ahead and adhering to basic design principles.
Beginning With a Focal Point
Flower gardens that stand out are those with an attractive focal point, whether that is an eye-catching group of plants, an ornamental grasses or something permanent like a birdbath.
Consider Plant Height
Flowers have various heights that you should carefully layer when planting, as this creates a three-dimensional effect and keeps blooms from having to compete with one another for visibility.
Repetition Is Key
Soil Preparation
Most flower plants thrive best in full sun conditions and need six to eight hours of sunlight each day for proper growth. Make sure that your bed is accessible by water hose as frequent irrigation will help prevent overly wet stems.
Begin by digging the area to loosen up the soil 2-4 inches deep, so new flowers can bloom more readily while also helping the root system absorb more moisture during the season.
Experienced flower garden designers employ staggered bloom times in their designs to offer year-round color. For instance, they might include early blooming shrubs for spring color and structure, mid-season perennials and summer-blooming annuals that bloom throughout summer, as well as late-blooming plants like asters or fall tulips that will bloom late.
Choose native plants to attract pollinators species and create an eco-system in your yard. Hardy in your region, natives require less watering than exotics and typically offer vibrant hues as they haven’t been hybridized to produce artificial hues.
Digging
Step 3
Proper measurements and an organized layout will bring your flower garden design together. Knowing how tall your plants will grow over time helps organize them according to height for an aesthetically pleasing garden bed design.
For your flowers to thrive, they require rich and healthy soil conditions. A soil test will let you know whether it is too sandy, clay-like or acidic for healthy plant development.
Be sure that your new flower garden is within easy access of a watering and pruning hose in order to facilitate ease of watering and pruning, and keep plants looking their best. This makes for simpler plant care!
Plan on including perennials and annuals in your landscape design to add color. By mixing different heights together, you’ll ensure there are always flowers blooming near your home – and by grouping your blooming times together so you’ll have colors throughout the season!
Planting
Flower gardens should complement their environment as part of the landscape, rather than looking like an afterthought in an otherwise pleasing area. A border that appears out of place could become an eyesore or worse – an eyesore!
Look for an area that receives ample sunshine. Flowers require full exposure to direct sunlight in order to flourish, so select an area with at least six hours of direct sun per day.
Research each flower’s maintenance requirements before selecting them for your garden, ensuring they will flourish successfully. For instance, drought-tolerant plants work best alongside others that share similar needs; and annuals which require deadheading to encourage reblooming are best combined with perennials who need deadheading for reblooming.
Explore various heights, colors and textures when designing a dynamic flower garden design. Adding tall perennials next to shorter annuals creates depth and contrast; using different foliage sizes such as coarse Hydrangea leaves alongside delicate blooms (for visual weight) adds visual depth. Finally, experiment with color combinations and fragrances!