How to Arrange Flower Gardens

Visit your local library and review books on different types of flower gardens. You may be attracted to the lines of a well-groomed and asymmetrically planted formal garden with trimmed hedges and topiaries. Or the tumbled look of a country garden might be more to your liking. Another alternative is a wildflower garden. Decide what type of flower gardens appeal to you.

Sketch the area to be landscaped. Note where trees, bushes and buildings are currently located. Mark shady and sunny areas as well. Add in patios and other hardscape areas. Reserve spots for lawns and play areas.

Select the flowers based on color, growth habit and maintenance. Roses are colorful and bloom from spring to fall. However, they do require regular feeding, pruning and inspection for pests. If your gardening time is limited, you would be better off with hibiscus, which don't require much pampering.

Choose a color palette for each flower garden and the landscape as a whole, unless you have several acres to work with and can separate the different color schemes with lots of greenery and space. All bright colors work well together. All pastel colors work together. White lightens up any color scheme. Blues and purples recede, making the yard look bigger, while oranges and reds appear to be closer than they are.

Plan for colors throughout the season. Start with spring bulbs, such as tulips and daffodils. Continue with summer bloomers like cosmos and zinnia, and finish with a flourish in the fall with chrysanthemums and shrubs and bushes that turn color. When planting, take into consideration that deciduous trees may not have leafed out. A flower bed that is partially in the shade in summer could be in direct sunlight all day in the spring. Fall light is not as intense as in the summer and shadows are longer.

Save one flower bed for a cutting garden. Tuck it into a far corner of the yard so when you cut flowers you won't ruin the look of the landscape.

Draw the different flower beds onto your sketch with selected plant names.