Flower Gardening & Landscaping 

The desire for color in the garden is best satisfied by the liberal use of annuals', perennials and bulbs in variety. All three classes of plants have their place, because each has its value as to season of bloom, height or mass of color.

Succession of bloom from early spring to late fall is the goal of nearly every gardener. To achieve this consider first that very few hardy flowers have an in­dividual blooming period of more than two or three weeks. Even annuals bloom only during the summer. Therefore, even for a small garden, one may have to select several dozen different kinds of plants' to assure bloom from March to killing frost.

Your climate will determine how early in the spring and how late in the fall you can have flowers. An added factor is the location of your garden. Low spots in valleys often suffer more from frosts than those at slightly higher elevation, or on hillsides. This is usually due to lack of air drainage to carry the cold air away. Those near large bodies of water, such as lakes and the ocean, may have a later spring but a longer growing season in the fall than those but a few miles away. Very hot summer climates, especially where the nights are hot, limit the kinds of flowers that may be grown. This ap­plies to hardy flowers as well as annuals. Basic to all successful gardening is good soil and good soil preparation.

The skillful gardener employs numerous devices to achieve a colorful flower bed or border. For example, by planting spring flowering bulbs between and beneath other flowers, each square foot of ground should give at least two crops of bloom. Conversely, after spring bulbs, such as daffodils and tulips, are through blooming, they may be interplanted with annuals for summer bloom. As summer blooming annuals go by in September, they can be followed by chrysanthemum clumps transplanted from another part of the garden. An orderly plan, made in advance, will simplify the task of keeping the show going from season to season.

The kinds of flowers you grow will be determined in a measure by the amount of sunlight available. This will vary from bed to bed, from one side of the house to the other. Most flowers will thrive in full sun but a few require shade. Others are shade tolerant, though doing better with a greater amount of sunlight. So it is possible to have flowers in the shade of trees, shrubs and buildings even where no direct sunlight reaches. Such plants as ferns, many wild flowers, and begonias have to be protected from the summer sun, for otherwise they may sun-scorch.

When making a plan, it is important to know how tall each kind of flower grows so as not to plant tall growing ones in front of low ones. The habit of growth should be known too, so as not to crowd massive clumps like peonies next to smaller, weaker growers such as peachleaf bellflowers; or sprawling coreopsis next to a low, tufted Japanese primrose.

Whether you are an experienced gardener or an enthusiastic beginner, this SITE is designed for you.