An attractive garden can add beauty and fragrance to any home, but before starting the planting process there are a few key points you need to remember. First and foremost is considering where exactly to place the plants – either as part of an urban renewal project or simply to add natural color and flair.
Determine what lighting conditions exist in the area, and select plants that will thrive under these circumstances. Also select seasonal blooms to add visual interest throughout the season.
Choose Your Plants
Once you know where your garden will go, it’s time to shop for plants. Make sure that each mature size before purchasing to avoid overcrowded beds. Also take note of their light requirements – many flowers prefer full sun or partial shade conditions.
Once your plants have been purchased, bring them home and read over their labels to gain an idea of their growth potential. Next, review your plan and decide where each should go.
Add both tall and bushy plants, as well as ground cover and perennials into your landscape design for an eye-catching layered effect. By mixing heights, colors, textures and shrubs such as roses, hydrangeas and lilacs to provide structure and four-season interest – including ones that bloom throughout the season for additional continuity even as other flowers begin to fade – you will create more interesting arrangements than rows of identical blooms.
Determine the Shape of Your Beds
After taking a quick assessment of your garden, decide how you want to organize its flowers. A good guideline is to group plants with similar water and sunlight needs together so they are easier to tend for. This also prevents weeds and grass from crowding out your hard work!
After selecting your plant groupings, take into account the shape of your flower beds. Rows or blocks may provide more traditional results while drifts and clumps offer an organic aesthetic.
Soil type and climate should also be taken into account when planning to plant. You should find out whether your plants prefer sunnier or shaded spots and which soil types (loamy, sandy or clay) they thrive best in. A soil test can also help you identify which fertilizers, compost or amendments would best enhance their growth once planted. A good fertilizer, compost and amendment plan will guarantee success when growing flowers!
Arrange the Plants
As you select flowers for your garden, take into account their lighting requirements. Some perennials and shrubs need full sun while others do best in partial shade. Pairing plants that share similar needs will reduce maintenance requirements; water-wise varieties should go together, for instance, as will those that tolerate frost.
Create your garden using color combinations, eye-catching focal points and other characteristics that enhance its beauty. Consider including flowers that offer additional benefits such as fragrance or attract hummingbirds and butterflies for optimal design.
Expert flower garden designers understand how to plan for an array of blooming seasons by using perennials and annuals together, planting staggered bloom times so you will always have fresh blooms from spring through autumn, adding plants with foliage that add texture and interest when flowers wilt, providing continuity throughout the season.
Add a Backdrop
Flower gardens can add charm to a home landscape and increase curb appeal, and with some pro-level design tips even novice gardeners can achieve stunning floral beauty.
Before beginning, it’s essential that you have an idea of the kind of flower garden you would like. Draw a diagram and assess how much space is available. For instance, if your only space to work with is 4 feet (1 meter), planting four giant pink zinnia clumps may not fit.
Experienced garden designers take bloom times into account when creating stunning flower gardens. It would be foolish to create an overcrowded spring garden that only blooms for part of the year; so using perennials with staggered bloom times and annuals as fillers helps ensure year-round color!
An impressive flower garden incorporates foliage into its design to keep visitors engaged after blooms have faded, offering variety in shape, color and texture – from sword-like gladiolus leaves to the delicate variegated leaves of bleeding heart plants.