Flower gardens add color and beauty to the landscape while often increasing resale value of homes. Flower gardens require ongoing care and maintenance in order to thrive successfully.
Prepare your garden space by clearing away grass and weeds before adding compost to the soil. Group flowers according to their sun/water needs; perennials with staggered bloom times provide long-term interest.
Prepare Your Space
Floral gardens can add beauty and provide habitat for important pollinators like birds and butterflies, but before beginning it’s essential to prepare the space appropriately.
Make sure your new flower bed is situated far from power lines or gas lines and easily accessible via garden hose for watering purposes. Also be wary of digging up any buried utility lines as doing so could result in expensive and potentially hazardous damage.
Most flowers prefer loamy, well-draining soil for optimal performance. Before planting, improve it with organic matter and an all-purpose balanced fertilizer; avoid working the soil when too wet as this may damage its structure and reduce air circulation.
Select Your Plants
Before stepping foot in the dirt, it’s essential that you know exactly what type of plants you wish to cultivate. Do your research – browse flower seed packets or online plant lists until you find something inspiring or visit local garden centers so you can view actual blossoms for yourself!
Decide on an annuals or perennial flowers planting plan; annual bloomers require annual replanting while perennials can last years or decades with proper care and can sometimes bloom several times over. Most gardens feature both varieties.
Experts advise keeping your garden appealing throughout the year by adding plants with staggered bloom times and diverse textures, such as tall perennials with solid and variegated leaves or round and spear-shaped flowers, solid foliage and variegation, fragrance and movement – often overlooked but key elements for creating an enjoyable outdoor experience.
Plan Your Design
Flower gardens can add color and beauty to your landscape while drawing pollinators into your space, but for new gardeners they can seem daunting. Success of your flower garden depends heavily on its soil preparation, appropriate plant choices for its location, and design considerations.
Before planning plantings, decide if you want them formal or natural in style, as well as their size. Sketch your ideas either on paper or using a computer program; take note of each plant’s sun requirements (some flowers need full sun while others do well in partial shade); also note bloom time, color combinations and bonuses such as fragrance or whether or not a particular flower attracts butterflies or pollinators – once your vision is in place it’s time to put it into practice!
Plant Your Flowers
No matter if it’s your first garden or revamping an old one, getting everything underway correctly is paramount to its success. That means purchasing quality soil and finding an area suitable for growing the flowers you plan on cultivating.
Most flowering plants prefer loamy, well-draining soil with plenty of organic matter and drainage channels for water drainage. If your topsoil falls short in this regard, consider purchasing commercial garden topsoil to increase its nutrient levels and enhance flower production.
Knowing your hardiness zone and frost dates will enable you to select plants suitable for your yard. When making choices, choose native perennials over exotic varieties if your aim is to create a bee, butterfly and hummingbird friendly habitat in your flower garden. Furthermore, ensure your flower beds don’t interfere with other activities in the backyard (it would be sad indeed if their blooms got tromped by a mower!), and that access is granted for watering purposes via your garden hose.