How To Choose Plants To Grow In A Flower Garden

When choosing plants for the flower garden, the gardener must take things other than just aesthetics into consideration. Realistically, one needs to think about climate, soil type, watering needs, and light requirements before adopting that gorgeous thing from a local nursery or Internet seller.

A tropical plant will probably not thrive even as an annual during an arctic summer. Determine what planting zone you live in and compare that with the zones recommended for the plant. Buying plants from a local nursery is a good idea because they will usually only sell varieties more likely to succeed in their area. 

Trust the experts to avoid gardening mistakes. Take water needs under consideration. A flowering cactus is not suited to an area prone to flooding. Likewise, a water-loving plant is unlikely to succeed in desert like conditions. To some extent, the gardener can make up for this by providing good drainage for the dry lovers and lots of extra watering for the soakers. 

However, this will make extra work and probably be a gamble. Fighting nature tends to be a losing battle. Putting a shade loving plant like hosta in an area of intense sunshine may be disastrous. Likewise, sunflowers will not do well in the shade. Fortunately, a wide range of flowers tolerate anything from partial sun to partial shade.

Find out what kind of soil you have. Is it clay or loamy, acidic or alkaline? Hard packed soil is probably clay and hard to dig. Unless you have a raised bed, consider plants with shallow root systems or be prepared for back breaking digging. Some plants will tolerate or even require clay soil, while others hate it. To make soil more acidic, add pine needles. Aged manure is good for most soils, and compost is always a good idea. For best results, dig well to provide good aeration.

A mix of perennials and annuals provides a nice combination of predictable old faithful comers (perennials) and bright, adventurous visitors (annuals) com to grace the garden for one season. Planting a variety of bulbs, ornamental grasses, herbs such as golden oregano, ornamental grasses and flowering bushes compliments these. 

A spectrum of different green and white colors and a number of different textures is restful but interesting to the eye. Against this background, plant eye-popping reds, pinks, yellows, and blues. White and pale flowers are especially graceful in shaded areas, where they will shine in the comparative darkness. Orange, red, and yellow go well together, especially when complimented by a splash of bright blue.

Planning the garden so that everything does not bloom at once is a good way to sustain interest throughout the growing season. For example, the spring might open with some tiny crocus, followed by daffodils and then tulips. Meanwhile, you have mayflowers and primrose blooming. 

Then in early summer you have some soft blue calendula starting to bloom, punctuated by huge pink and orange lilies mid summer, some cosmos, blanket flower, and daisy mums starting in late summer going till frost, with some long awaited brown-eyed susans and sunflowers closing the show. Some yellow evening primrose punctuate each side with a punch of reliable, long lasting color.

Take plant height into consideration in planning the garden. This is important for two reasons- one the taller ones will shade out the shorter plants, and two the viewer will not be able to enjoy the short plants if they are placed behind the tall ones. To avoid crowding this season or next, read the labels and plan for future growth.