Many flowering plants need full sun for optimal bloom. Take note of how the sunlight hits your garden area over a day’s course to identify optimal lighting conditions for it.
Keep foliage in mind too, as its presence will continue long after flowers fade. A combination of perennials, shrubs and annuals provides four-season interest.
Identify Your Plot
Utilizing garden edging, fences or walls to clearly delineate the boundaries of your flower beds helps prevent grass and other plants from invading and overgrowing them. This also makes maintaining them neat and tidy easier!
Before selecting a spot for your flower garden, take note of how much sun the area receives during different parts of the day and seasons. Most flowers prefer direct sunlight while some varieties thrive even under partial shade conditions.
Plan ahead when selecting where to plant your flower’s mature overall size; tall plants should go towards the back or center, while medium-height and shorter flowers are better off nearer the front or edges of a bed.
Organize Your Plants
As you design a flower garden, it’s essential to keep in mind its intended use. Are you growing flowers for cutting purposes or planning on cultivating an inviting perennial garden? Perhaps low maintenance options or something which attracts pollinators is what’s desired?
Consider both color and shape when arranging plants. Renowned garden designer Piet Oudolf suggests grouping together similar-shaped plants in order to achieve an impression of unity.
Planning to extend the longevity of your flowers requires including plants that bloom at different times throughout the season. That way, when one flower fades, another one will be ready to step in. Moreover, using easy-to-repeat shrubs as part of your design will add height and structure.
Choose Your Blooms
Before designing a flower garden plan, identify its desired purpose. Is the aim to provide an attractive background against which your house can stand or an island of blossoms in the center of your yard?
Be sure to choose plants suited to both your USDA growing zone and landscape conditions when selecting plants for your yard or landscape. Any failure of those not flourishing will only bring frustration and disappointment.
Consider each plant’s height and mature size when creating your planting map. Taller flowers should typically go at the back if your garden will be visible from a walkway or patio, while shorter plants should be placed up front.
Playing with texture and size is an enjoyable way to add visual interest to a flower garden design. Groupings of fine foliage like marigolds with coarser canna lilies work particularly well together, while different shapes of plants also add visual interest.
Prep Your Bed
Once you’ve identified an ideal spot, test its soil to ensure it can accommodate the types of flowers you plan on planting. Also take into account how much sun each area gets as well as where it sits in relation to your home or other garden features like ponds or patios.
Flower beds add color, texture and interest to your yard with their wide array of blooms that attract butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators – whether formal or informal – providing food sources for them all to enjoy your garden space.
No matter if it be perennials, annuals or bulbs, aim for year-round color with a mix of bloom sizes and shapes. Keep an eye out for plants with extra features like fragrance or foliage that lasts after their flowers have faded.
Plant Your Flowers
Accurate measurements and an organized layout are key to creating a flower garden that thrives. Consider height and maturation levels of plants, color combinations and focal points when designing your layout – or, even better, sketch out a plan before you plant.
Consider including hardscaping elements such as pergolas and trellises into your flower garden design for additional structure that helps define planting beds while discouraging grass/weed growth from taking over your blooms.
Plan on planting perennials and easy-to-grow annuals together in your flower garden design plan for year-round color. Perennials tend to bloom between the spring and summer while annuals often begin blooming midsummer and continue through fall – professional flower garden designers often include plants with staggered bloom times for added continuity of show throughout their designs.