Garden Tips

How to plan a flower garden

yellow lantana

Yellow Lantana


Why is it that flower gardening is becoming so popular?

Gardening with flowers is great fun and gives great rewards when the plant flowers. It is also very easy to do with no complicated recipes to follow. Collecting seeds and offcuts and planting them in seed trays is very inexpensive and can turn your hobby into a money spinner as you start selling the excess plants you have grown.

Before starting your garden you need to make a few easy decisions.

Are you going to plant annuals or perennials or both. Annuals are flowers that live for one season and then die off necessitating replanting next season and perennials come up season after season without having to be replanted.

When planning your new flower garden remember to look out for flowers that like to grow in the climate you live in. If flowers need shade and you only have sun then unless you can provide shade you should not plant that particular flower. Your local gardening shop or nursery will be able to assist you in your selections.

 Marsh Lily

Marsh Lilies

Before you go out and buy plants you should also decide what you want your garden to look like. Do you want a mixed bag where tall and short plants grow next to each other and give your garden that wild look or do you want to structure the garden so that the tall plants are in the rear of the bed and the shorter plants in the front.

If you are a real do it yourself person go out and buy seeds, plant them in seed trays and once they have germinated transplant them into the flowerbeds you have prepared. Most people although avid gardeners prefer to buy seedling plants that are ready to be transplanted. By buying seedlings you can ensure that they are planted where you want them to be and that they have proper spaces between them. If you plant seeds there is normally wastage as you have to thin out the seedlings to provide proper space for the plants to grow. If you have birds in your garden you could lose some of the seeds to them as well.

There are two ways to deal with seeds. You can sow them into trays and then transplant them from there when they are ready to be transplanted or just sow them directly into your flower bed and enjoy the wild look when they come up all over the bed.

Maintaining a flower garden is even easier than planting one. The plants are most likely to grow quite well without fertilisers but if you want a real good show of flowers it is a good idea to add the fertilisers in early spring. When preparing your beds for annuals ensure that you don't dig out the perennials that are in the ground as disturbing the roots might kill them.

When your flowers are in bloom always pinch out the dead or fading blooms as this encourages new flowers to form. Cutting flowers for the vase has the same effect.

If your garden is in a warm area you should apply as much mulch as possible to keep the soil damp and to protect the roots of your plants.

Flower gardens need plenty of water so ensure that you water them daily.

Keep an eye out for pests and spray your flowers with chemical or organic sprays to kill off the bugs that will destroy all your hard work.

Happy gardening.

© 2023 Garden-tips - All Rights Reserved
How to plant a new flower garden
12.7.2023






General Tips


African violet tips
Agapanthas
Amaryllis care
Autumn veggie garden
Avocados from pips
Care for Bulbs
Compost making
Contend with snails
Cucumbers
Dealing with snails
Ecological gardens
Fitting a garden tap
Fixing a green pool
Flower gardens
Grow onions
Grow spanspek
Growing artichokes
Identify tomato pests
Irrigating plants properly
March planting guide
Mother in Law's Tongue
Organic gardens
Pepper planting
Plant a Buffalo lawn
Planting a potato patch
Preparing for a new garden
Pumpkin plantcare
Rotate crops
Spinach planting
Steps to plant tomatoes
Stop dogs digging
Sweet Peas
Using Grey Water

Gardens to visit


Spring wildflowers
Visit Kirstenbosch Gardens

Monthly Planting Guides

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December