No matter how small or big your yard is, there is always room to plant another flower garden. If your garden is small, you might not think this is the case, but trust me, it is. Size doesn’t matter when it comes to a flower garden. Whether you want to pot a container full of color, or just a small patch of, flowers can do the job.
And if you are lucky enough to live in an area with mild winters, then the growing season will be even longer. In these areas, flower that are considered annuals in colder areas, become perennials when frost is not an issue. But, even if you live in a colder area, you can try these ideas for small flower gardens.
Create A Focal Point
You can create a focal point for a small flower garden by using different objects. Things like garden art, a birdbath or fountain are ideal and make the garden more interesting.
To ensure blooms in all four seasons, plant a succession of plants. For example, start with bulbs for spring. These can be followed zinnias (Zinnia elegans) in summer, then by mums (Dendranthema x grandiflorum) in fall. Over the holidays, potted poinsettias (Euphorbia pulcherrima) are ideal.
Unique and Different Container Gardens
Terracotta pots are standard in most gardens, so to make it more interesting, do more than just pot in one of these. Look for unique, different and unusual pots or containers that will make the flower garden stand out.
A child’s wagon is a movable garden. Poke holes in the bottom for drainage and plant directly in the wagon. Or fill the wagon with potted plants, then cover the soil and pots by tucking sphagnum moss around them.
Instead of throwing away that weather beaten wood chair. Cut out the seat and put a pot in its place filled with trailing flowers.
Create a seating area with two chairs and a bench all converted to planters. Just about anything, even an old bathtub, can be used as a flower garden container if it has drainage holes and will hold soil.
Miniature Landscapes
If you’ve ever been to the themed entertainment parks you’ve probably seen the tiny landscapes creating miniature gardens complete with cottages. Do the same using a bird house for the cottage.
Plant baby tears (Helxine soleirolii) which has tiny white flowers for the lawn around the cottage. A miniature rose bush (rosa) trimmed into a tree provides shade. Select tiny flowering plants such as sweet alyssum (Lobularia maritime) and lobelia (Lobelia erinus) for hedges.
Another option is a spring bulb garden using miniature daffodils (Narcissus pseudonarcissus), tulips (Tulipa gesneriana) and Iris (Iris). Buy pre-chilled bulbs or refrigerate the bulbs for eight weeks before planting in mild winter areas.
Designs
Steal the idea from formal gardens where plants are planted in intricate designs. It might be too much to keep a large garden maintained in the design but a small one is a snap.
Choose geometric shape for the garden. Circles work well. Plant a border of low growing flowers around the edge of the circle. Make an X in the circle with another kind of flower. Fill in the triangles of the X with a third kind.
You can also start with a circle in the middle of one kind of flower. This could be a taller growing one. Then do a ring of another type, then another and so on until you reach the edge. Using different contrasting colors or shades of one color would look great.
Another option is to spell out initials or a word with contrasting flowers.
Edible Flowers
In upscale restaurants flowers do more than act as the centerpiece. Flowers are served in salads, stuffed and decorate desserts. Create an edible flower garden with small flowers such as pansies (Violax wittrockiana), which taste sweet, nasturtiums (Tropaeolum) which are spicy and miniature roses. Don’t use any pesticides while the flowers are growing.
Growing small flower gardens is easy using the ideas above. You can easily create a patch of seasonal color using a bit of creativity and some suitable plants. Have fun!