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gardening tips
from Spring Hill
Planning a Perennially Pleasing Flower Garden
With the right plants, a garden can be one of the most beautiful places on earth. On the other hand, the wrong combination of plants can be disastrous. If you’re not sure how to plan your garden, take heart. Creating a pleasing palette of plants is easier than you imagined.
Let’s take a closer look at three of the factors involved in planning a garden: bloom time, color and size. Once you understand how these elements work, you’ll be amazed how simple it is to plan the perfect garden.
Bloom Time
One of your first considerations when planning a garden should be bloom time. Think about what time of year you’d like to see the most flowers. Do you look forward to springtime blooms, autumn color, or an ongoing flower show? If you choose your plants carefully, you can have color in any season – even the midst of winter.
You’ll also want to consider when you spend the most time at home. For example, if you’re away all summer, it makes sense to choose a garden that blooms in spring or fall, when you’ll be able to enjoy the blooms.
You’ll also want to think about what your plants will look like after they bloom. Even if you’re only interested in spring blooming bulbs, you may want to plant some flowers and foliage to camouflage the bulbs after they’ve bloomed.
There are several ways to extend your garden’s bloom time. Look for flowers that bloom more than once per year, or choose different cultivars that bloom at different times during the year. Planting groups of plants at two-week intervals will also extend your bloom time.
Remember that there’s more to a garden than its flowers. You can keep your garden bright and cheerful all winter by choosing plants with showy fall foliage, evergreen leaves, berries or seed pods.
Color
Color is one of the most exciting aspects of any garden. Your garden may bloom in every color of the rainbow…or just one or two. But before you start mixing colors, let’s review the basics of color theory. Warm colors, such as the reds and yellows of tulips and narcissus, seem to “pop” toward the front of a landscape, while cool colors, like the hues of purple violets or blue iris, recede into the background. Neutral colors, such as grey and brown, go with everything and help to unify competing colors. In the garden green also works as a neutral color.
Mixing opposite colors, such as red and green or yellow and violet, makes each color stand out even more, while combining colors from the same “family,” such as blue and green or yellow and orange, makes a more harmonious color scheme.
Experiment with colors by cutting a few pictures out of garden catalogs and rearranging them. To help tie different sections together, repeat a few colors throughout the garden. Try cool colors with a few sparks of warm colors, or warm colors with a few cool colors. Multicolored flowers can also give you a few clues about mixing colors. After all, who knows better than Mother Nature?
Whatever color scheme you decide upon, it’s important to plant in masses of color. In other words, plant each flower in groups of at least three. Otherwise, the different colors may not have much impact.
Size
When choosing your plants, don’t forget to consider their size. Keep tall plants toward the back of borders, with shorter plants at the front. A tall, lacy plant can be treated as a short plant since you’ll be able to see other plants through its foliage.
Remember that a tall, bushy plant may look short and spindly for the first year or two. Try planting a group of young plants and thinning them out as they mature, or fill in the empty spaces with annuals. To keep the garden interesting, try to provide a variety of sizes all season long.
Bloom time, color and size are among the most common reasons for choosing plants, but they aren’t the only reasons. You may select a certain plant because of its fragrance, texture, culinary value or any number of other reasons.
With the right plants, a garden can be one of the most beautiful places on earth. On the other hand, the wrong combination of plants can be disastrous. If you’re not sure how to plan your garden, take heart. Creating a pleasing palette of plants is easier than you imagined.
Let’s take a closer look at three of the factors involved in planning a garden: bloom time, color and size. Once you understand how these elements work, you’ll be amazed how simple it is to plan the perfect garden.
Bloom Time
One of your first considerations when planning a garden should be bloom time. Think about what time of year you’d like to see the most flowers. Do you look forward to springtime blooms, autumn color, or an ongoing flower show? If you choose your plants carefully, you can have color in any season – even the midst of winter.
You’ll also want to consider when you spend the most time at home. For example, if you’re away all summer, it makes sense to choose a garden that blooms in spring or fall, when you’ll be able to enjoy the blooms.
You’ll also want to think about what your plants will look like after they bloom. Even if you’re only interested in spring blooming bulbs, you may want to plant some flowers and foliage to camouflage the bulbs after they’ve bloomed.
There are several ways to extend your garden’s bloom time. Look for flowers that bloom more than once per year, or choose different cultivars that bloom at different times during the year. Planting groups of plants at two-week intervals will also extend your bloom time.
Remember that there’s more to a garden than its flowers. You can keep your garden bright and cheerful all winter by choosing plants with showy fall foliage, evergreen leaves, berries or seed pods.
Color
Color is one of the most exciting aspects of any garden. Your garden may bloom in every color of the rainbow…or just one or two. But before you start mixing colors, let’s review the basics of color theory. Warm colors, such as the reds and yellows of tulips and narcissus, seem to “pop” toward the front of a landscape, while cool colors, like the hues of purple violets or blue iris, recede into the background. Neutral colors, such as grey and brown, go with everything and help to unify competing colors. In the garden green also works as a neutral color.
Mixing opposite colors, such as red and green or yellow and violet, makes each color stand out even more, while combining colors from the same “family,” such as blue and green or yellow and orange, makes a more harmonious color scheme.
Experiment with colors by cutting a few pictures out of garden catalogs and rearranging them. To help tie different sections together, repeat a few colors throughout the garden. Try cool colors with a few sparks of warm colors, or warm colors with a few cool colors. Multicolored flowers can also give you a few clues about mixing colors. After all, who knows better than Mother Nature?
Whatever color scheme you decide upon, it’s important to plant in masses of color. In other words, plant each flower in groups of at least three. Otherwise, the different colors may not have much impact.
Size
When choosing your plants, don’t forget to consider their size. Keep tall plants toward the back of borders, with shorter plants at the front. A tall, lacy plant can be treated as a short plant since you’ll be able to see other plants through its foliage.
Remember that a tall, bushy plant may look short and spindly for the first year or two. Try planting a group of young plants and thinning them out as they mature, or fill in the empty spaces with annuals. To keep the garden interesting, try to provide a variety of sizes all season long.
Bloom time, color and size are among the most common reasons for choosing plants, but they aren’t the only reasons. You may select a certain plant because of its fragrance, texture, culinary value or any number of other reasons.
Whatever your preferences, a little planning is all it takes to ensure a gorgeous garden.
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Select Partners: Shoebuy Shoes | Expedia | Hotels | Hotwire | Gifts.com