Flowers in the Garden

FLOWER GARDENING

When I think of any kind of gardening, the first thing that pops into my head is flower gardening. Flowers and gardens are naturally synonymous with each other and flowers are what I prefer most in the garden, or course there is aways a place available for fruit and vegetables as well.

Being the dedicated gardener that you are, you’ll naturally be doing your own flower gardening this year, producing blooms and a garden to be proud of.

Flower gardening need not be limited only to summertime either. If you plan carefully and plant ahead of time, your garden can be filled with an abundance of flowers for most of the year.

Read our monthly articles to find out more about when to plant but for the meantime if we start by seasons, then for spring flowers, the best thing you could do would be to plant bulbs.

All nurseries and Garden Centres have them, and if you’re more inclined towards the exotic, and rarer flowering bulbs, there’s a good chance you can have them ordered specially. Online shops and catalogues are a great place to start if your local supplier can't help out in this area.

Favorites amongst bulb lovers are early springtime Crocuses, and cheerful Snowdrops. When they pop their shoots through the ground you, generally, know that the winter months are coming to an end.

Tulips though, are by and away the most famous of bulbs in demand by flower gardeners, and are available in a variety of shades, including a black-colored one, which is really more of a deep maroon and one of those rare flowers I was talking about earlier.

Remember that all spring flowering bulbs should be planted in mid autumn, with October being the most popular month, as this is the best time for them. Plant too late and you’ll be in danger of losing your bulbs altogether.

Moving through to summer, we find that perennials are a firm favorite for the flower garden as they yield blooms almost continuously throughout the season. With a little care and sometimes a wee bit of luck as well, you’ll also find that most of your perennials will last through to next year, and the year after that, and, well you get the picture right? Effort in effort out!

You’ll also find that as the years and the seasons wear on, your perennials will become fuller, and generally will become more abundant than the first year you planted them.

As autumn gently closes in most flower gardens are left bereft of anything but a few small hardy plants. If you're into more dedicated flower gardening however, that need not be the case for you. Hardy, drought resistant plants like Asters number among the many types of fall flowers available, and will look stunning in late summer/early fall.

Generally, autumn plants will grow to a good 3-4 feet in height, and have vivid colors, as well as the more modest pastel colours to choose from. Ornamental grasses are another Autumn favourite and will nicely complement your Autumn garden flowers.

To round off the year and your efforts at flower gardening, don't despair as there are many winter blooms available. Amaryllis, Hyacinth, and Narcissus are a few of the more common known flowers and are available in bulb form.

If you like something a little more out of the ordinary, you could always try Winter Jasmine, or Winter Honeysuckle.

So, take heart, take plenty of notes, plan you garden, and buy to your hearts (or budgets) content. Put the effort into creating a peaceful flower garden and the dividends will be rich and rewarding.

By the end of it all you truly will have a flower for every season, and your flower gardening efforts will be compunded each year.