Easy Way to Build a Beautiful Summer Flower Garden

Starting a flower garden from the ground up is fun and rewarding, and it can even be done at the height of summer.

A thoughtfully designed flower garden can transform any yard. Nobilior/Getty Images

A flower garden is a living, breathing, scent-producing work of art. It can actually reduce summer chores after installation, particularly if it replaces or reduces the size of the lawn.

It all starts with site selection. Most flowers love full sun—aka, a minimum of six to eight hours of sun per day—with some preferring partial sun of five to six hours per day. Watch how the sun moves through the yard. Note which areas get morning sun, afternoon sun, and all-day sun, and then choose the best flowers for the available sunlight. Got a lot of shade? Consider shade-loving astilbes, bleeding hearts, and that staple of garden resilience—hostas.

Most importantly, make sure the selected spot is near a water source. If not, consider installing drip irrigation or the less expensive alternative of running a polyvinyl chloride pipe underground from an existing faucet to a new spigot just about anywhere in the yard.

Mark It Out

Lay out—and fine-tune—the proposed flower bed shape using a garden hose, string, stakes (marking the corners of a proposed square or rectangular bed), or stakes and twine (for curved beds). Other options include cutting in the edges of the proposed design with a spade or edger or grabbing some temporary landscape paint.

A flower garden adds color, scent, and beauty. Thomas Barwick/Getty Images

Start Digging

Meticulously remove grass, old plants, and weeds, along with all their roots. Any plant parts left behind can quickly take over again, squeezing out the flowers. At the very least, they’ll require reweeding, which is more difficult when flowers are in place.

The soil should then be loosened at least six or eight inches deep so the new flower’s roots can grow easily.

Get Amending

Sandy soil, which drains too quickly, and clay soil, which drains too slowly, should be amended with organic matter in the form of compost, leaf mold, or well-rotted, aged manure. Or, incorporate a 50 percent topsoil and 50 percent compost quality garden soil mix into sandy soil, and a 50 percent topsoil, 25 percent compost, 25 percent sand blend into clay soil.

Raised bed garden mixes can also use a 50 percent topsoil and 50 percent organic matter (i.e., compost) quality garden soil.

Another popular choice is a combination of 60 percent topsoil, 30 percent compost, and 10 percent aeration material (such as sand or perlite). Although aeration materials will enhance drainage and soil aeration, this can be a double-edged sword, as it can also lead to water retention problems and nutrient depletion. It’s a judgment call, often based on the ground soil conditions beneath the bed.

Container gardeners will want to use a high-quality potting mix of 25 percent peat moss or coconut coir, 25 percent perlite, and 50 percent compost. Avoid the temptation to fill pots with regular garden soil, as it can compact and smother the roots.

To save money, you can buy the ingredients as less-expensive individual components and mix them in a wheelbarrow or 5-gallon bucket for smaller jobs.

Think on Paper

Draw things out first on paper, or use a free garden design app such as Garden Puzzle. Be sure to take into account each plant’s final size.

When in doubt, start small, then expand the beds as your confidence increases, whether the goal is colorful curb appeal or a backyard nature sanctuary—or both. Keep beds three to four feet deep at most to simplify maintenance.

Pastels are serene. Bold colors are energetic. Consider combining them for a unique effect. Plant at least three to five (odd numbers work better) of each flower to keep the beds from looking chaotic.

You could plant taller plants in the back of a bed and shorter ones in front. Or, in the case of a round or oval-shaped island bed, or one wrapped around a tree, place the taller plants in the middle and graduate downward in height so the shortest plants are at the edges.

Don’t forget to allow room in the budget for mulch to help the soil retain moisture and give beds a finished look. It’s especially important when the plants are small and there’s a lot of space between them.

Instant Gratification

If you’re looking for hardy choices that do well even when planted in early-to-peak summer, consider zinnias, cosmos, marigolds, nasturtiums, sunflowers, Mexican sunflowers, black-eyed Susans, echinacea (purple coneflower), gaillardia, calendula, coreopsis, or Shasta daisies.

Although they can all be grown from seeds, it may be simpler to buy some seedlings this year and save seeds from those plants for next year, if it’s an open-pollinated (heirloom) variety. Plus, nasturtiums, Mexican sunflowers, gaillardia, and some calendula can be perennials in zones nine to 11.

When shopping, consider asking a local nursery whether it will give a discount for a bulk buy. Some home improvement stores do this automatically.

Never Forget

Once a plant starts flowering, regularly remove spent flowers to encourage new blooms.

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Adaptive Strategies

Flowers come in many shapes, sizes, and colors to suit every taste, with many options to choose from even for difficult situations.

OK With Wet Feet

The following are solutions to wet areas in the yard where nothing else wants to grow: buttonbush, cardinal flower, marsh marigold, Japanese iris, southern blue flag, American bellflower, curly clematis, few-flower milkweed, coastal tickseed, coastal Joe Pye weed, and large-flower hibiscus.

Drought-Tolerant

These perform well even in hot, dry conditions: lavender, zinnias, lantana, coneflower, black-eyed Susans, yarrow, coreopsis, gaura, phlox, alpine aster, antelope horns milkweed, blanketflower, marigolds, sedum, hens and chicks, red hot poker, Russian sage, and verbena.

Accent Plants

Ferns add a lush ambience to flower beds, whether they’re sun lovers or shady spot specialists. Add ongoing vibrancy with the colorful leaves of coleus, coral bells, sun-tolerant caladiums, canna, ornamental sweet potato vine, tampala, begonia, dusty miller, or crotons.