How to Design a Flower Garden

In a large or small garden, flowers can brighten your life. A flower garden can be as small as three geraniums planted in pots by your front door or as large as a sprawling estate garden that covers 20 acres. Wherever you live, whoever you are, you can design a flower garden to suit your lifestyle. Does this Spark an idea?

Instructions

1

Do your homework. Look at gardens in your neighborhood and in magazines. Find flowers you like and learn their names, sizes and whether they like sun or shade.

2

Start with paper. Draw your design ideas on paper. This allows you to change your mind with a minimum of digging.

3

Begin at the back. Use taller plants (shrubs and small trees if you have a large garden) to support your design. Flowering trees will bloom early in the spring, bringing their vivid colors and scents to your garden.

4

Invest in perennials. Although they are more expensive than annuals, perennials are worth the money. The come back year after year, bigger and better. Choose carefully to get flowers that bloom during the entire growing season.

5

Plant bulbs. Bulbs, like perennials, will come back every year. Very early bloomers like crocuses may bloom when there is still snow on the ground.

6

Add color with annuals. These short-lived beauties will add sparkle to your garden design. Fill in empty spaces with annuals and you will have nearly continuous bloom.

7

Use containers. Plant some bright annuals in flower pots that can be moved. This guarantees there will be no empty spots in your garden. It also lets you enjoy your flower garden's beauty and fragrance inside.