Garden design is something that should be considered before you even purchase your first plant. Here are some tips for basic garden design:

Map Out Your Area

The first thing you need to do is map out the area of your yard that you will be using for your garden. Is it a sunny spot or shady? Does it have well drained soil or is it kind of wet? You will need to take these details into consideration as they will dictate the plants that you should plant. Always be sure to purchase plants that will grow best under the conditions that you have in the area set aside for your garden, otherwise getting your plants to thrive will be a hard struggle.

Once you have decided where you want your garden to be, you need to figure out how many plants you want to have. You donít want to crowd the area too much, but you also want to be sure it looks full and lush. The best way to do this is to literally rope off the area and place cut outs or other items in the areas where you might put your plants. This way you can keep moving them and adding and subtracting until you get the look you are going for. Once you do, youíll know just how many plants to buy!

Consider The Flower Height

When it comes to buying the actual flowers, you want to take height into consideration. In fact, you want to have flowers of all different heights, but you need to place them strategically in the garden. Be sure to plant some tall flowers at the back near your fence or the wall of your house (If you garden is out in the open with no wall or fence at the back, put the tall flowers in the very middle). Then you will want some medium height flowers for the middle areas and, finally some short flowers for the very edges.

Consider The Bloom Time

Annuals usually bloom all season, but if you are adding some perennials to your garden, you want to pay attention to their bloom times so that you can buy different kinds of perennials and bulbs that bloom at different times. That will you will always have color in the garden. Youíll want to look for early spring, late spring, early summer and late summer blooming plants and plant them next to each other. The goal is to have one plant getting ready to bloom as the blooms are leaving the one that bloomed earlier in the season.

Use Contrast And Color

You want to plan for different colors, different heights and different textures in your plants. Along with flowers, include some shrubs and ornamental grasses that will add interest to the garden. Planting just one type of plant is boring, but if you combine different types you will find that your garden has variety and interest.

Finally, donít feel like you have to fill the garden up all in the first week. You can plant your garden gradually so that it fills out over the season or even over a couple of years. They key is to have a good garden plan to start with and youíll find that your gardening endeavors are much more satisfying and beautiful.

Some plants that are biennials are often confused for perennials because they are self sowing, dropping seeds each year that grow into new plants the next year. Interestingly enough, some plants that are perennials such as sweet william and forget me nots are often mistaken for biennials because they deteriorate significantly after the second year.

A lot of gardeners like to plant biennials from seed directly into the garden. This should be done in late spring or early summer. Sprinkle them on the ground and keep them watered until they germinate. They should be sown in a shady area at first, but once the seedlings are strong enough transplant them to full sun.

You can also start biennials indoors in small pots and transplant them outdoors once it becomes warm enough and the seedlings are strong enough for transplanting. Either way, you should make sure they are in the ground well before frost so that they can establish a strong root system before winter.

One technique to having biennials growing in your garden is to be sure to have seeds for planting every year. That way you will always have blooms from your second year plants as your first year plants are growing to establish themselves. Part of the fun of biennials is collecting the seeds from the plants to grow the following year.

Perhaps the favorite biennial plant of all is the pansy which is probably the most recognizable plant and often grown as an annual in window boxes. Other biennial plants include sweet William. Foxglove, hollyhock, evening primrose and forget me not.

Perennials are typically purchased in small pots at your local garden store. These are already growing and can be transplanted in the garden. If you order them through mail order, you might get them as ìbare rootî plants which look like a pile of dead sticks! You can store these in a cold place until you are ready to plant them and donít be put off by their appearance, once you put these dead looking sticks in the ground, they will begin to grow!

Perennials should be planted in spring, but when buying them as already growing plants in pots, you can, of course, plant them all summer long. Of course, the earlier in the season the more established the root system will be come winter and thus the better chances for survival of the plant.

Planting perennials is easy! Just dig a hole as deep as the container the plant is already in and a bit wider. Then shake the plant loose from the container ñ gently of course so you do not damage it. The roots may be compacted, in which case you want to gently try to separate them as much as you can. Put the plant in the hole and fill it back up with the extra soil that you dug out from the hole. Perennials should be planted at the same level as the container they were in. If you are planting dry root plants, soak them in water for 1 hour before planting.

Perennials like to grow in a well drained soil to which you can add some 5-10-5 fertilizer before planting. After planting, be sure to water your plants thoroughly and then cover the area with mulch to help keep moisture in and weeds out.

