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Flower garden design

Garden guru John Brookes has said most home gardens go wrong because planters are naturally inclined to buy up a lot of pretty with no real place to put it.

Those pretties, blooming perennials or annuals, should actuallybe at the bottom of your gardening list. Instead, take a step back, look at your yard, make a plan, and consider three other types of plants to make the pretties even prettier.

The garden plan

While a basic knowledge of landscaping principles is quite helpful when planning a garden (see "Garden Design Basics"), you don't have to be a landscape expert to design a fabulous flower garden.

Really, all you need is a simple sketch of your flower beds; walk around your yard, measure beds and walking paths and plot them out to scale on a sheet of graph paper. Remember to include existing features of your yard on the plot: a deck, yard decor, fences, lighting, etc.

Gardener Yvonne Cunnington offers these additional tips for planning flower beds:

  • Allow for wide beds. Cunnington says beds 5 to 6 feet wide are best for those who want a layered garden with many different types of plants and textures.
  • Draw a line. Gardens don't encompass an entire yard, so setting them apart with a good line is a must. Cunnington says most home gardeners seem to like a soft, undulating line, but, she says, the straighter your line is, the more elegant your garden will appear.
  • Group plants. Allow room in your flower beds for plants to be grouped; lush flower gardens get that look by odd-numbered groups of plants. Allow each plant room to breathe; check the maximum growth size of each plant and plot it at least that length from the next plant. For example, a plant set to grow to 20 inches should be planted 20 inches from its neighbor.
  • Go for unity. Limit colors and plant types in your garden and repeat them in groups throughout, creating a unified design. Select a strong focal point, such as a gate or arbor, and build away from that. Cunningham says a row of dark evergreens can create a lush backdrop for blooms and color, while a single type of plant creates a bold edge along the garden's front.

The plants

Brookes classifies four types of plants essential to every successful home garden:

  • Specials. Specials are trees and other taller plants that can act as a garden focal point; plant these at the back or in the corners of the garden.
  • Skeletons. Skeletons are shrubs that offer year-round structure for the garden; try a row of evergreens.
  • Decoratives. Decoratives are flowering shrubs and tall grasses that add interest.
  • Pretties. Pretties are the show-stoppers: blooming perennials, annuals, and bi-annuals.

Garden varieties

Jazz up your garden design scheme even more by opting for a themed design; you can add interest with sculptures or structural features, such as ponds, or consider one of these design options.

  • The Japanese garden. Japanese and Asian gardens utilize more than just plants—they also typically include rocks, sand, hills, and water. Essentially, these gardens reproduce nature on a reduced scale; symmetry is less important in these gardens as nature itself is not always symmetrical. Japanese garden have a rich history and are rife with symbolism; the placement of each item has both a natural and spiritual significance.
  • The xeriscape garden. Xeriscaping is a water-wise type of landscaping designed to be water-efficient both with plants that require little water and a sloping design to maximize water flow to plants in general. Xeriscape gardens are ideal for arid climates or for environmentally conscious gardeners; visit a local bookstore or check out the web for more xeriscaping ideas.