Designing
Annual Beds
If
you want show-stopping color in the
garden, annuals are the best way to
grow. Even though you must plant them
every growing season, the payoff is
quick and colorful. The biggest challenge
is coming up with a design that works.
The key to designing a beautiful annual
bed is to limit the color theme and
mix with an even balance of flower
shapes, textures and heights.
Select a color theme--two or three
colors are best. This will limit your
choices and make your design much
more successful. Then pick an even
balance of rounded and spiked flowers.
The rounded flowers give a restful
feeling and the spiked flowers give
an excited uplifting feeling.
Consider
the texture of the flowers and the
foliage. Try for a combination of
fine-, medium- and coarse-textured
annuals. For example, Zinnia Linearis
is a fine-textured plant (a plant
that's open and airy). Red Salvia,
with more substance, is considered
medium, and all the new Sun Coleus,
with its dense foliage, falls into
the coarse category.
Place
plants by height. Put taller growing
plants in the center or back of the
bed, then medium-size plants next
to the tall ones, and then shorter
plants in the front of the bed.
If
you like to be organized, lay out
your beds first on graph paper. You
can even add sample pictures cut out
from magazines to combine the plant
materials and see if they go together
or research the different varieties
that do well in Zone 8 by visiting
our Annual
Flower Listing where you will
find plenty of photos and detailed
descriptions. Then transfer the plan
to the soil.
TIP:
Pinch off blooms at planting time;
this helps produce bushier plants
with more colorful blooms. |
