Well-groomed flower beds and lawns, neatly trimmed shrubs and trees in the garden area - this is the perfect picture that every gardener dreams of. But specifically, the flower bed is designed to decorate the entire site and raise the mood during the entire warm season. It takes a lot of time, patience and creative imagination to create it, but the result will be worth it. Such a fragrant floral island of nature will surely become the pride of its creators and will delight visitors.
Creating and decorating a flower bed with your own hands
Seat selection
The first step is to select a site for the construction of a flower bed. This procedure must be taken with great responsibility, since the splendor of the flowering of plants will depend on the place. The flower bed can be placed in an open sunny area or in a semi-shade area. It is desirable that sunlight illuminates the area for as long as possible, but at least 2-3 hours a day. It is not recommended to choose a shady area, because most flowering plants require a lot of sunlight for full and high-quality development.
Soil requirements
Abundant flowering of plants in a flower bed directly depends on the nutritional value of the soil on it. Therefore, the land needs fertile, loose, with good oxygen access and water permeability. The roots of plants must receive all the necessary nutrients, therefore, before planting flowering plants (about 1.5-2 months), it is recommended to dig up the selected area, adding organic fertilizing to the soil during digging.
The shape and content of the flower bed
Each owner can come up with the shape of the future flower bed at his discretion, depending on his imagination, the size of the site. But it would be good to think over in advance such its location so that it would be convenient to care for the plants. In addition, the most important thing is the maintenance of the flower bed. Here it is already worth taking care of every detail and trifle, choosing and purchasing only the most necessary plants. It is important to take into account the time and duration of their life and flowering periods, methods of reproduction and transplantation, decorative qualities, peculiarities of care and maintenance.
Annuals and perennials can be planted in the flowerbed, as both have their own advantages. For example, when planting one-year-old flowers every year, the flower bed will be transformed and look new. In addition, annuals have a longer flowering period. A positive quality of perennials is easier care, but they need regular attention. Flowers - perennials after a certain period must be transplanted, as they quickly grow and age.
If the flower bed is supposed to be placed in an open sunny area and with intense lighting during the day, then the flowers need to be selected corresponding to this moment. Light-loving plants include chamomile, irises, roses, dahlias, peonies and lilies... These perennials bloom for a long time and go well with many of their fellows.
You can make the plantings multi-tiered from dwarf, medium-sized and tall specimens. For example, in the foreground, along the edge of the flower bed, ground cover species and varieties look great. They are a decoration of the flower bed not only during the flowering period, but also at its end, as they spread on the ground with a dense rich green rug all summer long.
In a large flowerbed, you can even plant flowers that reach a height of 1.5-2 m. In the background, they will look perfect. If the area of the handmade flower garden is small, then you need to plant flowers that reach 50-60 cm in height.
If, when choosing plants, we take into account the flowering time of each of them, then the flower bed will bloom and savor constantly, until late autumn. For example, spring flowers such as tulips, daffodils and crocuses delight the eye for a short time. In about a month, the site will lose its attractiveness. After the end of their flowering, you can plant other plants (annuals) - marigolds, petunias, ageratum or zinnias... These species retain their decorative effect until the first frost.
For a flower bed in a shady place, a perennial fern is recommended, astilba, host, periwinkle, lily of the valley, buzulnik and annuals forget-me-nots, pansies... They are unpretentious to care for, look great on the site all summer months and all they need is plentiful daily watering.
Caring for a flower bed at a summer cottage
The main care of a flower bed is as follows:
- Regular and timely watering.
- Loosening the soil and removing weeds.
- Pruning dead plants and wilted buds.
- Application of dressings and fertilizers.
All these activities contribute to the preservation of decorative qualities, a lush and long flowering period, the provision of necessary nutrition and resistance to pests and diseases. One of the main things in quality care is the timely application of the fertilizers necessary for the plants. It is recommended to apply a complex mineral dressing with all important microelements at least twice a month with an interval of 15 days.
With creative thinking and great desire, even the most ordinary flower bed can become a real masterpiece. To begin with, to create an original flower arrangement, one square meter of land will be enough.
