I do, and it was a total disaster! I have always loved flowers and many years ago I used to wonder how mother always had a beautiful garden. Of course, when you are young and naïve the least thing in my mind was to ask questions or even watch mom taking care of her gardens. Back then it seemed as if mother’s plants would just come out of no where and bloom beautifully. Little did I know that mom’s flower gardens required some work, patience and some tender loving care almost on a daily basis.

When I got married and had my first home, I decided that it was time to start my own gardens. Well, I went to the nursery and bought some flowers and planted them all over the front yard mixed in with the grass. Big mistake! You should have seen my husband’s face when he went to mow the lawn. He was not a happy camper to say the least and explained to me that it was almost impossible for him to mow the lawn with plants all over the place. Mind you that I didn’t even check the soil or anything, I just planted them. Laughing out loud now but it wasn’t funny back then!!

It didn’t take long for me to realize that I had two options:

1. Remove all the plants from the lawn and create a garden area right in front of the house and away from the grass.

2. If I didn’t want to do this, for sure my husband would mow over the plants destroying everything I planted.

You guessed it I removed all the plants from the lawn and put them in large buckets of water until I could figure out what needed to be done. Next was a phone call to mother for advice on how to set up a flower garden area and she basically told me what to do which meant that I needed to:

1. Determine how big the area would be for the garden

2. Clear out the area thoroughly by removing weeds and grass

3. Till the soil and fertilize the soil with proper nutrients

4. Find out how much sun or shade the garden area gets during the day

5. Figure out the types of plants to buy that would compliment the house

6. Buy the plants and plant them

Needless to say, this was a lot more than what I envisioned on creating a flower garden but I was determined to get it done. So with some help from my husband we began clearing out the area in front of the house and doing all the necessary tasks that were required. Since I already had the plants that I removed from the lawn, I planted those and bought some more to fill in some bare spots.

All in all, the garden turned out to be just fine and looking good. My advice to you is that if you are new to gardening, don’t make the same mistakes I made and follow the ideas listed above. Also remember that when in doubt, a good gardening manual is your best bet on creating a healthy flower garden.

Here are some other flower gardening sites that I found for you to browse. Thanks for visiting Best Flower Gardening!

Articles about Flower Garden - New York Times
Garden encyclopedia topics | Reference.com
Outdoor container gardening: Planting a beautiful pot of flowers
Online Florist Beyond Blossoms Announces New Blog About Flowers
Planting the Brightest Bulbs - WSJ.com
ALL THAT GLISTENS IS GLASS - USATODAY.com

Technorati Tags: garden area, garden beginner, garden planning, garden soil

We know that the word perennial means lasting through the year or possibly many years. Of course, that is what is so desirable about planting perennial flowers in your garden. All you have to do is plant them once and they come back every year without you having to spend lots of time caring for them. Did you know that perennials are also considered a weed? Indeed, and this is one weed I don’t mind having in my garden. The best part about gardening with perennials is that you can plant them anywhere in your garden. They are ideal as borders, against walls, along a fence or even around some evergreens or shrubs.

Perennial flowers are usually local flowers that don’t require much care and are very strong. One of the things I like is that during their off season, perennial flowers and stems die back but you can’t really tell that the plant is there. Somehow, perennials are not like other plants when they die because they don’t leave a huge brown clump of dead plants in your garden. Just leave them alone and when it is time for them to bloom, new flowers will come up where the old ones were.

Before you plant perennials, make sure that the soil has proper drainage and if the area gets saturated for long periods of time you should build a raised bed. Once this is done, it is time to start selecting your perennial plants. Your goal should be to have the perennials flowering as much as possible through the whole year. The best way to do this is to research the types of flowers you want in your garden and create a list of when these perennials bloom. If you plan this right, you can have blooming perennials all through the year. Keep in mind that getting the right mixture of plants will give your garden a constantly changing array of colors all year long.

Some gardeners start their perennials using seeds but I prefer to go to my local nursery and buying established plants. I also prefer plants that are already flowering so that I can see the color of each plant and figure out the color scheme that will blend in my garden. When visiting your local garden shop or nursery, be sure to ask the employees how well the perennials will do in the area that you live. As an example, when I buy perennials I always ask if they will survive in the ever changing climate that we have here in central Florida.

Use mulch when planting perennials. It will save you lots of time and work by reducing the amount of weeds and increasing water retention. We have lots of pine trees in my backyard so I collect all the pine needles and use them as mulch. This saves me lots of money and it works great as mulch. Be careful with fertilizers on perennials. Use it sparingly once your plants start to come up. Make sure you read the directions that come with your perennials and plant them accordingly.

Some perennials tend to spread out while others just grow tall and if they are planted too close together they might end up choking each other out. What I normally do is plant tall perennials at the back of a wall or you can plant them in the middle of an island bed. You can also plant shorter ones towards the outside so that they look like a border in your garden. Most perennials are easy to grow and require little maintenance. Just water them and watch them grow beautifully. Plan your perennial garden carefully and remember that you don’t have to be an expert gardener to have an awesome display of flowering perennials in your garden.

Here are some other flower gardening sites that I found for you to browse. Thanks for visiting Best Flower Gardening!

Flower garden ideas for my front yard area? - Yahoo! Answers
Moment of (flower) gardening zen | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
Botanical Gardens Are Turning Away From Flowers - NYTimes.com
Flower arranging encyclopedia topics | Reference.com
Washingtonpost.com: Live Online
flower-gardening-made-easy | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Technorati Tags: choosing perennials, evergreens, garden plans, garden soil, perennial gardening, Perennials, shrubs