How to Plant a Flower Garden
This is done in layers of activity. It depends on when you read this but ideally the best time to begin your flower garden is in the fall. That way you can use nature as your assistant. If it is fall, you dig your bed, toss in compost, cover the bed with grass cutting, fallen leaves, or whatever you like. My neighbor empties her potato and apple peelings and pumpkin rinds into her bed.
But this is about planting a garden, not preparing it so let’s focus on planting. Your bed is ready. You’ve hoed it and raked it and fed it. Now is the time to begin. Speaking of time, plant in the late afternoon or evening so the plants have time to settle into the ground before the hot sun hits them.
Check to make sure that you can reach the center of your garden from the side. You don’t want to be stepping into your garden to tend to it. If you have created a big garden and cannot reach the center without stepping into it, then incorporate the need to step on the garden bed into the garden bed. Get a flat stone or two and place them as decorative elements right into your garden.
There. That is taken care of. Now it is time to plant. Lay out your tools. Use those little garden tools and have a little spade ready. Get your bucket of water and a can or something to dip out the water. Line up your plants. Begin in the middle of the garden with the plants that will be the biggest. Dig a hole deep enough to accommodate the roots, pour in water, and place the plant in the hole. Use your hands. Steady the plant with one hand and pack the soil around the roots with the other. Mound the soil up a little bit because it will settle down once the plant begins to spread out its roots.
Space out the rest of the plants, working from the middle out to the sides. Leave room for expansion. It is a classic mistake to put the plants close together because they look good but the fact is what you are planting is just the beginning of the gardening. The little plant you just placed in the garden might be a foot wide in a few weeks time. When you get the plants, make sure you follow the instructions on how far apart to plant them. If it says plant 6 inches apart, then plant them 6 inches apart (on all sides).
There. That’s all there is to it. Your flower garden is planted.
Esmee McCornall is a 'Gardoholic' publisher and writer. She recently published a guide called "Tips and Tricks to Create the Garden You Always Wanted". You can download a free copy at http://www.gardensandflowers.net
Article Source: ezinearticles.com
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