Flower Gardening Tips – Help Creativity Bloom in Your Flower Garden

Flowers immediately enliven any garden with their vibrant colors and sweet aroma. When planted in the right combination, they can keep your garden looking bright and beautiful year round. Following are tips to help you become a more effective and creative flower gardener:

• Use complementary colors or tints and shades of one color.
• Plant large groups of contrasting flowers next to each to create a dramatic effect.
• Plant shrubs and individual ornamental grasses in groups of odd numbers to balance out the visual aspects of your flower garden.
• Avoid overwhelming a small space with a large number of plant species. Select a few varieties so your flower garden doesn’t look cluttered.
• Consider plants with colorful flowers that will also produce tasty fruits like cherry and other fruit trees to serve as a great addition to your garden.
• Keep it properly maintained by pruning your trees and shrubs, deadheading flowers, and cutting back old, frayed growth.
• Plant in designated areas for ease of mowing your lawn.
• Choose flowers according to the area you choose to begin your garden. For instance, make sure the ones you purchase will do well in full sun or in the shade.
• Add romance to your landscape by growing climbing or vine-type flowers near a trellis or garden arbor.
• Exercise precaution when planting flowers under a tree so you don’t dig up any roots. Dig a small, separate hole for each plant.
• Keep in mind the mature size of young trees and shrubs you plant, otherwise it will be easy to plant them too close together.
• Avoid placing new structures or plants where they may damage existing landscape features.
• Plant in curves, not straight lines or perfect circles, for better visual balance.
• Add mulch to your finished flower garden to help retain moisture. The deteriorating mulch will add organic matter to your soil.
• Save water by using drip irrigation systems to water individual plants.
• Water when it’s not windy.
• Water early morning or late afternoon to avoid evaporation.
• Introduce lady bugs, praying mantis, and Trichogramma wasps (non-stinging) to it for natural pest control.
• Try plants that attract birds and bats, which will eat up insect pest species in your garden, instead of applying chemicals to eradicate insects from your garden.

Use these tips to create new gardens or enliven existing flower gardens.