Flowers provide endless design possibilities when it comes to garden design. Whether your style leans more formal, contemporary, cottage-like or anywhere in between, there are some basic tips you should follow to get the most from your flower beds.
Start with a clean and empty bed free of grass, weeds, or debris. Amend the soil using compost to enhance its quality.
Location
Before diving in with your garden design, it’s essential to do thorough research on its location. Check your USDA growing zone to make sure you can grow the plants you desire – otherwise they won’t survive! Additionally, know when frost dates fall as these can stop flowering plants from taking in moisture and nutrients from their surroundings.
Consider how your garden bed will appear from inside and private outdoor spaces such as patios, decks and gardens when selecting its location. Furthermore, think about how passersby may perceive it too.
Before beginning planting, take a close look at your existing garden and remove anything that’s not doing its job well – including plants with colors you don’t like or those which haven’t bloomed reliably for you. After this step has been completed, your garden is ready for step 2.
Soil
While it’s easy to become overwhelmed when buying flowers, keep in mind that your garden will only look its best with adequate space allocated to it. Planning and sketching out your flower garden design before beginning digging can ensure you don’t overcrowd plants which may diminish their visual appeal and harm their visual impact. Take note of each plant’s recommended spacing recommendations when placing its plants within your design plan.
Consider including flowers that bloom at different times throughout the year, giving your garden continuity and beauty even when some plants die off or fade away, adding interest and adding continuity even as others fade. Mixing heights, colors, textures and heights also makes for more appealing flower gardens than single rows of uniform plants; adding contrast with fine foliage plants such as marigolds near coarser canna lilies can help add contrast and variety while adding intrigue and variety to any landscape.
Water
Determine what type of flower garden you desire before embarking on any project. Perhaps your ideal vision includes an expansive hydrangea garden that blooms all summer, or perhaps you prefer low maintenance perennial beds? Or perhaps you would rather grow flowers for cutting purposes or attract pollinators with natives?
Start from scratch by choosing a sunny site where you can appreciate both its beauty and scent of your flower garden. Take into consideration whether or not the area receives direct sun throughout the day as well as whether or not it has wind protection, protection from severe weather, or is windy or protected by trees.
Before beginning planting, ensure your soil is prepared. Add organic matter such as compost or manure to improve the structure of the flower bed while simultaneously feeding its roots with organic nutrients. Also add slow-release fertilizer like Pennington UltraGreen All Purpose Balanced Fertilizer 10-10-10 so your flowers have an early start; this step is especially important if your area experiences frost, as frost kills annual roots that become established over time and prevents their establishment altogether.
Light
With your garden site in mind and the flowers that thrive locally in mind, you can begin considering how your flower garden plot should look. Begin by choosing between growing cutting flowers or low maintenance pollinator-attracting plants as your goal.
As soon as you know the type of garden you want to create, sketch a plan on paper before initiating any planting activities. This will enable you to see how it looks when completed and make adjustments if necessary.
Planting should follow natural progressions in terms of height and form. Group taller flowers together while scattering shorter plants, ground cover, and foliage throughout your space. Alternating textures or size combinations such as mixing fine with coarse foliage or long and short stems add visual interest and visual intrigue while repetition creates harmony and unity in your garden.