Flower Garden
It is a good flower garden design to have perennials as your anchor plants. Annuals can be used as fillers to either complement or contrast with the perennials.
Some flowers are selected for a specific characteristic such as color, fragrance and nectar to attract butterflies and hummingbirds. A flower’s growth habit is another thing to consider. You will need to place the taller flowers toward the north so that the medium and low growing flowers are not shaded.
It is a bit easier to plan the location of a flower garden because of the huge varieties of flowering and foliage plants. Your flower garden may have a mix of annuals and perennials as well as some flowering shrubs such as andromeda, azalea, forsythia, hydrangea, lilac and rhododendron. Flowers always look good whether they are in the front yard or the back yard.
You do need to select the proper flower variety for the location you want to plant it. Some flowers require full sun, while others do well in part sun and some prefer a shady area.
Some of the decisions may be the flower blooming time, such as early spring, mid-season or late summer to early fall.
Selecting plants that have overlapping blooming periods will also insure that the butterflies, hummingbirds and pollinators have something to feed on all season long.
Flower gardens stand out in a border or an island placed around a tree, mail box or a flag pole. The flowers can be left outside to admire or cut to bring inside to brighten your home.
If you want some foundation plants in front of your home and the area gets very little sun you will need to plant the ones that will grow there. Take a photo of the area and go to your full service independent garden center and get their recommendations for what to plant in that location in your area.
Many flower gardens are designed with a small sacred or meditation area. This area may only have a bench to sit on and others will also have an altar or a raised area to place a meaningful statue.
Choosing the right plants ensures success.
Growing Habit
The flower’s growth habit is another factor in selection. You might want a small compact flower such as a series of Primrose to place alongside a walkway. Butterfly Weed would be a good mid-height selection and Canna, Coneflower, Foxglove, or Rudbeckia/Black-eyed Susan would be a good selection for a taller flower toward the rear of your flower garden. You always need to be aware of the direction of the sun so that the taller plants do not shade the smaller plants.
As a general guide, low growing flowers will reach a height up to 12-inches, medium will reach a height from 12 to 24-inches and tall from 24-inches and higher. Properly labeled flower plant tags will have the average height and spread listed.
If you really want a particular species of flower, but it is too tall or tends to fall over from the wind, look for a shorter dwarf or compact variety. Always check the label for the height and spread of the flower you are selecting for location you will plant it in, as well as the flower’s sun requirement.
Annuals
There are so many kinds of annual flowers that the list is almost endless. Annual flowers go through their entire life cycle in one growing season. They need to get their root system established and then grow quickly enough to produce flowers and seeds for the next year.
Annuals are a good choice and will usually produce a lot of flowers all season long. In general annuals have shallow roots that require more care and needing more water and fertilizer than perennials.
Popular annuals for sunny locations are: Alyssum, Angelonia, Caladium, Calibrachoa, Coleus, Cosmos, Dianthus, Dahlia, Dusty Miller, Fuchsia, Geranium, Impatiens, Ipomoea, Marigold, Morning Glory, Nicotiana, Petunias, Pentas, Portulaca, Vinca, Snapdragon, Sunflower, Sweet Peas and Zinnias.
Popular annuals for part sunny locations are: Begonia, Caladium, Calla Lily, Coleus, Fuchsia, Gerbera, Impatiens, Lobelia and Torenia.
Perennials
A perennial is a type of plant that will live for many years. Trees, shrubs, bulbs and many flowers are perennials.
For the gardener there are two broad classes of perennials. First there are the shrubs that have a root system and a woody branch system that lives through the winter. The second class are called herbaceous perennials. These have a root system that lives through the winter, but the leaves and stems die back in the fall. In the spring new growth appears from the surviving root system.
One of the main benefits of perennials in your flower garden is that perennials come back every year. Some of the tender tropical perennials will need to be lifted out of the ground after the first frost and stored over winter and replanted in the spring after the last frost. They will cost less and are usually considered to be the focal point of your flower garden.
Popular perennials for sunny locations are: Agastache, Bee Balm, Butterfly Weed, Canna, Chrysanthemums, Coneflower, Daisy, Dianthus, Foxglove, Lavender, Pansy/Viola, Phlox, Rudbeckia/Black-eyed Susan, Sage and Yarrow.
Popular perennials for shady locations: Astilbe, Bleeding Heart, Coral Bells, Ferns, Hosta and Primrose.
Early Spring Flowers
Plant in fall for spring blooms. These are typically plants that put out flowers before the last expected frost date in your area. Many of the early spring flowers are from bulbs that were planted in the fall such as Allium, Anemone, Chiondoxa/Snow Glory, Crocus, Daffodil, Fritillaria, Hyacinth, Iris, Muscari, Scilla, Snow Drops, and Tulip.
Other popular choices for spring flowers are Andromeda, Azalea, Forsythia, Heath, Lilac, Pansy, Primrose and Creeping Phlox.
Summer Flowers
Plant in spring for summer flowers. In the early spring the garden centers will have displays containing bulbs and rhizomes that usually are planted just after the last frost in your area. The most common flower and foliage plants you may find are: Arum, Astilbe, Caladium, Calla Lily, Canna, Dahlia, Elephant Ear, Gladiolus, Iris, Lily, Peony, Tricyrtis.
Then we have the ones that flower in the late spring through the summer. Some good choices would be Bee Balm. Begonia,
Rudbeckia/Black-eyed Susan, Bleeding Heart, Coneflower, Cypress Vine, Daisy, Daylily, Hibiscus, Hosta, Hydrangea, Impatiens, Marigolds, Petunia, Roses, Sunflower, Sweet William, Tickseed/Coreopsis and Zinnias.
Fall Flowers
After the summer flowers begin to fade, we do not have as many choices in the late summer to fall category, but Asters, Pansy/Viola, Mums and Sedum are sure to bring some color to your fall flower garden. While they are not flowers Ornamental Cabbage and Ornamental Kale are widely used to keep some color in the flower garden.
Flower Garden Care
After the flower has faded it is important to remove it, which is called deadheading. Deadheading will encourage the plant to produce more new flowers. If you leave the spent flowers on, the plant’s energy will go into making seeds for next year.
If you plan to save some seeds it is alright to leave some flowers on and let the flower head make some seeds for you to save. Leave the seed head on to give it time for the seeds to fully form and dry out.
At the very end of the season when frost kills the flowers you can leave the flower head on for the winter birds to feed on.
Growing Flowers from Seed
In the spring when you visit a garden center, grocery store or even a hardware store you will be greeted by large seed displays. There will be rows and rows of seed packets of flowers and vegetables.
Some of the easiest flowers to grow from seed are: Bachelor Buttons, Calendula, Cleome, Cosmos, Four O’clock, Marigold, Morning Glory, Nasturtium, Sunflower and Zinnia.
For more detailed information visit the seed starting page.
Sources: Burpee, Eden Brothers, Park Seed.
Gardening thought:
“Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine to the soul.” – Luther Burbank (1849-1926, American horticulturist)
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