This tutorial in pictures illustrates how to go about planting flower beds. In the picture above, I reveal the end result; in the rest of the tutorial, I'll show you the steps leading up to that result.
My flower bed planting consists of 2 rows of annual and perennial flowers in the front and a staggered row of taller plants (mainly shrubs) in the back. Note that while the latter are not, in fact, "taller" at the present time, they will, eventually, surpass the rest in height. While I could have achieved greater visual impact by selecting more mature shrubs to begin with, I felt that cost, too, should be a consideration in this project. And the fact is, the shrubs in question were selling for $5.95 (U.S.) -- making them very hard to pass up!
In choosing the location for my flower bed and the placement of my plants, I followed a practice known as "layering." In the context of planting flower beds, "layering" means you put the tallest flower bed plants in the back, the shortest in the front row, and the remaining flower bed plants in between. My layered flower bed should provide maximum visual appeal when all the plants mature.
Selecting the Flower Bed Plants
But in addition to considering plant heights, the following are some of the factors that went into my plant selection, when I went to the store to make my purchase:
- I needed sun plants.
- I wanted at least some perennials.
- I wanted plants that would offer interesting textures
- Color scheme: blue-purple-gold (see Step 2 for planting flower beds...).
