Flower gardens add vibrancy and color to any landscape, be they small containers or larger raised garden beds.
Discover how to start a flower garden by selecting the appropriate location and prepping its soil. Also consider how you intend to utilize your garden and establish protections to safeguard it against unwelcome visitors or diseases.
Choose a Location
No matter the size of flower garden you are designing, the first step of successful design should always include selecting an area for its placement. This decision will depend on factors like sunlight and drainage issues in that location.
Sunshine levels in an area are vitally important, as many flowers thrive best under full sun. Others do well in partial or even shade conditions; check your flower planting guide for more information on sunlight requirements as well as when first and last frost dates will occur in your region.
Before designing your garden, it is wise to walk through it and examine its design from all possible angles in order to see how well it flows with your overall landscaping plan and will be perceived by visitors to your home. Perhaps a formal look with straight edges would suit better for you or perhaps something wilder with irregular clumps of blooming flowers?
Prepare the Soil
Before beginning to dig in your home garden or replace perennials that have passed on, there are some key considerations you must be aware of before digging begins. First, determine where you want the bed located – take note of how much sunlight comes through during the day as full-sun flowers will wither under shaded conditions while shade-loving varieties could perish under too much direct light.
Remember the types of plants you will add to the bed: shrubs such as hydrangeas or dogwoods, groundcovers such as sedum, lilyturf or heuchera can help prevent erosion while adding texture and color to your flower garden. Also keep foliage in mind; gladioli or Iris Pallida Variegata foliage add an exciting contrast against any color palette.
Before digging your new bed, have your soil tested to assess what nutrients it contains as well as whether or not it falls between acidic (6.5 to 7.5), neutral, or alkaline zones. Most flowers prefer neutral zones but for optimal performance some, such as Rhododendron require acidic conditions.
Plant the Flowers
Flowers add beauty and fragrance to any landscape, yet require regular care and maintenance. Watering regularly, clearing away weeds and deadheading spent blooms are essential steps for maintaining an attractive garden. For low-maintenance perennial blooms that thrive in your region, consider wildflower mixes as they offer lower maintenance needs than individual perennial flowers.
Before planting a flower garden, survey the area where you intend to create one to evaluate how much sunlight it receives throughout the day. Different flowers have differing light needs; plants that thrive under direct sunlight will rapidly wither and die when grown in areas with limited sun.
Experienced flower garden designers employ repetition of shape and color to craft a balanced and harmonious garden design. Select flowers with staggered bloom times so that your garden remains colorful throughout its season – for instance planting peonies and mums late spring, then adding summer and fall annuals such as impatiens and zinnias later.
Water the Flowers
Though it may be obvious, watering your flower garden properly or too frequently is essential to its survival and flourishing. Experts generally suggest watering only as needed; overwatering leads to root and stem rot as well as encouraging diseases like powdery mildew.
Watering early morning allows plants and soil to absorb the necessary moisture before the sun rises and heats the environment. Evening watering should also be done after sundown to reduce evaporation while also protecting plants from becoming wet at night, which could potentially lead to disease outbreak.
One inch of water every seven to ten days from either rainfall or supplemental irrigation should be enough for most flowers, with rain being sufficient in hot, dry environments. If more frequent irrigation is necessary due to hotter and dryer conditions, then more regular saturating of soil at its base should promote deep root development while preventing wet foliage which could potentially attract fungi.