Starting any garden from seed, bulbs, or cuttings requires first assessing its area. You should take note of how much sun your area receives and any areas which might receive shade during certain parts of the day or afternoon only.
Select a combination of plants with differing bloom times and foliage colors to add seasonal appeal and consider their maintenance needs as well.
Plan
Before attempting to begin your flower garden, it’s essential that you map out its area. Doing this will allow you to organize your space efficiently while providing you with a visual of how the final result will look like. A garden design app or piece of graph paper and colored pencils is all it takes for this exercise; additionally, this allows you to determine whether full sun or partial shade exposure exists in your chosen spot; as this may determine what types of flowers and foliage can grow there.
Once you have selected a spot for your flower garden, it’s important to decide on what and how much to plant. Establish the type of garden you would like and decide between perennials and annuals as your favorites – both are equally viable options! When planting seasonal blooms such as annuals, be mindful of which season it’s planted as many need time to adapt before becoming successful plants in your yard. Additionally, know your USDA growing zone so that any flowers planted won’t go amiss!
After selecting the types of flowers you would like to plant, it is helpful to create a schedule which will indicate when and where each will be planted. For instance, when planting shrubs and perennials in your garden initially, plan to start with taller plants first before slowly moving through medium-sized ones to shorter ones until you reach the outside borders of the bed bed – this way they have plenty of room to grow without competing against one another for sunlight.
Attract continuous color by including flowers that bloom at various points throughout the season in your flower garden, adding evergreens and grasses for year-round interest and selecting mulch that helps keep soil healthy while also protecting it against weeds.
Dig
As your first step towards starting a flower garden, it’s essential that the soil be properly prepared. Though this might seem like an intimidating task, breaking it down into manageable steps should make this easy: loosen and remove weeds or rocks before adding compost or other organic matter such as manure into the mix so that your blooms grow taller and fuller over time.
Once your site has been selected, ensure it receives adequate sunlight. Most flowers require at least six hours of direct sun per day in order to thrive and prosper. Monitor this area over several days to assess how much sun it gets – if the sun moves throughout the day it could require you to find another location for your flower bed.
Once your plants have been selected, dig holes according to their recommended spacing; you’ll find this information on their plant tag or seed packet. This helps your flowers spread out naturally across more area while also helping prevent overcrowding and encourage healthy growth.
Once your plan is in place, it’s time to execute it. Drawing your landscape design can help give an accurate idea of how your flower garden will appear before beginning construction.
Keep pathways clear so you can move easily around your flower garden, so you won’t accidentally trample any delicate blooms while trimming, fertilizing and treating them. Paths also add interest to your yard while making reaching plants in the back corners easier – thus decreasing maintenance needs! Moreover, by creating walkways you’ll be able to admire flowers more closely; consider placing decorative stepping stones between flower beds for added visual appeal (available from local home improvement stores).