A Beautiful Garden

Beautiful gardens are one of the first things that people notice about a home; they add pops of color and personality. A row of roses is sweet and sophisticated, and a bed of sunflowers is lively and fun. 

You've seen gardens that are lush and dreamlike, but you’ve also seen gardens that are pretty but lacking in strong character. If you are dedicated, you can have your own fantasy garden.

The first part of having a garden is having a good base for your greenery. You need nutrient-rich soil, either from store-bought garden soil and/or compost. For your flowers to produce vibrant blooms, they need all the nutrients they can get.

When picking your plants, think about how much water each needs and how frequently you will be tending to your plants. Will the watering schedule work for you? If not, skip that plant and find more low maintenance ones. Gardening should be a pleasure, not a daily chore.

Once you understand the basics of gardening, it is time to create your vision.

A good garden is one that pleases the eye. A simple way to achieve that is to understand the basics of color theory. The complementary color sets are red with green, yellow with purple, and blue with orange. Incorporating those colors together will create an eye-catching contrast. 

Another way to have beautiful colors is to choose blooms of the same tones. If your garden is warm-toned (reds, oranges, and yellows), it will be inviting and invoke feelings of happiness. If your garden is cool-toned(greens, blues, and purples), it will be calming and invoke thought. Think about the mood you want your garden to be.

Now, you should have an even clearer vision of your garden, and the challenge is arranging it. Stand in front of where you want your garden and visualize it. Think about what you find beautiful in a garden. When you know how you want to arrange your flower bed, write it down. Take note of how many plants you’ll need to fill the area. You do not want gaps in your foliage, so you’ll need to have the plants close to each other, but not too close. When you have your seeds/bulbs/etc., you’ll be ready to plant and take care of them.

After you have finished, be sure to maintain the undergrowth and trim excessive growth off of your plants. If the ends of some leaves are wilting, give an extra spray of water. When a flower is dying, cut it off.

Your work will be worth the effort when you look at your home and see its personality.