Important Things to Know Before Putting the First Flower in the Ground

So you’re thinking about starting a flower garden? Many areas of the country have hot summers and sometimes difficult soil to grow in. There are some tips to follow that will help you start off on the right foot with your new flower garden.

When picking a spot for your garden in your new lot, look for a sunny spot, preferably with soil that is as good, as well-drained and as organic as possible.

The garden should have at least six hours of sunlight a day and should be well-ventilated to help control mold and mildew.

A “pH” test to determine the acidity of the soil might be good way to begin. Flower gardens do best with more neutral soil.

If your soil tends to be clayish and lacks air it may need topsoil brought in. For a successful flower bed, a truckload of topsoil or topsoil in bags may have to be tilled into the ground to a depth of at least eight inches.

The addition of the topsoil may raise the bed a little, which will improve the drainage.

Depending on the type of flowers you will be growing, you may also want to mulch the bed. Mulching will cut down on water loss through evaporation.

You may want to add some fertilizer while tilling the ground. A high-phosphorus fertilizer will encourage strong roots.

However, organic fertilizers such as manures, bone meal and cotton seed meal, might be more desirable since they offer longer, slower feeding and less danger of over applying and burning than with the other fertilizers. Cow manure is the most popular manure.

If you’re growing perennials or shrubs, you should pay careful attention to watering for the first summer. By the second summer, the plants should be “fairly-well established” and the watering will not be as critical.

There are two basic types of flowers: annuals, one-year plants that usually bloom in the summer, and perennials, which come back year after year. Annuals can either be sown or bought from a nursery already growing in cell packs.

If you buy the plants already established, you get a three- to four-week head start and, therefore, get color in your yard that much quicker.

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