Starting a flower garden from scratch can be an exciting adventure. First, assess how much sun exposure your location receives before selecting where you plan to plant your garden.
Be sure to consider your USDA growing zone and frost dates when selecting flowers, then get ready for planting! Once ready to get down to work!
Soil Preparation
Your flower garden’s success depends on both the type of soil and amount of sunlight it receives. Perennial flowers like geraniums and nasturtiums thrive best in full sun while annuals often require partial to moderate shade for optimal growth.
Before planting your seeds or bulbs, conducting a soil test can be invaluable. By getting to know what nutrients exist in the soil and which may need replenishing later on, as well as its pH level – which can prevent your plants from absorbing what they need!
Organic matter such as compost or shredded leaves is another great way to improve the quality of the soil in your flower beds, helping break up clay or sand soils and keeping them loose – helping your flowers remain healthy and beautiful! However, keep in mind that perennials tend to use up most of this organic material over time; be sure to add approximately one to three inches each year as perennial roots use up what organic material there was in their roots.
Planting
Launching your flowers off on the right track is the key to their success. A little effort early will pay dividends later with gorgeous, vibrant blooms that require less maintenance.
Prior to planting your new flower garden, first determine its purpose. Is this going to be used for bouquet cutting, or do you plan to grow plants that attract pollinators? Your chosen purpose will determine which flowers and plants to include in your new garden.
Before beginning planting, be familiar with your growing zone and frost dates. Selecting plants not suitable to your climate could result in death or no growth at all; to achieve optimal results and minimize weeds, Benzakein suggests starting seeds four to six weeks prior to the average last frost date for optimal results and avoidance of weeds.
As part of your flower bed design, look for opportunities to incorporate non-flower features like water features or sculptural pieces, creating visual interest while helping conceal items like electrical boxes or trash cans.
Maintenance
Flower gardens can be an enjoyable and rewarding way to add color and draw in pollinators insects. But before beginning digging, it is essential that the soil is ready – this process known as “making your bed” ensures optimal flower health and should never be skipped!
Before beginning, determine where on your landscape you wish to place the garden and how much light it will receive. Next, walk the area and remove grass or any weeds using a shovel or tiller, while leaving enough space for its development.
Next, determine what types of flowers you will plant. Perennials versus annuals will dictate their care in the future – for instance when pruned, watered and mulched should occur. It is also essential that their environmental needs are understood, such as how much sun or shade they require or if they prefer cold or warm conditions.
Design
Once you have decided on where your flowerbeds will go, create a garden design to accommodate that space. Consider whether to include features like walkways, sculptures or non-plant elements into the design as part of this.
If there are existing plants in the area, decide if they should remain or be moved elsewhere. Walk around your proposed bed from all directions to assess its appearance from all points. Pay particular attention to how much sunlight the area receives – many flowers require full sun but some varieties will tolerate partial shade.
Before planting, be sure the last frost date has passed and never work the soil when too wet; doing so damages the structure of the earth and makes it less suitable for plant roots to take hold. Also bear in mind that many flowers thrive best when placed among other similar varieties – drought-tolerant perennials tend to thrive alongside water-wise flowers while fragrant varieties thrive among aromatic blooms.