How to Grow Great Flowers

Passersby stop and admire the best gardens – sometimes enviously. Other gardens never seem to look quite as beautiful as they should, while still others hold poor apologies for flower plants that either don’t bloom or die halfway through blooming. So what is the secret to having a great flower garden? Here are four steps that may help a sad garden grow great flowers.

Soil Type and Quality

Each region has its own soil type – some have several types. If you grow plants that do not like the kind of soil in your garden, they will not grow well, or at all. So getting the soil analysed is the first step in having a great flower garden. Many nurseries provide soil testing kits so that you can see what is missing. It could be trace elements or just ordinary fertiliser.

Soil type is classed as acid or alkaline. Acid loving plants cannot usually be grown in alkaline soil and vice versa. Only if the soil is replaced or lime or dolomite added, will the soil type be changed.

In addition, soil can be sandy, loam or clay. Loam refers to rich soil that usually grows anything well – but even loan can be improved with more compost. Clay needs to be broken up with dolomite and lots of plant material, while sandy soil needs the addition of fertilizer and compost, or manure.

Watering/Mulching

Most plants need a good supply of water when they are growing. If there are water restrictions in the area, using grey water – e.g. from the washing – in the garden will help. Mulch is the watchword to keep it there, rather than letting it evaporate due to hot sun and wind. A garden with lots of mulch will not need nearly as much water. Mulch also breaks down gradually to provide more nutrients.

Poor looking plants can often be improved by watering them with a liquid fertilizer which they absorb through their leaves as well as by the root system. Then when it is time to replace them, add lots of compost and fertilizer.

Sun or Shade

Many flower plants need full sun to grow well; some will grow in part or dappled shade and a few in full shade. Trying to grow sun-loving flowers in shade is doomed to failure. Similarly, planting shade-lovers in full sun will scorch them to death.

Mini-climates can be made in the garden by adding shade trees, a warmth retaining wall or a thicket of bushes as protection against cold wind and frost.

Remember that cold air sinks, so it is possible to let pockets of cold air drain from a garden on a slope by placing an opening in the fence or wall on the downhill side. This may be all that is needed to prevent frost from settling in your garden. A canopy of higher-growing foliage plants may also help.

Caring for Plants

Several steps can be taken to increase the flowering time of plants.

• Deadheading: Cutting off old blooms will encourage new ones to grow and prevent that tatty look.
• Careful planting: Growing annuals to fill in the gaps left between perennial flowering times will prevent bare patches.
• Debugging: Taking care to watch for bad bugs and spray to prevent plants or blooms being attacked.
• Timing: Never water plants in the heat of the day. This can scorch delicate leaves or blooms. Early morning or late evening is best.
• Weeding: No flowers can grow their best if smothered by weeds.

Four Primary Steps

• Test soil and add what it needs.
• Water and mulch properly.
• Grow the right kind of plants for the climate, soil and conditions
• Care for the plants properly.

By taking care to follow all four steps, gardeners can have the kind of flower garden that will be the envy of many.