Flower gardens can range in complexity depending on your gardening abilities and skillset. Selecting flowers that will benefit the plants requires thoughtfulness in terms of layout.
Maintaining your garden beds also requires making the appropriate arrangements, such as making sure your flower beds are within easy reach of a garden hose so watering can occur regularly.
1. Determine Your Space
Step one in planning your flower garden should be selecting a suitable location. Opt for somewhere that’s not too shady as many flowering plants don’t do well under direct sunlight (though planting around it would still help protect from too much direct sun exposure).
Before digging and planting, amend the soil with compost or organic material such as leaf mulch to promote healthy, vibrant roots for your plants. It is also advisable to avoid working in wet soil as this could cause compaction that hampers root development of your plants.
Once your garden space is prepared, start by eliminating any flowers that do not match with your vision. Assess existing flowers and divide or transplant any that need it; ensure a good variety of blooms with year-round interest by adding foliage plants for year-round interest once your flowers have faded.
2. Plan the Layout
Once you understand your space and conditions, consider what kind of statement you want your flower garden to make. It could be as simple as adding bright hues along a walkway or driveway or you could make it an eye-catcher by creating an eye-catching focal point.
Designing a flower bed may be intimidating, but with some careful thought you can achieve a professional-grade result. Consider the shape of your beds: would you prefer them to be symmetrical or organic. Expert garden designers typically group odd-numbered plants together for greater visual impact.
Consider the different bloom times of your flowers when designing your landscape, so when one type begins to fade another will be ready to step in and fill any empty spaces in your landscape with additional interest. Focal plants can even add depth and visual dynamism when flowers don’t flourish as desired.
3. Select Your Plants
As with any design decision, creating your flower garden is ultimately up to you. However, there are some basic guidelines you should abide by: for instance, plant perennials and annuals native to your USDA zone as these will thrive there and learn your first and last frost dates so as to know when it is safe to plant flowers in the soil.
Finally, make sure that you consider the recommended spacing requirements for every type of plant you select. For example, in beds receiving full sun, group flowers with similar sunlight requirements together to optimize performance. Furthermore, consider various heights when designing your flower garden; taller plants add vertical dimension while shorter ones create an eye-pleasing backdrop for larger shrubs or flowerbeds. Color can also add visual interest – gardens filled with colors from opposite corners on the color wheel can make a visually appealing sight!
4. Plan for Maintenance
Flower garden design can be quite subjective; however, proper soil preparation and plant selection is of utmost importance for success. Some designers create formal beds with neatly-outlined plantings while others opt for more organic designs with curving lines and irregular clusters of vegetation.
Familiarize yourself with your USDA growing zone to make sure the flowers you select will thrive in your yard. Selecting plants outside their respective zones could pose health risks or simply die over winter.
Implement a rich organic material layer into the top 6-8 inches of soil at planting time to improve its structure and retain moisture more effectively. Group together flowers with similar water and sun requirements in order to simplify caring for your flower garden; for example shade-lovers tend to thrive alongside others that prefer shade, while drought tolerant varieties should be kept together. When possible mix annuals, perennials, and flowering bulbs for four season interest in your landscape design.