Installing a flower garden adds vibrancy and beauty to any landscape. Before beginning planting, consider these tips to ensure its success.
Read and follow the recommendations on any plant or seed package to understand how deep to dig and provide regular irrigation in dry weather.
Discover your USDA growing zone to select plants suited to your climate, from annuals and perennials, as well as shrubs that add structure.
Choose the Right Plants
A properly planned flower garden features plants of various heights and bloom times, along with colorful foliage textures to create visual interest in the landscape. Select flowers whose hues lie next to one another on the color wheel – such as pink and red flowers – for visually appealing combinations, while flowering shrubs provide year-round structure while autumn-flowering or fruit-producing shrubs provide autumn color and winter interest.
Read through the planting recommendations on a plant’s tag or seed packet to ensure its optimal growing conditions are suitable for where you plan to place it. For instance, perennials preferring full sun should be placed in an exposed location while flowers thriving in part shade require shaded areas for planting. Also take into account mature height when positioning flowers: taller ones should go at the back while shorter varieties should be pushed closer towards the front of a bed.
Soil
Flower gardens add color and life to any yard, elevating its curb appeal and drawing pollinators closer to home. You can create beds from small circular arrangements around mailboxes to long beds running alongside walkways or around houses or garages – the possibilities are limitless!
Before planting flowers in your yard, it’s essential to prepare the soil. Most flower varieties favor loamy, well-draining soil. Conduct a soil test and analyze its pH level so you can amend accordingly.
Start by clearing away any existing grass on the site of your new bed. Rototilling or digging can then be used depending on the conditions in your yard and size of bed; when using either method, make sure that soil moisture levels remain even. For rototilling purposes, ensure the moisture is even throughout your working zone before beginning; when digging by hand add compost as you go so as to enrich soil for better plant growth and ensure new plants thrive!
Sunlight
Flower gardens require at least 6 hours of direct sunlight daily in order to thrive, whether that means full or partial shade conditions. When selecting your planting site, ensure it offers optimal lighting conditions for each type of flower you intend to cultivate; otherwise the bloom times and color intensity could be negatively impacted.
Create a flower garden that appeals to the eye by featuring an assortment of heights, colors and shapes in its composition. Repetition of key shapes or colors within the garden provides continuity.
Keep a water source nearby to make watering your flower garden easy and convenient. Make sure you provide plenty of freshwater at all times and properly water it – weeding is also key in order to create a successful flower garden as unsightly weeds steal nutrients and space from flowers, as they steal away essential nutrients and space needed by them. Pull any weeds as soon as they appear and be sure to deadhead faded or deadheaded flowers to encourage new growth, prolonging its beauty.
Water
Proper watering is key to creating a successful flower garden. To avoid losing moisture to evaporation during the heat of the day, water cool soil early morning or evening for maximum impact. Remember that many flowers don’t require large amounts of water so avoid overwatering with sprinklers!
Mulch can also help conserve water. Applying two to three inches of mulch around your flowers will keep weeds at bay while also decreasing evaporation and providing nutrients back into the soil.
Plant your flower garden where it can easily be seen; this will make tending and enjoying its blooms much simpler when entertaining guests or relaxing on your patio. Make sure that plants are spaced appropriately according to their height, sun requirements, texture and shape requirements and incorporate numerous unique varieties for added visual interest in your garden.