Spring Garden Planning & Design Tips

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kniphofia-from-spring-hill-nursery March has arrived! And that means it’s time to make gardening plans for the year at our house. And since Fred’s mostly a “demolition guy” when it comes to landscaping, I called upon my sister Amy, and she and I did the designing (layout and plant selection) together.

I get to start fresh this year, since only a couple of the existing garden residents gets to stay. We found out last year that our bushes had a bacterial infection called crown gall and needed to be removed. Aside from those bushes – which had been designated “anchors” of the design prior to our discovery – I hadn’t put many flowers in, although I had expanded the front beds to reach our sidewalk in prior years. I mostly just turned the sod and mulched. So this year I’m excited to add COLOR!

For those of you who are like me, perennials are the way to go for the bulk of the landscape design. They mature over the years, returning bigger and brighter each time, and they require little maintenance as long as you select ones that are native to your region. I find that annuals add nice additional splashes of color in small spaces or around perimeters, but I don’t want to have to re-plant whole beds year after year, so I use them sparingly. They ARE beautiful though, so if you have the time and patience, annual beds look amazing.

Here’s a look into the design considerations we made when preparing for our garden. Stay tuned for a later post that details our garden design in graphical format.

Garden Design Considerations

Region – any good nursery or plant supplier will happily help you figure out your geographical “hardiness zone,” so you can select plants – and planting times – that are most likely to be successful.
Size and spacing – though you’re likely to start out with very young plants, or even bulbs, follow the spacing requirements needed for the mature plant, and pay attention to the eventual height of the plant, so you know how to lay them out in your garden. You’re going to want taller plants in the back and shorter in the front, of course. And while your garden may seem “dinky” the first couple of years, spacing the plants correctly (distance apart from one another) the first year will save you from having to move them (and possibly lose them in the process) in successive years.
Lighting and water requirements – pay attention to indications about whether the plant you like does best in full light, partial light, or full shade. Though you may think a particular plant is “the one” for a certain spot, it’s not worth attempting to mis-locate a plant. Maybe there’s another place around your house you can put it if you really must have that plant. But don’t put it where it won’t thrive or you’ll be re-planting that spot later with something that will.
Bloom times – it’s nice if your garden can have something going on throughout the year. For many of us, winter is out, but we can have blossoms from spring through autumn if we plan our gardens right. Look at your bed size and shape and plant to disperse plants of a particular blooming season across it. Then fill in gaps with plants that bloom at other times. It’s nice to come home to flowers regardless of the time of year.
Greenery – shrubs – even ones that don’t bloom – provide a nice backdrop for your blossoming plants. And blossoms fade and look rather pitiful at the end of their season, so it’s nice to have something constant, leafy and fresh-looking throughout the bed to draw your eye away from the fading and drooping.
Color – some people care about this more than others. I am one of those people. I hate, hate, HATE to have all the same color in a bed, or to have something that looks unbalanced – like three different purple-blossoming plants in one spot, then a yellow, then a whole bunch of another color. Since I want to be able to appreciate each plant’s beauty on it’s own, I separate plants of like color. This does not mean, however, that I plant only one of a particular type of plant in each space. Some plants look rather spindly and sad all by themselves, so I plant those guys in groups together. I just make sure that the plant or group of plants directly adjacent are of a different color. I’ve also seen very attractive gardens that only use two colors in them, so if you’re not into the rainbow of expression that I love, you can go with a very classy look by limiting the number of colors you have going on in the bed. Just don’t forget the foliage in those beds, either. They look best with a fair amount of green around the blooms.
Plant shape – there are small round bushy plants with tiny blossoms, very tall single-stemmed plants with huge blossoms at the top, and everything in between. (The picture above is of a Kniphofia cluster I found interesting and made sure to incorporate in my garden plan.) Balancing out the shapes of your plants throughout your beds makes for a more attractive look.
Plants that multiply – Some plants, like chrysanthemums, come back bigger each year but basically stay in one spot (assuming you prune them back at the end of the season, of course). Other plants – especially those you plant as bulbs – multiply exponentially over the years. If you think you’d like a huge section of daffodils in a corner of your bed, for example, just purchase a few bulbs – they’ll spread and spread over time, and you’ll find yourself pulling up bulbs just to thin them out down the road. For the thrifty gardener (that’s me!) this is a great benefit to certain types of plants. I worked a bunch of them into my design, so I can swipe the newbies and use them in other places around the house as they spread. It’s like getting two gardens for the price of one, if you’re patient and can wait a couple of years for the finished project. At any rate, if you chose to purchase some of these fast-spreading plants, you should plan on having to thin them out eventually. Look for other spots that can “house” them in the future, or pass them on to friends and neighbors!
Selecting a Supplier – I ordered my plants online through Spring Hill Nurseries and am happy to recommend them. I liked that I could check availability and pricing while I was sitting outside looking at my garden. And that I didn’t have to drive (with kids in tow, as usual) to nursery after nursery looking for my plants and comparing prices. If a plant I wanted to incorporate was unavailable, I just found another similar one and plugged that into my design. Also, since Spring Hill runs sales with regularity, I waited to purchase some of my plants during their “Penny” sales – during which time you order a plant, plant set or pack of bulbs and get another for just one penny more. Can’t beat that! But whatever supplier you select, be it a local nursery or an online supplier or a catalog supplier, ask around and make sure others have had good experiences with them. Check pricing, customer service, and product quality just as you would for any purchase, since it’s a shame to spend all the money, time and sweat planting a garden only to have something go wrong.

Garden planning can be a lot of fun! Check out books from the library, browse catalogs, and don’t feel like you have to plant it all this year. Starting with a master plan is a good idea, but building it a little at a time is totally acceptable. Happy designing!