Garden Design and Garden Décor

Designing and planting a garden from scratch can be a daunting task, especially if you aren't familiar with the basic fundamentals of gardening before you begin. There really is more to growing a flourishing flower or vegetable garden than simply planting and watering. You will be delighted with your gardening efforts if you follow these six basic rules.

1. Select an appropriate garden site
2. Develop your garden design BEFORE selecting plants
3. Prepare and amend your garden soil as needed
4. Determine watering system needed
5. Determine your plant hardiness zone
6. Research and select proper plants for your zone

Garden Site

Select a site for your flower garden where your annuals and perennials will have six or more hours of direct sun every day, and a shady area for plants that aren't heat-tolerant. Most vegetable plants thrive in full sun but some leafy vegetables, such as lettuce, spinach, and kale do best with partial shade daily. If you aren't sure where to plant what, consult with your local nursery or garden center for some planting guidelines.

Garden Design and Decor

This will be YOUR garden and it should be pleasing to you. Visit your local garden center and browse through some of the excellent garden design books. OR, search the Internet where you will find endless helpful garden and landscape designs. Many designs are available on CDs and others can be downloaded to your computer.

The Internet is also a great place to find many unique garden décor items including garden arbors, garden water fountains, garden furniture, garden benches, birdbaths, water fountains, sundials, weathervanes, statuaries, outdoor garden lights, garden torches, garden plaques, and garden tools. Your garden is a reflection of yourself - so keep this in mind when shopping for garden and home accessories.

Prepare Garden Soil

Flowers and vegetables need well-drained, moist soil for healthy growth. Amend poor garden soil by mixing in compost, peat moss, manure, or other organic mulches when preparing beds. This should be done well before planting your garden. Be sure to remove any visible noxious weeds as needed.

Garden Watering Needs

Decide how you will water your garden. Drip systems or soaker hoses are a great way to water flowers and vegetable plants, as they don't get the leaves or delicate blossoms wet. If you need an automatic irrigation system with timers, install it prior to planting. Most plants need more water for a week or two after planting to prevent stress, but follow a watering schedule after that.

Garden Hardiness Zone

U.S. gardeners rely on the USDA Hardiness Zone Map to determine their growing zones. Before planting your garden, you should know if the perennial plants, shrubs, and trees you select will be able to tolerate weather conditions in your area year-around.

Plant Selection

Selecting plants will be your greatest joy after your garden site is ready to plant. Only you will know if you want to plant annual or perennial flowers, vegetables or herbs, shrubs or trees, or a combination of all. Most of all - ENJOY your garden!

If you're a seasoned gardener, you know how important it is to have proper garden tools to care for your garden. Novice gardeners may try to get by with a shovel, a hoe, and a rake-didn't their forefathers garden with these tools? Probably so, but today's garden tools are much more sophisticated, making gardening so much easier.