Nothing beats the thrill of planting your own flower garden from scratch, but before starting construction it’s essential to perform some preliminary tasks.
Plant only once the threat of frost has passed and always refer to your specific flower’s instructions for best results. Garden designer Piet Oudolf recommends layering your flowers by mixing height, colors and textures – this approach provides maximum bloom impact!
Location
Location for a flower garden depends on what kind of blooms you plan to grow and their specific requirements. Most blooms need full sun exposure; therefore, the ideal area should receive six or more hours of direct sunlight each day without any shade from trees or fences.
Consider the maintenance requirements of the flowers you will plant as you plan your garden, such as drought-tolerant and water-wise plants. Also ensure the sunny location can accommodate a drip irrigation system or soaker hose for effortless watering that reduces weed growth.
Think carefully about the color of your flowers when planning their garden designs. Bright hues like roses and snapdragons tend to stand out against their surroundings; to help these bright blooms blend into the landscape more naturally, try pairing them with subdued hues like blue, lavender and subdued pink (subtle pinks can help), or airy yellow hues (such as feverfew).
Soil
Once you have chosen a site for your flower garden, the next step should be preparing the soil. While most people understand this phrase to mean to remove weeds or till up the earth – for a gardener it means more.
The ideal soil for your flower garden will depend on its environment, such as how much sun the location receives on a typical day. Most flowers prefer plenty of light but there may be exceptions that prefer full shade.
If your soil is lacking fertility or nutrients, consider adding organic material such as manure or compost to improve it. However, peat comes from delicate bogs which could pose environmental harm; instead opt for screened soil that has been passed through a sieve so as to remove large rocks and debris and provide your flowers with the ideal mix of nutrients – typically sandy loam mix is best suited.
Planting
Flower gardens can add vibrant splashes of color to any landscape, but its design should be planned carefully for best results. Start by picking an object like a tree or window as your focal point before designing all of the beds around it.
Flowers that thrive in your soil and climate should be planted, such as low-maintenance perennial flowers that will add season-long color, filling in gaps left by annuals that faded prematurely. Also consider adding four-season shrubs like easy-to-repeat roses or hardy heuchera for four-season interest and structure in your flower garden.
Before planting flowers in your new bed, take time to assess how much sun your new space receives. On a typical day, mark off areas on a map that receive full sun (six hours or more), partial sun (three to six hours), or shade (less than three hours). These will be ideal locations to situate them.
Maintenance
Maintaining the health of a flower garden is the cornerstone of success. Begin by fertilizing regularly for stronger and bloomier plants that produce prolific blossoms. Be wary of over-fertilization; using a slow release formula may result in unsightly brown spots and reduced growth.
Watering is equally essential, particularly during the hotter summer months when temperatures peak. Avoid hard spray irrigation as this may disturb delicate new growth and cause leaves or buds to be damaged by this harsh approach; choose a nozzle attachment with a fine spray pattern instead.
Perennial flowers form the core of an easy care flower garden, returning each year. Add easy care annuals for an added splash of color. Trim faded blooms regularly to encourage new growth and maintain your garden at its best!
Combining different heights, colors and textures creates a more visually striking landscape than rows of flowers in uniform rows. Repetition of shapes and colors throughout the garden brings continuity and creates a sense of calm; adding shrubs for four-season interest also serves to provide structure to a flower garden.