You will be happiest with a garden that is designed well for maximum impact. The flowers will be better placed, chosen and planted. Learn how to design a flower garden that you can enjoy in your own backyard. Bring in the butterflies and birds, take cut flowers inside and have three season interest with a well thought out and planned garden.

Start with the zone you live in and the light conditions of your yard. You can plant perennials that are not hardy to your zone, but you will need to treat them as annuals as they likely won’t survive the harsh season. Note where the full sun, partly sunny and shady areas are. If you already have a garden dug, make note of the light conditions in that specific area as well as other spots that might become extensions.

Now is the time to decide what you want from your garden. Are you looking for a cozy, cheerful cottage garden or a balanced, peaceful Japanese garden? Do you want plenty of space between your flowers or will a crowded look be what you need? Is there a specific purpose to your flower bed, such as an herb garden for the kitchen or a way to attract birds and wildlife to your yard? Putting the goal of your garden at the forefront of your thoughts will allow you to make better choices and have a more satisfactory design.

Design a flower garden with the plant growth habit and mature size in mind. Often gardeners will dig out a new bed and be tempted to stuff the entire space with perennials, just to get that full look right away. They will regret that next season though, when the flowers have no space to grow and choke each other out. Instead, plant the perennials with their required spacing and tuck annuals into any blank spots for immediate color. You’ll have a good show and the perennials will have plenty of room to grow into their own next season.

A general rule is to plant the tall flowers at the back of borders or the middle of island beds. Then move down from that point to the shortest flowers at the front. This is not a hard and fast rule though. Planting short, early bloomers near the back will allow the tall, later bloomers to cover the finished flower and still give you plenty to admire for the season.

Most gardeners aim for a three season show, with something blooming from April to October and even into November if possible. Choose your plantings with bloom time in mind and group flowers that will follow each other together. Spring bulbs like tulips and daffodils are covered well by daisies, perennial geraniums and other summer bloomers. Then aim for those late fall bulbs or colder weather bloomers, such as the obedient plant or English asters.

Butterflies are attracted to bright, open face blooms like daisies and Echinacea. Hummingbirds go for the elongated, trumpet-shaped blossoms, especially in bright red colors. Scatter these flowers throughout your garden in the proper spots to bring these fanciful visitors to your home.

Incredible beauty and a peaceful setting will surround you with a well thought out flower bed. Design a flower garden that is perfect for you and your yard will truly become an oasis.

Before starting your landscape building you may want to check out the landscaping tips at Here you will find help on plants to use and how to on landscaping.

Tags: Choosing Flowers for the Garden, Flower Design, flower garden, Flower Garden Design, Flowers for a Shade Garden, gardening, How to Start a Flower Garden, Landscaping, Planning a Garden design

Print This Post

Rate this post:

Related Posts:

• No related posts

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 4th, 2010 at 4:11 pm and is filed under bulbs, flower gardening, garden design, gardening. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.