Hello World! Welcome Friends! “It takes twelve years to make a garden. Everything takes time that’s worthwhile.” With such a commitment needed you need to be well-armed when approaching the flower gardening journey.
The dedication comes with a huge payoff when you see the first blooms and eventually the garden comes into its own.
Join us today to most easily find your way to a beautiful, healthy garden that reflects your personality and goals.
Photo by Stella de Smit on Unsplash
1. Soil Setup
As you would expect a great garden begins with great soil. Luckily there are simple ways to test the quality of the soil you want to start a garden in right at home!
Depending on your needs and how thorough you want to be there are a few tests that you can do to inspect your soil;
- A squeeze test
- A percolation test
- A pH test
It is wise to do all four of these to get the best idea of the soil quality, though many would argue if only one is performed, the pH test would be the most important.
Squeeze Test
The most straightforward of the tests, it requires nothing more than your two hands. Grab a bit of soil and give it a good squeeze. There are a few results that you will find and these results will give insight to your soil quality.
- Holds its shape but crumbles when poked further—loamy soil
- Holds its shape and does not lose that shape with further interaction—clay soil
- Soil falls apart almost instantly—sandy soil
The best of the best is the loam, and you have little work to do if you start with that. Sandy soil dries much quicker and will require watering more often.
Clay soil is the opposite and water does not penetrate fast enough. You can address this by watering it more often but in smaller amounts each time.
You can improve both soils with compost. It addresses the quick drain of sandy soil and it helps break up the stickiness of clay.
Percolation Test
This goes hand in hand with the squeeze test as it deals with the drainage quality of the soil you are planting in.
It is another straightforward test;
- Dig a hole, it should be approximately six inches wide and approximately one foot deep
- Fill the hole with water and allow it to drain completely
- After it empties, refill the hole
- Keep a record of the time it takes for the hole to drain.
It should take four hours or less. If it takes longer your soil has poor drainage.
pH Test
A pH test is available at most any home and garden center. If you cannot obtain a test or wish to try otherwise, you can actually make your own at home too.
There are alkaline loving plants and there are acidic loving plants. Depending on your garden goals and the makeup of your soil there may be little work required.
If there is a need to lower the soil’s pH (it is too alkaline) you can add;
- Iron Sulfate
- Sphagnum Peat
- Aluminum Sulfate
- Elemental Sulfur
If there is a need to raise the soil’s pH (it is too acidic) you can add;
- Limestone
- Wood Ash
2. Perennial Planning
You hear the terms annuals and perennials all the time but what is what and which is the better choice?
A stellar garden will have both as both have important places in any garden.
Perennials generally are in place as a foundation or structure to a garden. This is due to them establishing an underground root system. This system allows them to return year after year. Perennials are reliable but tend to only bloom for a few weeks or months.
The period for perennials will vary depending on the variety of plant that it is.
Annuals require a bit more work but make a much larger showing. The downside is that they complete their entire lifecycle in a single growing season. These are a sort of showcase item since you can rotate them from season to season.
3. Flowery Focal Point
As part of the planning process deciding the focal point, shape and size are at the top of the list. The best idea is to start small and then expand from there rather than the other way around.
Drawing your ideas with a hose is a great way to get a “soft idea” of the area that will be consumed by your plan.
Have a design? Now pick out the first plant or group of plants for the eye to focus on.
This is a good time to do some homework too, figuring out if the plants you want to use are best suited for this placement. You will be able to determine their needs such as; light, space, and water.
4. Glorious Garden Grooming
Take out that color wheel! If you had an art class or are a designer that is (don’t worry, that link will help you if you are among most that aren’t).
Grouping colors by shade is important. But as the garden grows, the relationship between each group is just as important.
Referring to the color wheel you will see that particular colors work well together. For example, yellow and purple working well together. Keep the surrounding colors and the structures of the plants in mind while placing them
5. Full-Bodied
It can’t all be delicate, elegant, vibrant stars. The flowers in your garden need a backdrop that will allow them to shine. The garden needs to have texture and needs to be full-bodied.
In the colder months, it should still retain life and some color. Ornamental grasses can do that, they can keep life in your garden even through the winter months.
These, at times rugged, grasses allow for a contrast which makes your flowers shine even more. What is better is how easy any of them are to grow!
6. Finding A Little Help From Some Friends
Support is not limited to these grasses though. Creating a structure to a garden through both natural and human-made architecture can give the setting a whole new level of depth.
Using trees, vines, ground covers, and furniture or sculptures you can create interest without planting more flowers.
Not only that, if you plant the right things you can play host to butterflies and certain birds during the year!
7. What an Odd Group
Choosing an odd number of plants per variety helps create the best appearance for a garden. It is best to try and find differing colors in these varieties if possible.
You do not need to pair them together in a group. Scattering them in spaced out-groups can help create a natural feel to the display.
The Best of Nature’s Gifts With Flower Gardening
Your garden should not only be a place to relax but also a reflection of yourself. Through your work in flower gardening, you can express your personality.
There is no one right way to create a garden and you should always create what makes you happy. We hope these tips today will help you achieve that vision that much easier!
Done spending time in the dirt? Be sure to come to join us for more tips about creating around the garden and the home!
Click the links below for any posts you have missed:
Time To Change Your Water Filter
A Pantry Refresh & Organization
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Thanks for stopping by! Have a wonderful day/night depending on where you are in the world! Go with God and remember to be kind to one another!
Toodles,
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