Anyone can plant a few flowers, but it takes a special sort of mind to grasp garden design. Many of the best gardeners come from an engineering background, with the ability to draw up diagrams, create timetables for planting and measure the perfect plot for the construction of raised beds. However, there are also many avid gardeners from the art/aesthetic side of things. They understand color very well and have no trouble researching garden advice on what plants look best next to one another. Perhaps this is why many American couples with very different skills come together to assemble the perfect garden, using a little bit of right brain and a little bit of left brain thinking.
As you know, choosing the plants is a particularly important facet of garden design. One strategy you might use is to see which plants are most successful in your USDA horticultural zone. You can start by looking at their map (www.garden.org/zipzone), type in your zipcode and then click on “Find Plants In Your Zone.” On the National Gardening Association website, you can then do searches based on your hardiness zone, the time of year you want the flowers to bloom, the amount of light the flowers needs, the height, the color, the foliage characteristics, whether they will attract butterflies, and more! Here are a few perennial flower gardening tips. When choosing flowers, be sure to consider finding taller flowers for the back rows and shorter flowers for the front rows of your garden for the maximum effect. Also consider placing analogous colors (that are next to one another on the color wheel) near each other. To view the color wheel, visit www.colormatters.com.
Lastly, be mindful of color in your garden design. A gardening expert will tell you that it’s best to cluster several different flower varieties with the same shade or hue next to one another, or use complementary colors across from one another on the color wheel — like blue and orange. Warm reds, yellows and orange make a lively, bold atmosphere, whereas subdued blues, purples and greens are more tranquil and relaxing. You should repeat some of the same colors here and there to create a sense of unity in your special space. Sound confusing? Hit the internet and look at some pictures to gather ideas before you begin!
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