How to Plant a Flower Garden

Are you daunted by the task of landscaping a large area? I moved into a house with a backyard full of grass. Not very exciting but figuring out what to do with an entire yard was overwhelming until I decided to divide my yard using bark and stone paths. That created individual flower beds and garden areas that are much more fun and manageable.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Bark
• Some large rocks
• Flat stones (I used broken cement)
• Perennial flowers
• Annual flowers

1. 
    

   On a piece of paper, sketch the dimensions of your backyard. Draw pathways connecting the main traffic areas. Let your paths curve. This creates a sense of depth and adds a bit of mystery, drawing visitors to walk around the curve to see what's ahead. One of my "paths" is a dry creekbed, created with boulders and river rock.

2. 
    

   Amend the soil in each bedding area created by the paths. The deeper you amend the soil, the better. Place an anchor object in each bedding area. This can be a tree, a fountain, a whimsical statue or a grouping of boulders. Surround the anchor object with the tallest plants near the anchor and the shortest plants at the edge of the bedding area.

3. 
    

   Don't be swayed by all the beautiful flowers at the nursery. Remember that once the blooming season for each plant is over, you will be relying on the plant's foliage to keep your garden beautiful. Also, remember that each bedding area will likely have a slightly different "climate" so you will need to consider the plants' sunlight and water requirements. For example, bedding areas with an anchor tree will likely be shaded much of the day.

4. 
    

   If you limit the number of different plants and repeat those plants across your yard, you will have a more peaceful, relaxing garden. Also, I can't tell you why but if you plant flowers in odd-numbered groupings, like 3 or 5 of the same plant, your garden will look more natural than if you plant in even-numbered groupings.

5. As far as color combinations go, purple and yellow pair well, as do pink and purple, or pink and blue, so long as the tone of those colors is similar. For example, pink and purple generally match, but electric pink and pale purple may not look as good.

6. 
    

   Finally, if you have children, incorporate their playthings into the garden. Our kids planted a miniature flower garden in front of their playhouse and we designed a generous grassy area (which has curved edges, not a rectangular patch of grass) for their swingset, and a "digging area" surrounded with logs.

Tips & Warnings

• Remember to plan your watering system to match the type of flowers and plants in each bedding area. For some of my beds, I have a drip irrigation system, but for other areas, my husband created a system where I can unscrew the sprinker head and install varying lengths of pipes so that as my plants grow, I can raise the height of the sprinkler heads.
• If you're interested in attracting butterflies, take a look at my eHow article on caring for monarch butterflies. The link is in the left-hand margin of this page under the heading "More By this Author".
• If you have kids or pets, you'll want to be sure that whatever you grow isn't poisonous. Just because it's available at the local nursery doesn't mean it's safe for kids or pets. Check out books from the library or check on the internet. The Dave's Garden website, for example, provides detailed information on plants in an easy to read format.

Resources

• Dave's Garden
• Annie's Annuals
• Armstrong Gardens
• Swallowtail Seeds
• How to Plant Flowers

[Gottaloveit]

on 4/19/2009 Wow! This is EXACTLY what I needed to read today as I'm daunted by a large, blank area in front of my house that needs some gardening. Thanks for the idea to cut it into separate areas.

[dtwelloh]

on 3/4/2009 Excellent advice on starting a flower garden. Well written and easy to understand. Give it 5 stars and a recommendation.

[camellia]

on 3/3/2009 Thanks -- Hope the gardening goes well this year!

[soanyway]

on 3/1/2009 Great article and pictures! Thank you, I.... for the first time last year planted a garden of flowers. I learned not to put them in a row of 1!!! This year I will clump more of the same together.LOL I have recomn'd you