Flower GardensFlower gardens are beautiful and offer many benefits for gardeners. They help pollinators look attractive and don't have to be cut like grass.Start by learning about your USDA growing zones and the dates of your first and final frost. Next, consider sun exposure. Select raised garden beds that gets full sun for the plants that love it, but shaded for others.ColorThe color of flowers is one of the most noticeable elements in the flower garden. It can be dramatic or arouse the mood, or slow it down. Whether your garden is contemporary-leaning with clear boundaries, or a cottage style with meandering paths, it's important to plan color combinations carefully. A basic color wheel is a good place to start. It shows primary colors, their shades and neutrals as well as whites. Colors next to each other on the wheel, for example red and orange are great together as do colors that are a distance from each other like blue and purple.Select a color scheme that will suit your flower garden's style and the location considering the amount of sun it gets and where you want the color to develop. Shade gardens work best with plants that are cool, whereas full sun gardens can accommodate warm-colored blooms.Once you've decided on the color scheme, play with different options for flowering plants to find the ideal combination for your garden. It is generally easier to combine complementary colors on opposite sides of the wheel, for instance blue and yellow, or purple and red, however you can also go for a more monochromatic look by picking different shades of the same hue.Include flowers that bloom throughout the year, even as other plants begin to fade. This can be achieved by planting perennials that bloom continuously or annuals like zinnias or impatiens. Certain bulbs, such as daffodils and tulips, bloom in the springtime, while flowers that bloom in summer like dahlias and cannas are in bloom during midsummer and fall. Additionally some perennials, such as peonies and heucheras, are at their peak in late spring and summer as well as some shrubs and grasses, such as hydrangeas and lilacs are attractive all year long.ShapeIt's your job to design your own flower garden. While soil preparation and careful plantation are crucial, the arrangement of your flowers is completely yours to decide. gardening prefer formal gardens with clean lines, whereas others prefer a more natural appearance with the curvature of paths and flowers that seem to grow in a clump.Color is essential, of course, but so is shape. Piet Oudolf, a renowned Dutch garden designer, suggests you consider more than the standard flowers of perennials when choosing plants for your gardens. When mass-planting flowers, using different shapes creates an interesting contrast. Utilizing similar shapes strengthens the theme.Flower gardens also offer an array of sizes and colors to fit any taste and budget including tiny iceplants and succulents that give texture to a sea of color in the backyard. If you want to attract butterflies and other pollinators to your yard, pick native plants that can thrive in the climate and habitat of your home.If you are looking to make your flower garden an artful piece, include tall plants and shrubs as structures. Depending on the style of your home you can use plants to disguise an ugly foundation or to define the boundaries between flower beds that are spread throughout the property. You can also plant them alongside smaller plants like ornamental grasses and heuchera for an attractive, dense appearance which is less maintenance-intensive since it requires less cutting. They can also be planted along the edges of your property or in a circular arrangement, with taller plants at the back and flowering perennials in the front to create an impressive effect.TextureThe texture of a plant may be enhanced by the leaves' surface. Plants with delicate textures, like delicate flowers and grasses, create a delicate staccato. The ones with medium textures, such as daylilies, Iris and lilyturf, produce pleasant, smooth stripes.The way the plants in a flower bed grow together can also create texture. If you plant daisies along with daffodils and their long stems, they can overlap and give the bed more density. Planting tulips in conjunction with daffodils Irises and daffodils can make their leaves complement each other.Once you've settled on a general look for your flower garden, consider a few design principles. For instance the National Gardening Association recommends that you use repetition to create unity in the flower beds. You can use repetition of a color, like pink or purple, by simply repeating it. Also, you can alter the shade of your garden to make it more visually appealing.When choosing the number of plants to include in your garden odd numbers are the ideal. Even-numbered groups can appear messy and messy, whereas odd numbers give your flowerbeds visual balance. Be sure to take into consideration how tall each plant will be when fully developed. For instance, a complete cascading arrangement will require plants that are tall enough to form the desired effect. In the same way, planting plants at different heights adds the depth of a garden.HedgesThe flower gardens are usually comprised of perennials and annuals (roses peonies, daylilies, and so on) to ensure constant blooms season after season. A careful design will take the height of each plant into consideration and places taller plants in the back of the garden and shorter plants planted in the front. The size of the garden can be affected by many factors, such as whether it's an elevated bed or a large yard.Flower gardens should include an array of flowers that smell nice such as lilacs, peonies and sweet peas. They should also include climbers, such as pole beans, clematis, and sweet peas. The framing of a flower garden with hedges helps separate different areas and allows the individual blooms to stand out.A color theme is a fantastic method of bringing together a garden. Many flowers are available in many shades that go well together. Staggering the blooming time of various flowers in a garden can help to achieve this effect as well. Colors next to each other on the wheel of colors, such as purple and pink, generally work well together, while colors across from each other, such as red and yellow, can be a pleasant combination.In addition to thinking about the appearance of flowers when they're fully grown, some garden ers prefer to harvest them as cut flowers to decorate their homes. The flowers need to be picked just at the right time, just when they're ready to open and before they are damaged or wilted. A bucket of water nearby during picking will allow gardeners to squirt freshly cut flowers into it immediately and keep them fresher for longer. Another crucial aspect in keeping fresh flowers in bloom is to remove any foliage that may rot or grow bacteria in the water.RocksThe rocks that you place in your flower bed will add texture, color and depth. It is also important to think about the shape of the stones. When choosing the rock garden shrubs pick ones that grow naturally wide and tall. This means they require less maintenance since they don't require being cut back to maintain their shape. Rock gardens are best suited to plants that can take on the form of a fountain, vase or the rounded shape.Flowers with different textures are a great partner for rock gardens. For instance the spiky flowers of globe thistle contrast the soft leaves and flowers of lamb's ears, providing visual interest. Other flowering plants which provide texture to the rock garden are the tiger lily as well as the dianthus with spiky leaves.The flowers of the rock garden can create mats that fill areas that other plants cannot thrive. Ajuga is a good choice. It is a fast-growing plant and can become invasive, in the event of allowing. However it is ideal for areas of shade in the garden where other ground cover plants might struggle.Another way to add the appearance of a rock garden is to include low-growing groundcovers. Heuchera ‘Cortland’ is a great choice because its foliage complements the other colors of a rock garden. Other options include ajuga the creeping thyme and mosses.Perennials are a common sight in the rock garden. They bloom for long seasons, which means there is always something in bloom. These perennials can be combined with evergreens to provide all year round colour. In this rocky area the perennial sea thrift (Armeria maritima) softens the sculptural forms of the boulders and dwarf conifers.Before planting, prep the area by removing grass, the weeds, and other debris, and amending the soil with compost. Make sure that the area has adequate sun and good drainage. Test the soil's moisture with an instrument prior to planting; if it's too dry, you should water it thoroughly and allow it to get hydrated prior to planting.