Start digging! When starting a flower garden, the first step should be creating the bed.
Be mindful of how much sunlight the area receives and select flowers that will thrive in your climate and site conditions, including knowing your USDA growing zone so as to avoid buying plants that won’t make the cut in your yard.
Choosing the Right Plants
Flower plants offer many choices when it comes to selecting blooms for your growing conditions. Consider soil type, sun requirements and bloom time when making your selection.
Before planting, make sure to read each plant’s tag carefully for space requirements and instructions for growing instructions. Strive for an ideal distance that allows the flower to reach maturity without crowding out nearby plants.
Make the most of your flower garden planting project by including an assortment of colors, heights and textures in its design. A mix of tall plants with low-growing flowers will add depth and visual interest, while repetition of key shapes or colors throughout will create visual continuity.
Add easy-to-grow shrubs to your flower garden for year-round color and structure, as well as foliage when flowers start wilting. Include shrubs that offer winter interest with colorful bark or twisty branches as well.
Preparing the Soil
Most flowers flourish best in soil that is rich, loamy and well drained. Prior to planting your garden site with flowers, add an all-purpose balanced fertilizer as well as organic matter such as compost, well-decomposed manure, leaf mold or bales of peat for optimal conditions.
Bring the compost to the surface 6-8 inches of soil where most flower roots develop, as that is where most flowers start their roots. Avoid working the soil when too wet as that causes compaction that reduces its ability to retain moisture and nutrients, hindering aeration and hindering its ability to hold moisture for better plant growth.
Draw a diagram of your planting area and decide where tall plants, such as lilies or daylilies, and shorter plants such as zinnias will go. Double-check plant labels to ensure height and spacing requirements match those for where you intend to place them; additionally if possible place tall plants toward the back while lower ones sit front; this gives more room to stroll through and appreciate your flower garden and appreciate its beauty.
Planting
Planning a garden that provides constant color requires choosing both annuals and perennials – those which bloom for shorter duration but typically return year after year – in equal measures. Doing this ensures constant color while also giving some blooms time off so they can come back later in the season.
Once you’ve selected your plants, become acquainted with your USDA growing zone to make sure the flowers will flourish in your location. Also keep track of when the last frost date occurs to make sure your flowers don’t get planted too early and die due to cold snaps.
Craft your flower garden using color, height and texture. Achie maximum impact by mixing heights and colors while strategically repeating shapes creates visual unity. Shrubs such as roses or easy-to-repeat shrubs add four-season interest; additionally, clipping off spent flower heads encourages plants to put more energy into foliage for winter survival.
Watering
Watering your garden regularly depends on its weather and season, but for best results try watering early morning or late in the evening when temperatures are cooler. Avoid doing it during midday when sunlight can quickly evaporate any moisture that falls onto it – instead choose early or late watering to avoid sun-induced moisture loss.
Water the soil when planting to help ensure proper placement and support root development. After this step is completed, mulch your flower bed in order to retain moisture levels in the soil and inhibit weed growth.
Planting a new flower garden is both satisfying and challenging; it requires planning and attention to details in order to achieve success. When reading plant tags or seed packets, be sure to verify their optimal growing conditions are compatible with where you want it planted – aim for full sun as much as possible and plant taller flowers nearer the back while shorter plants flank its edges for maximum effect. World-renowned garden designer Piet Oudolf recommends mixing shapes, colors, sizes of blooms to achieve an organic appearance.