Building a flower garden from scratch requires patience and planning, but will yield beautiful backyard paradise. The first step should be determining where and how large to place the garden.
Once the soil has been properly prepared, start by clearing away grass and tilling its surface before adding topsoil for optimal flower production.
Location
Flower gardens can bring beauty, fragrance and pollinators-attracting bees into any landscape. But creating the ideal garden requires planning and hard work. Finding an appropriate location and selecting flowers that thrive in both climate and soil type are key considerations in creating an exquisite garden space.
First steps in getting your garden prepared are clearing out and preparing the soil. As this can often be the most labor-intensive part of the job, starting small and expanding flower beds over time may be best. When outlining boundaries for flower beds with garden hose, walk around from different angles to assess whether they look aesthetically pleasing before digging.
Experienced flower garden designers make sure that their gardens contain plants with year-round appeal, such as shrubs for winter structure, perennials that bloom throughout summer, and flowering annuals in fall – this ensures your garden always looks its best.
Soil
Flowers thrive best in loose, well-drained soil with plenty of organic matter. An effective way to amend this soil is through adding compost, manure or any other organic matter such as mulch; this will strengthen its structure while increasing nutrients within it.
As part of your selection process, it is also crucial to take note of your USDA growing zone when choosing flowers. Plants outside your zone may not survive frost or heat conditions in your region. When purchasing perennials, be sure to research flowering times so they bloom throughout the season and add variety by mixing heights, sizes and colors into your garden design.
Once your soil has been prepared, it is time to start planting! Begin by clearing away any grass in the planting area and tilling up any dirt deposits; using tools like shovels and gardening rakes are invaluable tools in this endeavor. When planting your seedlings, ensure each one has ample room to flourish before thoroughly watering your garden when finished.
Sunlight
Many annual and perennial flowers thrive best when exposed to full sun, so choosing a sunny location for your flower garden is crucial. Perennials that prefer part sun will generally flourish there too, while those requiring full shade may struggle.
Before digging holes, removing sod or spreading compost, take into account your plants’ light requirements and do not disturb wet soil; doing so harms its structure and makes it less conducive for plant roots.
Designing a new flower garden is both enjoyable and satisfying, but it’s essential that you understand its conditions. If your chosen plants can’t adapt to the soil, wind or shade available to them, they won’t thrive. Choose low-growing annuals like sweet alyssum and lobelia for front-of-the-border blooms, adding taller sunflowers, hollyhocks, cosmos or sunflowers along fences or back borders of garden to provide color all season long while stagger blooming times so color remains throughout its duration – and add fragrant or drought tolerant varieties for year-round interest!
Water
Most flower varieties thrive in rich, well-draining soil. Sandy loam, an even blend of sand, clay and silt that’s available at most hardware and garden centers is often the optimal solution.
Dependent upon the types of flowers you select, you may require amending your soil to improve its nutrient content and pH balance. By adding organic materials like compost, peat moss or bark mulch you can improve drainage, aeration and ultimately prevent weeds and insects.
Watering a flower garden should be done early morning so the foliage has time to dry before evening to help prevent fungal diseases and prevent overhead sprinkling which loses up to half its water to evaporation, or more efficient methods like drip irrigation with timers, soaker hoses or soaker irrigation can prevent overwatering.