Design a Small Backyard Flower Garden
A garden full of colorful flowers can help uplift your mood and your spirits. You do not need acres of land for a flower garden. A small area in your backyard will suffice, providing a retreat where you can relax and unwind with nature, and enjoy the birds and butterflies that will visit your garden.
Instructions
1. Decide on the size of your backyard flower garden, whether you want to use just a portion of your yard, or the entire area. You can make a square, rectangular or circular garden area. Measure the area so you can design it accurately on paper.
2. Design your flower garden on graph paper. Decide how many flower beds you want, how people will access your garden, how you will water the plants, what spacing you need between flowerbeds and where to place planter boxes or plant stands, if any.
Keep flowerbeds long and narrow, so you do not exceed the ideal width of 2 to 3 feet. Beds any wider make it difficult to access the flowers planted in the middle for weeding, watering and picking.
Plan the access to your flower garden. This does not have to be fancy and expensive; simple cobblestone, gravel or stone paths will do.
3. Determine how much sunlight hits the area demarcated for your flower garden, so you can purchase flowers accordingly. Some flowers need full sun, some thrive in partial sunlight, others prefer mostly shade. Check the area at different times of day to estimate how many hours of sun it gets overall.
4. Purchase a combination of tall and short flowers. Tall plants can include sunflowers, delphiniums, foxglove and gladiolas, while short ones can include pansies, marigold, violets and zinnias. Visit your local nursery and select flowers that appeal to you.
For a pleasing design for your flower garden, plant the tall flowers in the back of the flowerbeds, with the short ones in front. Also plant flowering vines over a fence, if any, to cover it and add color.
5. Incorporate trellises at the back of your flower garden to add more greenery to limited space. Trellises serve as vertical walls, encouraging plants to grow upwards on them and freeing ground space. You can purchase a simple trellis from a garden supply center, or make one yourself from wire, wooden posts or PVC pipes.
Add planter boxes and containers to your flower garden to create visual interest at different levels. You can also hang flowerpots against a wall with hooks.
