Before planting your flower garden, first remove all grass and weeds from the area you want to cover with flowerbeds. Next, create borders using garden edging or rocks so as to stop grass from infiltrating into them.
Consider planting flowers that bloom throughout the year for year-round interest, while also cutting maintenance costs. This approach may even save time!
1. Decide on a Design
Flower gardens make stunning additions to any home, but creating one requires careful consideration and planning. Before diving in with planting, take an honest assessment of your current bed and remove plants that don’t suit its location or simply don’t suit your aesthetic.
Before choosing flowers, be mindful of both your USDA growing zone and wind conditions in your region. Flowers that cannot thrive in your climate may die or fail to bloom; an array of plant heights, textures and colors should keep your garden interesting; experiment with shapes by grouping dainty foliage like Alyssum with coarse, shrubby sage for visual weight and intrigue.
2. Determine the Sunlight
Sunlight can make or break a garden’s success, with certain flowers needing specific amounts to thrive and produce blooms.
First step to accurately assessing how much sunlight your flower bed receives is creating a “sun map.” Spend some time mapping where and when sunlight falls across various areas of the garden each day and season.
Locate True North in your yard using either a compass or an app – knowing the cardinal directions is integral for mapping out gardens properly.
3. Pick Your Plants
Most flowering plants require six or more hours of sun each day for optimal growth, when planning your garden, consult flower plant growing guides to ascertain how much direct light each variety of plant requires.
Consider which colors you would like to incorporate into your flower garden, and how they will interact. Colors near each other on the color wheel – such as red and purple – tend to complement one another nicely when planted side-by-side.
Consider how the shapes of flowers will interact with one another; world-renowned garden designer Piet Oudolf recommends repeating shapes for visual consistency in your garden.
4. Create the Bed
Once the area where your flower garden will go has been cleared of grass and other weeds, garden edging can help create clear boundaries to keep grasses and other plants from invading your flowers beds. By clearly delineating it, it will make watering and tending your flower beds much simpler.
Experienced gardeners group flowers that require similar lighting or water requirements together, making it easier to know how much of each plant you need.
Cowan suggests familiarizing yourself with your USDA growing zone and anticipated first and last frost dates to ensure you select plants which thrive in your climate.
5. Prepare the Soil
Flowers require specific soil conditions in order to thrive, as well as climate zones specific to them, so conducting research into which ones grow best in your region is key.
Once you have decided on a location, you can start to prepare the bed. Start by marking out your garden boundaries using pegs and string for straight lines or garden hose for curvier ones. Dig up existing grass layers using shovel blades with cutting edges so they can cut through sod easily for removal.
Some individuals prefer planting cover crops like clover, red wheat, alfalfa, sorghum or wooly pod vetch over their sod for winter to help replenish organic matter and nutrients; others opt to rototill their beds instead.
6. Plant
Beginning any garden endeavor requires clearly-delineated borders – from window boxes, raised garden beds or completely new flower gardens – as this will keep grass and weeds at bay and help you meet watering and sunlight requirements for each group of plants.
Know Your Soil: Flowers thrive best in loamy, well-draining soil amended with compost or organic matter. If this material is missing in your yard, try visiting nearby gardens that are open to the public or seeking advice from botanical gardens in your area.
Once your beds have been prepared, begin planting! Make sure each flower follows its label’s recommended spacing guidelines when planting it.