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Flower Garden Ideas

Pragya T
With a good layout plan and well-selected flowers, you can create a garden that you will cherish for years...
Whenever planting a flower garden, try to get as much advice and information as possible to get an insight on different gardening ideas. Seek advice from gardeners, get advice from different nursery owners about the best plants, consult other garden owners on layout, and visit different gardens to pick on the dos and don'ts.
One common mistake people tend to do while gardening is not providing ample space for the plants. This leads to cramped space for surrounding plants, and can also hamper the natural growth of the plants.
It is important that you not only consider the surface ground area, but also the underground plant area that will be used by the plants and tree roots. Many plants propagate very fast, and can destroy other plants. Such plants should be avoided or planted in a certain specific area of the garden and should be regularly pruned.

Deciding the Layout of the Garden

Draw a top angle layout of the space you will be using for the garden, on the layout mark out the space for lawn, your residence, unmovable trees, and other objects.
This way you will know how much area you need to work on. If you wish to be precise in your flower garden landscaping ideas, you can measure the free area in square feet and write it down on the layout.
Make few photocopies of this layout to try out different combinations. On different copies plan out the placement of different flower bushes, bushes for fencing, stand alone flower or trees, and hardscape elements like fencing, walkways, benches, etc. 
This way you can have a well-planned design for large or small flower garden. Show the copies to experienced gardeners to get a second opinion and then decide on a final copy.

Adding Fencing and Other Elements

Before you start with any softscape elements to your flower garden like flowering shrubs or bushes, plant the hardscape material.
This includes structural material like fences, walls, pavings, walkways, benches, an outdoor sitting area, etc.
Stick to the aforementioned layout plan to install the hardscape elements. There are a variety of choices of the hardscape materials, like you can go for a brick, stone, or a concrete wall for a sidewalk, and metal wrought iron fencing or traditional white wooden fencing.
You can also add some decorative hardscape materials like a water fountain or a garden pond.

Choosing the Flowering Plants

Always try to go for native flowering plants, as they have already adapted to the soil and weather conditions and are easier to grow. Avoid too many colors of plants, as this might spoil the look.
Select flowering plants which look good and inviting and have flower colors which are not very vibrant. Choose plants which you can plant in sunny sites and plants which require shade or partial sun. Select half the plants which bloom with flowers in summer and the rest that bloom with flowers during fall.
This way you can enjoy having flowers in your flower garden year round. For ground cover, consider a lawn or plant small plants which grow evenly for a height of 1 foot. Consider the individual soil, watering, space, pruning, mulching, and fertilizer requirement of the plants well to plant and care for your flowering plants.
So, remember to seek advice on gardening and form a layout plan of the garden for a well-planned garden. Select the appropriate, beautiful-looking flowering plants and enjoy blooms during both the seasons!