Perennials will multiply and you can divide them and transplant them in another part of the garden. If you do this, be sure to do it in cool weather and keep the divided parts cool as you transplant them. Take extra care if the plant is flowering. Different perennials like to be divided at different times ñ it is quite plant specific so make sure you know when your particular plant should be divided before you start this process. Some popular perennials include tulip, daffodil, columbine, iris, delphinium and peony.

The answer is simple; it means to use natural products in your gardening efforts. In particular this refers to fertilization and pest control; two aspects of gardening that have, in the past, made heavy use of chemicals.

Luckily, todayís gardeners donít have to make use of harmful chemicals in order to have beautiful gardens since there are many organic options that will help keep your garden environmentally friendly.

Fertilizer

Fertilizer is to plants what food is to people and all gardens need a bit of fertilizer in order to produce lush, vibrant plants. All fertilizers should contain nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium as these are the 3 ingredients that plants need for growth. While there are some organic fertilizers that contain all 3 like manure, many of them contain only 1 of these elements so one must be careful to combine appropriately when using these fertilizers.

Some popular organic fertilizers include:

Fish Emulsion ñ decomposed mashed up fish ñ this is kind of smelly but the smell goes away after a few days. High in nitrogen, this can help with early growth in spring.

Blood Meal ñ this powdered fertilizer is made from dried blood from cattle slaughterhouses ñ it is also high in nitrogen.

Chicken Poop ñ These non smelly pellets made from chicken poop contain all the nutrients needed for good growth.

Pest Control

When it comes to pest control, going organic is a little bit more work. You can invite ìfriendlyî bugs like lady bugs, birds and lacewings into your garden to help with some of the work. Planting plants native to your area will also help as they will be more resistant to native pests and disease. In the end, keeping a close eye on your garden and immediately eliminating any sick or diseases leaves or plants is your best bet for organic pets control.

Going organic in your garden is a great way to really connect with the earth and insure that what you are doing is helping the environment as opposed to harming it. Good organic practices help to ensure that the beauty of nature, and gardens, will be around for generations to come.

If you want to be considerate of the environment, youíll want to be sure to use organic fertilizers. These are made from natural ingredients like fish emulsion and chicken poop and can be great to use on your flowers. They key is to be sure to get the right kind and donít overfeed the plants or they can become damaged.

Fertilizers typically contain 3 things, nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. Each of these provides a specific function for the flower which is why you might consider different mixtures of these at different times in the plants life. Potassium helps the plant grow a healthy root system and nitrogen helps with green growth so you might want to use a fertilizer that is heavier in these compounds when the plant is young. Phosphorous will promote beautiful, big flowers so use a fertilizer high in phosphorous before the plant starts to bloom and all during the blooming season.

Another thing to consider is the type of plant. Different flowers like their fertilizer to have different amounts of nitrogen, phosphorous and potassium. This is typically called out on the label of the plant, or you can look it up in any good gardening book. Providing your plants with a fertilizer that meets itís particular needs will help ensure good, healthy growth.

If you are using a liquid fertilizer, youíll want to apply it to your annuals every 2 weeks or so. Perennials, roses and other shrubs should only be fertilized every 4 weeks. Be very careful to follow the directions on the package and not to over fertilize and this can burn the plant. Sometimes too much of a good thing can be harmful!

Granular fertilizers are released slowly into the soil, but you need to be careful that you donít put them too close to young plants as they can burn the fragile stems. Use these as directed on the package, usually every 4 weeks.

There are many different kinds of fertilizer out there, take a trip to your local garden center and pick out one that seems like it will work for you. Try it out and if you donít like using it then move on to another one until you find one that suits your needs. Always remember to follow the directions on the package and your sure to have a healthy lush garden all season long!

Fall Planting And Transplanting

We often think of springtime as the time to plant new plants, but there are many trees and shrubs that prefer to be planted in fall. If you have some of these earmarked for your garden then now is the time to get them in the ground. Also, plenty of plants should be transplanted in the fall so if you are moving around any of these plants get these tasks done well before the first frost.

Cleaning And Pruning

Now is the time to clean out the debris from your garden such as fallen leaves, flowers and branches. Also, if you have annuals that have died off, dig them up to make room for next years plantings. If you have perennials, be sure to cut them back in early fall, before the frost sets in but take care of which plants you cut as many summer blooming shrubs like butterfly bush do better if you donít cut them back until spring.

