Your Garden Project - How To Plant And Place Shrubs And Flowers
A garden project that is vital is to properly place your plants. Here are some basic tips to ensure
your shrubs and flowers stay happy and healthy. You have planned
and prepped your new area outdoors and are ready to
do the final step, positioning and putting them in the ground.
Placing your shrubs or flowers property is a very important.
There are many different ways to design your beds, but correct spacing of each specimen
is critical in allowing the plants to grow properly. If you
take a look at this photo you can see the shrubs were placed too
close together. They are overcrowed and the result could be stunted
growth and unhealthy plants. The
first step in a project like this is to know how high and wide each plant will be
when it is fully matured. When doing any garden project,
think down the road a few years. You may get this project
done and say to yourself,"wow, all this money and time and
these plants look so small. I should have bought more."
I have had many clients feel this way.
Shrubs and trees take time to grow but with a little patience
you will see the difference in the near future.
Unless you buy a full size plant, each specimen grows at
different intervals. Before you purchase any materials
know the maturity of each shrub and flower. This will make it so
much easier for you in the long haul. The average shrub comes
in a one, three, five, or seven gallon containers. Flowers are put
in trays of six, twelve or twenty four plugs. They also come in pint,
one or two gallon containers.
- The first tip is called a staggering pattern. This style of spacing can be done with any type of landscaped bed.
Always place the shrubs first in their containers approximately where you plan on planting each one. Lets take an example
of planting across the front of the house. Landscape beds along the front of a house is very popular today.
There is no set rule of where to position your first shrub. Sometimes I will put the first one in the center and work my way on either side.
You can also start at one end and work your way down to the other end. Remember not to place the shrubs too close to your foundation.
Say you are planting all three gallon containers. Put your first one closer to the house, second shrub one to two feet away and
position further away from the foundation. Continue this pattern all the way across the front. When you are positioning the shrubs, consider
how to place them if they are at different heights. Taller shrubs look nice on either side of a window or door. When you have the containers all
positioned, place your flowers the same way in their containers. If you have them in trays, separate each one or put them in groups and position
the flowers. In the
gallery section for any garden project
there is a wide variety of plants for you to choose from.
Always step back and look at how you placed them.
Now is the time you can play around and and take the necessary steps to make sure you like the way they look.
Change their locations if you are not satisfied. There have been some jobs I have taken over an hour and
a half moving plants around. I may move it six inches here or there. Take your time doing this part of the project.
The staggered look is more of a free flowing pattern. I do this style in many of my designs.
The second tip is putting the shrubs and flowers across in a straight row.
Some people use one specific shrub all the way down to form a hedge appearance.
You can also use a variety of different height and width shrubs. Follow the exact steps as above for positioning each flower.
A straight pattern can be used also in trees for privacy. Two key points to remember whether you are putting your plants
in a staggered pattern or a straight row. Give each specimen enough room to grow properly both vertically and horizontally.
This garden project is part of an investment in your property. Let each shrub and flower show its beauty to you and your neighbors.
The next step once you have decided where the shrubs and flowers will go, is to put them in the ground.
The general rule for any project when putting shrubs in is to make each hole is two to three times the
size of the container. This method will work, but here is a tip for you that has worked for years in
providing my clients with healthy plants. Dig your hole deep enough and set your container down in the hole. The top of your
shrub should be even with the ground surface. Don't put the shrub too deep in the ground.
The width of the hole can be around six to eight inches wider then the container. The purpose of
making the hole wider is to allow the roots to grow and expand.
Once the shrubs are in the ground, position your flowers the way you had done previously. Take a spade or shovel and dig your hole.
Flowers do not have a large root system, so you don't have to plant them very deep. If the flower roots are small,
put two or three plants together in one hole. Follow the same steps in planting flowers as you would in doing shrubs.
Once you have the bed done, step back again and make sure you like their placement. This is the final time to make
any changes to this project if you are not one hundred percent satisfied. It will take a couple of weeks for the
roots to get established.
Once the hole is dug, tip the shrub on its side and gently tap the container with your hands or a shovel.
The shrub should come out easily. When purchasing shrubs at a nursery or local store, always check the bottom
to see if the roots are showing or hanging out. This is a sign the shrub should be planted soon, or it has been
in the container too long. Before placing the shrub in the ground, take your fingers and lightly loosen the roots.
Make sure you do not damage any of them. Apply an organic mushroom compost or a slow six month release nitrogen fertilizer
into the hole before the shrub goes in. You need to apply these two materials only once a year. Add a little
more of the compost or fertilizer into the loose soil and fill the rest of the hole with the remaining dirt. Never mound the
dirt up against the shrub. Plant all your shrubs this way. Finish the bed by applying mulch, pine straw, or decorative rocks though out the garden.
Never mound mulch, pine straw or rocks right up against the base of the plant. Take a hose and turn the water on
low and place next to each shrub. Water for five to ten minutes. Do the same for the flowers.
Watering Techniques
explains how to water trees, shrubs, and flowers.
Finally it is time to step back and admire this garden project! You also can do a straight row of shrubs and stagger your flowers.
Mix and match either pattern in any bed. Take these tips and you can easily position and plant any deciduous or evergreen shrub.
Accenting the shrubs with annual or perennial flowers can create a wonderful new garden project anywhere in your yard.
