Planning your own flower garden requires consideration of lighting conditions, soil quality and planting design as well as consideration for flowers’ colors, shapes and foliage textures.
Repeated plant colors, shapes and sizes throughout your garden will create an appealing aesthetic, adding interest with ornamental grasses and shrubs.
Location
Location is of primary importance when choosing where to locate your flower garden, as its success will largely depend on it. Aim for an area visible from both inside and outside so that you can admire it, while making sure there is enough sunlight for plants if harvesting for fresh-cut bouquets is planned.
If your space is limited, consider creating paths so you can enjoy viewing your flowers from other parts of your yard and beyond. A gravel walkway accentuates colors and textures of plants while giving visitors a chance to wander freely through beds. Also consider including hardscape elements such as trellises or arbors as support structures for climbing vines while adding visual interest.
Sunlight
No matter the size of your garden, the ideal way to plan a flower bed is to observe how the sun hits different spots throughout a typical day. Look out for areas receiving full sunlight (6 or more hours of exposure per day), as well as spots receiving partial or full shade (3 to 6 hours).
Once this has been accomplished, take note of your surrounding landscape – trees and other plants should all contribute to an aesthetic that enhances rather than competes for attention from passersby. A flower garden should add beauty to this larger setting rather than trying to outdo its overall design.
Attune your garden bed’s height and shape. Tall perennials make great backdrop plants while shorter plants provide visual interest in the foreground. Additionally, experiment with texture and shape by placing flowers with fine foliage next to those with coarse textures for an original aesthetic – for instance by juxtaposing fine foliage flowers next to coarse texture blooms.
Soil
Flower gardens require good soil to flourish, which makes testing essential. Professional testing services offer soil reports that outline what nutrients are in the ground as well as acidity or alkalinity levels to provide insight into which plants can flourish in that location.
Color, height and texture are key elements in creating an eye-catching flower garden design. Repetition of colors, shapes and plant types throughout the space helps add cohesion while playing around with textures and varying plant heights keeps visitors intrigued.
Add vertical dimensions to your garden using hardscape elements like arbors and trellises, while including flowers with staggered bloom times so when one wave of blooms fade, others can already be emerging to take their place.
Drainage
No matter if it is an existing flower garden or new bed, soil is your foundation. Spend some time learning more about its composition and making any necessary adjustments as required – including adding compost, grass clippings and leaves to improve drainage and prevent compaction of soil.
Create the garden of your dreams! First consider what statement you wish to make with your flower garden, like making a striking focal point or filling a walkway with vibrant blooms. Next decide how much maintenance is appropriate; regardless of size or location, all gardens require regular watering, removal of weeds and deadheading to stay looking their best. Lastly, be sure to select plants with staggered bloom times for year-round interest – this ensures dynamic flowers always have something blooming!
Water
Flowering plants require just the right amount of water for optimal growth; too much leads to disease or fungal issues while too little causes them to wither and die. Even experienced gardeners could benefit from taking a refresher course on proper watering techniques for plants in containers.
An attractive flower garden can add color and beauty to any landscape, increase curb appeal for your home, and attract pollinators such as butterflies. To ensure its success, the key is selecting flowering plants which flourish under specific soil and lighting conditions in your plot.
Before planting anything new in your yard, take a hard look at your current landscape and ruthlessly weed out any flowering plants that don’t perform as intended, don’t bloom regularly enough or require too much care and maintenance. This will clear space for more of those that work best in your garden and backyard.