Set Your Winter Mulch

Mulching can help give your plants a little more protection from the harsh cold of winter and what better way to use your raked up lawn leaves than for mulch in the garden? Shred the leaves and spread the mulch around the bottom and roots of your plants. You can shred them with the lawnmower or use a chipper. They will also make a nice compost to be worked into the soil next summer.

Spring Bulbs

Bulbs that flower in spring like tulips, daffodils and crocus should be planted in fall. Be sure to get them in before the ground freezes.

Watering

Itís important to water your trees and shrubs well in the fall as this helps them to survive winter better. Try to give them a deep soaking or two during the fall and right up until the ground freezes.

Fertilizing

You can fertilize your plants in the fall so that they are ready to grow lush and bountiful in the spring. Be sure you use a winterizing fertilizer that promotes root growth but does not promote leaf growth.

Getting your garden in tip top shape before winter can ensure that your plants survive and ready for healthy growth in spring. Not only that but your garden will be ready to go once those warm days hit and you can spend your time planting and nurturing instead of cleaning up last years dead branches and leaves!

One thing you can do is to clean up all the debris, broken branches and leaves that have accumulated in your garden over the winter. You want to be careful, though if the ground is still very wet as walking around on it can cause the dirt to become compressed. Take this time to rake up dead matter as well as pull out any weeds left over from last year.

Once the snow is completely gone, you can take a look around your garden for any old annuals that are still in the ground. These will not come back, so now is the time to dig them up and get rid of them to make room for this years flowers. At the same time, take a good look at your perennials and cut back any stems that you missed in the fall.

Some woody plants like lavender and butterfly bush only bloom on the new branches so they should be cut back in spring. If you are cutting plants, be sure that any threat of frost is passed as a sudden frost can kill the fresh cut plants. Be careful about which plants you prune, though as some shrubs actually form their buds in the fall and if you cut them off in the spring you wonít get any flowers at all!

Spring is also a good time to assess your garden and decide which plants you want to divide, which plants you want to move or remove and which new plants you want for the gardening season. Also, be sure to take note of how much mulch you will need for the garden. If you have wood chips and havenít removed them for several seasons, now might be the time to do some scooping and removal to make way for new wood chips.

If you have trellises, arbors, statues or fountains in your garden, now is the time to make sure they are in tip top shape. After-all, the warmer months are taken up with planting and tending to your plants so getting your garden accessories ready now will ensure they look beautiful all summer long. Take this time to do any repair work or painting.

Taking advantage of the early spring days can help you get your garden in top shape for the warmer months plus itís a great way for you to get outdoors in the fresh air!

You can start your annuals from seed inside your house in the early spring and then plant them in the garden outside once the weather is warm but what most gardeners do is get ìcell packsî of annuals that have already been started at the local greenhouse to plant in their gardens. These little plastic ì6 packsî have 6 little wells filled with soil and a tiny starter plant. Planting them in the garden is easy, and they are rather inexpensive depending on the type of annual you are planting.

You should wait to plant your annuals until it is rather warm and all threat of frost is well past. What you want to do is dig a hole about the depth of the cell pack for each plant. Then gently squeeze the well that the plant is in and gently lift the plant out. Very gently spread the roots as much as you can and place in the hole. They plant should be planted at the same level or depth as it was in the cell pack.

Once the plant is firmly in the hole, pat in the extra dirt around it and water it. You want to give it a really good soaking and then pat more dirt in to make sure the plant is in there good and solid. You can use a starter fertilizer with a high phosphorous content if you want. Try for something that is labeled 10-52-17 but make sure you donít give the plant too much.

Add mulch around the plant to help the soil retain moisture and to also help keep down on weed growth.

Maintaining your annuals properly will ensure lush, healthy plants. You want to make sure they get enough water, but not too much. Standing water is not desirable and watering less often but for longer amounts of time is preferable to frequent light watering as it will help the roots grow deeper.

Some annuals need to be ìdead headedî in order to keep them from getting too ìleggyî or stemmy. This process of picking off the flowers before they turn to seeds will cause the plant to produce more flowers and give your plants a full and bushy look. Geraniums, cosmos, zinnias and impatiens are just a few of the annuals that can benefit from this practice.

Some popular annuals include: alyssum, petunia, marigold, begonia, cosmos, geranium, impatiens, snapdragon, verbena and vinca.