Spring is upon us, and it’s the season for flowers. Flowers are a beautiful addition to any garden. They look good in vegetable gardens, and they can be a great addition to your vase as well.
Starting a garden might not be as simple as it seems, since there are many different steps, but if they aren’t followed perfectly, your garden will still come out beautiful. To start a new bed, look at where any power lines run so you don’t hit them. Kerry Meyer from Proven Winners writes, “A garden hose can be moved and reshaped until you find exactly the right shape and size for your bed.”
It’s important to overturn your dirt to begin the garden since roots need to be strong so your flowers can grow strong, but before thinking about overturning, you have to kill the vegetation in the area of the garden. If you are beginning this process at the end of summer, put black and white newspaper on the vegetation and cover with some compost. But if you’re like me, and wait to do this last minute, then you can use an animal and kid friendly pesticide to remove the vegetation and prepare the bed for flowers.
Now your garden is ready to be overturned, so make the garden damp, but not wet enough that clumps form. Kerry Meyer from Proven Winners wrote, “If you turn over a spade full of soil, it should break apart and look moist without sticking to your tools or dripping water.” Don’t allow the soil to be too dry since it will ruin the garden.
Overturn the garden to at least six to eight inches, but it’s even better if you can overturn it twelve to eighteen inches. After you complete that step, you can move on to adding compost on top. Add the compost so that it is two to three inches thick. When picking out compost, you want it to have some large chunks as well as small chunks. Kerry Meyer from Proven Winners recommends avoiding composts with sand-like consistency because they break down quickly and won’t nurture your garden correctly.
Now your garden is ready for flowers, vegetables, or fruits. Megan from the Creative Vegetable Garden writes, “Tucking flowers throughout your garden will add colorful pops of beauty to draw the eye into and around the space, attract tons of beneficial insects like bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.”
Plants are particular with their sunlight, so watch the sun for a day to see how much is hitting your garden. If you receive a lot of sunlight it’ll be easier to find flowers that survive in that amount of sunlight but there’s different plants for any amount of sunlight.
Certain plants can grow back year after year, so if you’re unsure about a flower, check to see if it’s a perennial or not. Some flowers that are perennial include, peonies, daylilies, and hostas. If you get sick of a perennial, just pull the bulb or root system out to remove it from your garden, although it’s easier said than done. Certain flowers are persistent and will continue to come back if you miss a spot.
Also, when thinking about spacing, make sure there’s enough room for you to get around, at least two to four feet. This’ll allow you to pull weeds regularly along with space to water your plants. If you don’t feel like standing out in the heat while watering your garden, get a sprinkler and leave it running until the soil is wet.
Now you’ve planted a garden and know how to care for it. Some people enjoy the therapeutic act of weeding their garden. Others enjoy the fresh flower scent and vases filled with fresh-cut flowers. So, enjoy your garden however you see fit.
