Planning a flower garden design requires a lot of patience, care and attention but the rewards are a beautiful garden, painted with all kinds of bright and vibrant colours.
The shape and dimensions of any flower garden design are important. Straight lines are far easier to achieve and keep neat and tidy. However, many people prefer curves and if you decide to design a curved flower garden make sure you create clean sweeping lines that maintain a strong shape.
The modern method for creating a flower garden is to mix flowering trees, shrubs and flowers together instead of segregating them into different beds. This creates a much more natural arrangement that maintains its appeal all year round.
The one tip that professional flower gardeners seem to repeat time and time again is to ensure that you design wide flower beds wherever possible. This allows you to create a multi-layered flower garden and makes planting a far easier job. Make sure your plants have enough room to grow and give careful thought to how you're going to space everything out.
When you're choosing where to position different flowers, plant each flower in odd numbers of three or more. So for example, you might plant three of one flower and then 5 of another, or 3 of each. The reason for doing this is to avoid creating an overly busy garden with flowers seemingly scattered haphazardly. Small groups of each flower positioned together create a far neater image.
Flowers should be planted in height order from back to front, with the tallest at the back and the shortest at the front. This ensures that all of the flowers can be appreciated and creates a well defined shape to a flower garden.
To ensure that your flower garden is tied together well, use plants and hedges to surround the garden or create a clear and distinct border.
Flower gardens can look beautiful however they're arranged, but if you want to achieve a more contemporary look then try to plant flowers symmetrically.
Finally, to make a really dramatic statement about your flower garden design, include a center-piece such as a bench, a fountain or a statue that will compliment the flower arrangements.
We've listed a number of suppliers of products and services to help you create a professional flower garden design.