Flower gardening is simple, inexpensive, and loads of fun. Before you start a garden determine how much time you’re willing to spend working in the garden. Annuals, those flowers which live for one season, require more upkeep than perennials. Since they only live for one season, they need be replanted each year. They also need to be tended to more often during the growing season. Perennials, on the other hand, survive the winter and reemerge each spring. When buying and planting, pay attention to what kind of flowers thrive in your climate as well as their sun requirements. In order for a perennial garden to bloom consistently throughout the season, there needs to be a variety of flowers. Perennials bloom either early in the spring, during the middle of summer or late in the summer and into fall. Annuals bloom continuously from spring right through the fall; until the first frost.
When flower gardening, decide what type of look you want before planting. For instance, mixing different heights, colors, and varieties of flowers together in a cottage garden style will give your garden a rustic look. If short flowers are planted in the front of your garden and work up to the tallest flowers in the back you will create a layered effect. If you want a more formal garden consider a rectangular or circular shape garden and a symmetrical layout.
Most people will go to the nursery and buy actual flowers and then transplant them. After you have prepared your garden area and bought flowers, it is a good idea to lay the flowers out in the bed, according to a design planned out in advance, to make sure you like the arrangement and that they will be spaced properly.
Planting Your Flowers
Planting your flowers is simple. Generally, annuals are either planted while they are still small in the spring or by seed. Perennials, on the other hand are almost always bought in pots. Simply dig a hole about the size of the potted root system, pull the container off, and set the flower in the hole. Cover it with the loose soil, press down firmly and water. Be sure to plant your perennials and annuals at the level of the existing grade of your garden. Planting too deep or too high can create problems for the flowers.
Caring for Your Flowers
Maintaining a flower garden is even easier than planting one. Although they’re generally self-sustaining, perennials can benefit from an early spring feeding. Apply a slow release fertilizer for best results. Adding a layer of compost or light mulch, such as buckwheat hulls, to a flower garden each season also helps keep the plants healthy. Mulch adds to a garden as it breaks down over time, keeping the soil nutrient rich and helps the soil retain moisture.
Certain flowers such as phlox, snap dragons, cosmos and daisies require staking as they grow taller. They become top heavy and begin to fall over, particularly after rain showers.
Pinch back any blooms after they start to fade and keep them good and watered. To save yourself work during the next season of flower gardening, rid your garden of all debris and spread out organic nutrients like peat moss or compost. Don’t forget to turn over the soil to properly mix in the fertilizer and rake smooth when finished. If you have perennials planted be careful not to disturb their roots in this process.
Flower gardening is as easy. Simply decide what flowers you like, plant them and be sure they receive the proper care. Flower gardening gives people excellent reason to spend some outdoors and test out their green thumb.