How to Design a Flower Bed

Simple flower beds can be stunning with color choices.

When you are ready to add color and beauty to the landscape of your home, plant a flower bed. Flower beds enhance the look of a house, fence, vegetable garden or outbuilding. A fence, shrubbery or building provides a background which highlights the colorful flower garden. Tall or mass flowers also are used as a background for the remaining flowers in the bed. A planned design will be an aid for a successful flower bed project.

Things You'll Need

• Seed and plant catalog
• Tape measure

Instructions

1. Choose a style that reflects the look you want for the flower bed. The style of the bed should blend with the lay of the property, buildings and your personal preference. Choose the main look from a formal, straight-line composition or a profusely flowering cottage garden bed.

2. Draw up a simple to detailed sketch of the shape of the garden bed. Measure the area with a tape measure in the space where the bed is to be on the property. The measurement and the specifications of plant growth measurements will help in the decision-making process when selecting plants.

3. Write a list of plants that you would like to have in the flower bed. An ideal flower bed will have blossoming flowers or attractive greenery from spring to fall. Use seed and plant catalogs and gardening books to get measurements of the size a mature plant will attain after it has been planted in the garden.

4. Sketch out a plant type, height and color pattern for the flower bed on paper. Make several sketches before the final decisions are made.

5. Consider a mixture of annuals and perennials to fill in the garden if the budget is restricted for the first year of design and planting. Annuals are an asset as you build the garden and experiment with color and flower types. Pay attention to the requirements that the plants have, including shade, partial shade and full sun in the planting location.

Tips & Warnings

• Use colored pencils to make a color sketch of the flower bed.

• Pay attention to underground electrical, water and cable lines along with existing tree root systems when designing a flower bed.

References

• Flower Gardening Made Easy: Planning Your Garden Design
• University of Arizona Cooperative Extension: Planning the Flower Border
• Backyard Landscape Ideas: Flower Bed Landscaping
• Martha's Bloomers: Planning and Planting Flower Beds

Resources

• My Gardening and Landscaping Makeover: Flowerbed Design