An impressive flower garden begins with healthy soil. You should first prepare your garden soil before beginning any gardening endeavor – be it planting cuttings, seeds or perennial plants into an existing bed.
Begin by determining your USDA growing zone and learning about how much sunlight your area receives each day. Read through plant tags and instructions carefully for seed packets to understand care requirements of each variety of plant.
Location
As part of beginning your flower garden, the key step in selecting an ideal location is selecting an area free from grass, weeds and unwanted plants – one with ample sunlight and drainage systems in place.
Before planting your flowers, the soil must first be prepared by adding 2-4 inches of organic matter or compost to improve drainage and nourishment content – something which will enable their maximum success.
Once your site is prepared for planting, decide whether you want to use perennials or annuals as the focal point. Perennials bloom for longer – like peonies, daylilies, chrysanthemums – while annuals (like marigolds, zinnias, petunias and impatiens) provide vibrant color from summer through fall. Be sure to have enough flowers of each variety so as to achieve your desired look; additionally make sure a water source such as hose or rain barrel so as to water your plants between rainfall events.
Soil
Flower gardens require ample sunshine, adequate irrigation and good soil in order to flourish. When selecting plants for your garden beds, be mindful of your USDA hardiness zone when making selections – this allows you to select perennials and annual flowers best suited to local climate conditions that will thrive more readily than their counterparts in existing garden beds.
Prior to planting flowers in your garden area, it’s wise to conduct soil tests. Understanding what type of soil exists as well as its pH level will enable you to select an appropriate fertilizer type.
After selecting an ideal location for your flower garden, remove all weeds and sod from it before adding organic matter such as compost or manure to improve nutrients and drainage in the soil. Doing this helps prevent new weeds from sprouting after you have planted blooms – as well as lessening spraying and weeding your bed regularly!
Planting
Planting a flower garden is an enjoyable endeavor for any experienced or novice gardener alike, and proper preparation is the key to its success. This includes adding organic matter to the soil beforehand and leveling and raking to ensure water absorbs rather than running off.
After prepping the soil, dig holes large enough for the plants you wish to plant. For seedlings, hardening off requires placing them in a sheltered environment for several hours at a time over several days until you’re ready to plant them.
Consider including perennial flowers with staggered bloom times throughout the season, along with annuals to provide all-season color. Don’t forget shrubs such as evergreens, heucherellas and deciduous hollyhocks which provide winter interest or structure (junipers or yews) so your flower garden will offer four seasons of beauty!
Care
Flower gardens can add beauty and joy to any home, but maintaining one requires hard work if it’s going to stay beautiful through summertime. This can be particularly difficult for newcomers or those with busy lives – gardening requires dedication and a bit of elbow grease!
First step to successful flower gardening is preparing the soil. This step is particularly crucial if your soil contains clay or sandy particles; most flowers prefer loamy soil that drains well and loosening helps reduce compaction for greater nutrient absorption and better absorption.
Before planting flowers outdoors, make sure they have been watered to get used to outdoor weather conditions and to acclimate properly before following their label instructions for height and spacing requirements.
As part of a proper flower planting strategy, it’s crucial that flowers are situated in an area with ample drainage. This will enable them to flourish properly and produce long-lasting blooms. When digging holes for each individual flower, make them as deep as their container but slightly wider for maximum efficiency.