Making Your Flower Garden the Right Size

My first attempt at planting flowers was disappointing. I ordered giant hyacinths to plant in fall, and they bloomed in early spring. While the blooms were large, they were lost against the vast landscape of yard, hardly noticeable to passersby. While I had taken care to ensure the flower bed was large enough, I hadn't considered that the tiny dots of color would be overwhelmed by the other elements of my yard.

Making your flower garden the right size is as important as cultivating a flower bed and choosing the correct flowers for your growing zone. What's the point of growing flowers if, once they bloom, they are simply lost in the entire landscape? Or perhaps you've planted too many flowers for your garden plot, and they can't grow optimally because they simply don't have room to grow. No matter the size of your garden plot, the first step you should make when planting is to ensure that your flower garden is the right size, and that involves planning. Follow these simple guidelines to help you determine the right size for your flower garden:

• Draw. Make a rough sketch of your landscape and include such permanent landmarks as existing plants and trees, utility poles, driveways and sidewalks, fire hydrants, in-ground covered water meters, and fences. Choose where you'd like to plant flowers. If you have a large property, you might want to have several flower beds in various locations.
• Color. Once you've mapped your landscape on paper, use colored pencils to add color; use red to signify tulips, purple for irises, yellow for daffodils, etc. Make sure that the colors you choose will enhance your home and existing landmarks.
• Decide. After you've chosen your flower color scheme, determine the number of flowers you'll need to plant based upon the size of existing trees and plants that will serve as a backdrop.

Use flower catalogs and online resources to determine the size your new flowers will be when they reach maturity. Consider elements such as changes in color and duration of foliage. For instance, if you choose to plant tiger lilies, bear in mind that while they're flowering, the flower stem grows from the middle of the plant to about 48 inches, providing a spectacular burst of orange. The flower withers and dies quickly, however, leaving 12-inch green foliage the remainder of the season. If you want long-lasting color in your flower bed, a lily is not a good choice to supply continuous color. Lilies are, however, a good border for sidewalks and trees, since they provide lush, low foliage until fall.

No matter the type of flowers you plant, make sure that the flower bed is size-appropriate to other elements in your landscape. With a little planning, your flower-enhanced landscape will be the talk of the neighborhood.