by Faith Draper

Created on: September 28, 2008   Last Updated: May 24, 2009

Do you daydream over the photos in Home and Garden wishing for a beautiful flower garden of your own? The great thing is it's not all that difficult for the average or even beginner gardener to have flower gardens that will turn peoples heads and provide hours of enjoyment for both the homeowner and others.

The first thing you should do when planning a flower garden is to decide where you want your flowerbeds to be. The best way to do this is to walk around your yard and picture in your mind open or bare spaces where a flower bed can add some interest to the landscape setting. Making notes on a note pad can be very helpful. Once you have decided on a location for your flower bed it's important that you look at this location during different times of the day. Before planting a flower garden it is necessary to know if you are planting in a sunny, partial shade, or shaded area.

Another thing you will want to make note of is the type of soil that is in the prospective flower garden. Some flowering plants are particular about what type of soil they grow in while others will grow in any dirt. You don't however need to be a rocket scientist to figure this out, think simple: sandy, clay, rocky, humus (rich dark moist soil).

Now you have the information as far as sun exposure and soil for your flower garden designs it's time to start picking your flower plants. A visit to your local garden center is by far the best. Take your flower bed designs with you and your notes. They will be able to show you a selection of flowering plants that will not only do well in your flower garden location but also what flower plant will do well in your geographic location.

Two other options for choosing plants for your flower bed are searching through gardening books that give you growing information on individual plants or searching online for examples of flower gardens. Many of the well known seed and plant companies have web sites that provide all the needed information for your flower bed design.

As a flower garden beginner you may want to consider some of the packaged flower garden designs. These can be purchased for different soil and sun exposures and will include a variety of plants including different colors, heights, and flowering seasons already combined in one package. Keep in mind that a spring garden flower may be spectacular in the spring but boring in the autumn.

If you decide you would like to plant your flower garden from scratch; selecting each flower plant yourself it is still simple to make your flower gardening experience fun and enjoyable. With your flowerbed designs in hand browse through the millions of photos of flower plants available. When you see something you particularly love then check to see if it will work in your location. Keep in mind flower gardening is as flexible as the number of flowering plants available.

Now that you have selected the flowers for your flower garden design you will need to follow the planting directions for the individual plants and get them in the dirt. Most plants or seeds will come with simple to follow instructions to get your flower gardens from paper to a beautiful display to enjoy. Flower gardening can be very rewarding, therapeutic, and enjoyable.

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