Buying and planting flowers for landscaping can be a very fun and rewarding adventure. If done correctly, it can also add value to your property. Here's some tips to help you when buying flowers for your landscape.
Instructions
First, understand that flowers and plants fall into two major categories - annuals and perennials. Annuals must be replanted every year and perennials grow by themselves each year.
Annuals are traditionally used as foreground plants and have the advantage of bringing a lot of color to your flower beds. Examples include Begonias, Impatiens, Periwinkle, Petunias, and many more.
Perennials can be used as either foreground or background plants. They bring color, texture, size, and other variety to your planting bed. Examples of perennials include Asters, Day Lilies, Hostas, many ornamental grasses, and much more.
Before you begin to purchase flowers for your landscape, you will need to have a basic understanding of that area in which you will be planting. Different types of plants and flowers do well in different environments, so pay attention to how much sun each each of your planting areas receives. It may be helpful to draw out a map of your flower beds and then mark it with notations such as full sun, partial sun, partial shade, and full shade. This will help you when choosing flowers as you can refer to your planting map to see what flowers will do well in different areas.
It's important to note that annuals tend to like full sun and perennials tend to like partial sun or partial shade. This isn't always true, but it's a basic rule of thumb. Annuals that prefer full shade, while available, are limited. Perennials that like full shade tend to have minimal flower growth and provide mostly foliage. There are some exceptions to this rule.
Before you set out to shop, check out different types of flowers on the internet. You can get an idea of size, color, texture, etc. by reading about flowers online. You can also easily see what the sun and watering requirements are by looking at gardening sites in the web. There are so many flowers to choose from that time spent researching will be well spent when you go out to make purchases. Also, look at what your neighbors are planting. If there is something they have that you like, don't be afraid to ask them what it is. Gardeners LOVE to talk about their plants and flowers and are almost always happy to help out a beginner.
When planting perennials, you'll want to consider when they bloom. You want perennials that start blooming in the spring and continue to bloom through the fall. You'll also want to buy them in a variety of colors. This will help to ensure that you have flower beds that continually have blooming plants and great color. For example, tulips bloom in the early spring, asters won't start blooming until late August and will continue to bloom until you get frost. Having a wide variety will keep your flower beds pretty!
You'll also need to decide if you want to buy plants and flowers that have already been started or if you'd like to do some growing from seed. Growing from seed is extremely rewarding but many gardeners do some of both. If you are starting your flowers from seed, start indoors well before the time has come to plant outdoors for the year.
When you go out to actually purchase your flowers, there are many options available to you. Local nurseries are a great option because the owners are usually very knowledgeable about different types of plants and flowers and are willing to help you make your selections. They'll give you a wealth of free advice on planting and caring for your flowers, too. Places like WalMart and Hope Depot sell flowers and plants as well. You can often get a better price at these stores, but they may not be as high quality as what you'd get from your local nursery. Friends and neighbors can often be a good source for plants and flowers as well. Gardeners are often willing to share clippings or will give away perennials that they no longer want in their garden.
Once you have your plants and flowers purchased, there are many rules and ideas for planting. One basic rule is to always plant in odd numbers and to stagger plants. This will keep your flower bed looking much more natural. Another general rule is to plan your planting and to buy your flowers and plants so that the front of your bed will have the shortest plants and that they will get taller towards the back of the bed.
Tips & Warnings
When deciding where to plant, plan for the largest size that your plant will become, especially with perennials.
Some annuals will self-seed and will grow again on their own each year.
Use 4 - 6" of mulch in your bed to keep moisture in and weeds out!
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