Getting the Most From Your Flower Garden
Flowers add a splash of color to your garden. When choosing a flowering garden spot, make sure the location is able to receive enough sunlight to support the plants' growth and blooms.
Also consider the height of the plants you want to grow. If your flower garden is situated near your home, the highest plants must not interfere with windows or doors.
Location
The location of the flower garden is vital because it determines what type of flowers will thrive there. Choosing an area with the appropriate conditions for sun and shade will ensure that flowers thrive. raised garden beds is also essential to know the USDA zone of growth in order to avoid planting flowers that aren't able to withstand the climate in which you live.
To achieve the best results, you need to plant flowers that bloom at different times throughout your garden. So, when one flower starts to fade, a different kind of flower will be ready to replace it. You can also add different types of foliage to your garden for colour and interest, even if flowers aren't in bloom.
The treatise writers of the 19th century praised the educational value of a flower garden, suggesting that tending the flower garden was a great activity for women to pursue. Fessenden proclaimed that "flower gardening reaches across class distinctions" and is "a excellent exercise for all the family." Sayers praised flower gardening as a healthy pastime for middle-class individuals as well as Elder suggested that it could help to dispel the unpleasant odors of urban life.
The location of the flower garden is important because it affects the amount of sun and heat that the garden gets. Too much sun can cause the leaves of the plants to scorch, while too little sun will prevent the flowering plants from developing fully. Find a location that receives at least six hours of sun every day. It is also beneficial to test the way the sun hits the area at different points during the day so that you are able to better understand the lighting conditions that are optimal for your garden.
Sun/Shade
Plants grow in sun or the shade, depending on how much light they receive for photosynthesis. A lot of sun can cause overheating to plants, while too little causes it to struggle to grow and flower. Many plants are marked to indicate their sun/shade preference. The tag could say "full sunlight," which means that the plant needs a lot of sunlight to thrive. It could also say "sun - part shade" or "full shade" to indicate the plant thrives in a mixture of shade and sun.
A full-sunny plant requires a minimum of 6 hours of direct sunlight every day. It is possible to break this down into shorter periods that can be as long as six hours. Some plants that love sun can tolerate partial shade. However the amount of shade should not be too high or it will inhibit growth and flowering.
Certain plants, such as the lilacs and most garden roses require full sun in order to flower. If a lilac isn't producing flowers, it could be because nearby trees have been growing and blocking the sun it needs. They also block the sun during the hottest parts of the day.
Many flowering plants, like hostas and Astilbes (fuchsias) will thrive in shaded or dappled environments. Some shade-lovers have bright colors and long blooming seasons that can add a great deal of interest to a garden which could otherwise be dull. Astilbe is available in a variety of shades, and hostas' leaves are available in a variety of shades of green, in addition to purple, gold and white.
Water
The best method to get the most value from your flower garden is to keep it well-hydrated. It doesn't matter if it's a new plant that require daily watering until they establish roots, or mature flowers requiring less frequent but regular watering, keeping your blooms healthy is the key to a show-stopping garden. Kip McConnell director of the Southern Living Plant Collection at SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, and Terry Ettinger, greenhouse manager for the garden center located at Montgomery Place in Stonington, Connecticut, offer their tips for streamlining your watering schedule and keeping your flowers healthy throughout the growing season.
If possible you can water your garden early in the morning to ensure that the plants are able to absorb the water before the sun heats up. This is in line with the plant's natural growth cycle which allows them to drink in the moisture when they're ready for it and also helps them to stand up to extreme heat. Watering in the afternoon or later could cause your plants to become dehydrated, as sunlight causes the water to quickly evaporate.
Avoid the use of sprinklers to water, as this can disturb the soil structure and cause erosion. Choose a drip irrigation system instead, which is gentler to the soil and helps prevent excessive runoff. Choose plants that do not require a large amount of water to thrive. Water-hogging plants may oversaturate the soil and cause root rot. Plants that are drought-tolerant, however they can thrive with only a little watering.
Daconil Fungicide Ready to Use or Daconil Concentrate are powerful fungicides to use when you're working to perfect your garden. This will help keep your plants healthy, and will make the blooms even more beautiful. When using fungicides, be sure to follow the instructions carefully.
Fertilization
During the flowering stage of growth, plants need an adequate supply of nitrogen. Nitrogen is needed to produce chlorophyll as well as the growth of leaves during photosynthesis. It also aids in the development of roots and flowers. It also assists plants to use phosphorus, which is a vital nutrient to plant development. Test your soil to determine if there is require a significant amount of phosphorus in your garden. The UMass Soil and Plant Nutrient Testing Laboratory can perform an easy test for you.
When attached to country homes, and where the proper amount of space can be allocated for it, there is nothing more appealing and pleasant than an American flower-garden. The sloping shape of the ground, which it is generally constructed, will not only allow the borders to be bigger than the borders of a parterre but will admit of the judicious addition of shrubs."
Loudon recommends beds "of an oblong shape that are three or four feet wide, with intervening alleys two feet wide." These are easier to lay out than square beds. He suggests that beds be trimmed with box or neat dwarf plants, like thrift and moss pink.
For perennial flowers, apply general fertilizer in early spring before the growth starts. garden plants gives the plants an extra boost for a longer period of time, and reduces the risk of tender new growth being killed by frost. If you have annual plants that bloom into fall, apply another application at the same amount 6 to 8 weeks later. A third application of the same rate at the end of summer may aid in extending the blooming time.
Pruning
Unlike the vegetable garden, which was associated with utility, flower gardens were a show of skill and beauty that represented the status of a person's wealth and social standing. They also strove to establish a link between gardening and moral behavior. As such, they became a didactic landscape feature. Fessenden for instance, recommended that young women plant flower gardens in order to learn "a tidyness and a good taste and concepts."
The flower garden is often seen as an extension of domestic space. It provides a rich backdrop to the design of the house. Loudon described four distinct types of flower gardens. The first, the general flower garden, also known as mixed, was comprised of flowers of various sizes and types mixed together in an loose quincunx style to allow taller plants to rise above shorter ones. The second type of flower garden is the natural or gardenesque one. It is comprised of plants that are placed in beds according to the Linnaean or natural pattern.
In the third type, which was the artificial or arranged flower garden the flowers were arranged in more regular compartments or clumps that resembled formal parterre. The fourth type, the secluded or secret garden, tended to be more like an indoor garden in terms of design.
It is essential to consider the connection between the beds and paths when designing the garden. The beds should ideally be wide enough to allow two people to walk in a straight line and it was essential to mix the color and height of the plants. It is also essential to trim the plants so that they don't crowd one another or overflow. This should be done at the end of Winter or early spring to allow the plant to grow for the summer months.