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How to Plan & Design a Low Maintenance Flower Bed

April 3, 2019

Designing your first flower bed can be a daunting process. You probably know where you want it, but how big should it be? What should you plant in it that won’t die? How can you keep everything as low maintenance as possible so you don’t have to spend the whole summer weeding? And how much is this thing going to cost?

I’m going to walk you through the process of selecting a location for your flower bed, preparing the soil, picking plants, and finishing it off so it’s as low maintenance as possible.

A few disclaimers before we start–I garden in zone 3b in the Canadian Prairies, so my flower selections are going to reflect that. My choices should work well in zones 2-8, but there may be other flowers that would work better or are more common in your area.

Designing a low maintenance flower garden with perennials doesn't have to be an impossible task.  Here's some ideas for landscaping a flower bed that even a beginner can do. #perennials #garden #flowerbed

It’s also impossible for someone on the internet to know exactly how much light your yard gets or the exact number of plants you should buy for your particular space. While I do my best to give you advice that should work, use your common sense. There’s no shame in having to buy an extra perennial or two after the fact, or moving a plant somewhere else next year because it didn’t work the way you thought it would.

Finally, this post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission if you buy anything at no extra cost to you. You can read more about it in my privacy policy.

Now that we got that out of the way, let’s get planning!

Deciding on Where to Plant Your Flower Bed

There’s not too many rules when it comes to where a flower bed will do best. You’ll have more plants to choose from if you choose a sunnier spot, but basically you can find perennial flowers for both shady and sunny situations.

Wherever you choose to put your flower bed, you’ll want to make sure your soil has a fresh layer of compost and manure to give your new plants the best possible start.

Designing a low maintenance flower garden with perennials doesn't have to be an impossible task.  Here's some ideas for landscaping a flower bed that even a beginner can do. #perennials #garden #flowerbed

If you’re planting new flowers in an existing, overgrown flowerbed, you’ll have to weed and remove the unwanted perennials first before you dig in and add new ones. You want to give the new perennials the least amount of competition possible so they can establish good roots and get the nutrients. (Weeds are greedy when it comes to soil nutrients.)

Starting completely from scratch? Rototill the area in question, add soil, and get started, or lay cardboard over the area with a thick layer of soil overtop. (The cardboard method works best if you do it in the fall and plant in the spring, but it can be done in spring with a spring planting.)

Guidelines for Choosing the Best Flowers for Your Space

While you can put a flower bed almost anywhere, you need to know a few things about the area you’ve selected so you can pick the best plants possible. Here’s a few questions to ask yourself:

  • How much light does the area get? (Hint: Full sun=6 or more hours, Part Sun/Part Shade=3-6 hours, and Shade=3 hours or less.)
  • Is the soil acidic, basic, or neutral? You can easily test with a home soil test kit to find out. If your flower bed is planned for underneath a coniferous tree, you can guarantee the soil is acidic.
  • How much moisture does the area get? Some spots in your yard will be dryer than others.
  • Have I picked an area with any special considerations, like intense heat or lots of wind? For example, tall flowers like delphiniums would need staking if the flower bed in question had no protection from harsh winds.
Designing a low maintenance flower garden with perennials doesn't have to be an impossible task.  Here's some ideas for landscaping a flower bed that even a beginner can do. #perennials #garden #flowerbed

By knowing the answers to these questions, you can research the best flowers for your situation and buy the plants that are actually going to work. Here’s a couple of guides I’ve written to help you pick your perennials:

  • 53 Favourite Perennials
  • 28 Nightmare Perennials you Want to Avoid
  • 50 More Perennials You’ll Regret Planting
  • 36 Best Flowers for a Cut Flower Garden
  • 14 Flowers for Companion Planting
  • 17 Perennial Flowers that Love the Shade
  • 30+ Plants for Underneath a Tree

A Few Design Rules for Which Flower Should Go Where

Designing a flower bed doesn’t have to be an impossible task. It’s kind of like composing a group photo. Tall people in the back, short people in the front. Lines will work, but it looks more natural if everyone is in clumps. Finally, make sure that the colours of everyone’s clothes don’t clash.

*Mind Blown*

In terms of flowers, this means that the taller ones go in the back, bushy ones in the middle, and shorter ones and ground cover at the front. Arrange your flowers in clumps instead of lines.

Designing a low maintenance flower garden with perennials doesn't have to be an impossible task.  Here's some ideas for landscaping a flower bed that even a beginner can do. #perennials #garden #flowerbed

However, there can be clumps within the lines–it’s just single lines of flowers that look a bit ridiculous. But in the end it’s your flower bed, do what you like.

Finally, be aware of the colours of all your flowers–or not. I’m one of those impulsive people who plants whatever I want regardless of the colour. I just want to try as many things as possible. If I wasn’t constantly experimenting, I would pick three colours for my flowerbed and try to generally stick to that colour scheme for a more cohesive look.

For Best Results, add Mulch

Beginner gardeners often make a flower bed with high hopes in the spring, then are crushed to discover by summer that everything is a weedy-mess-struggle-garden.

Save yourself a ton of work and surround your perennials with a healthy amount of mulch. Yes, it’s more work and it costs extra money, but it’s so worth it to be able to actually enjoy your summer and your flowers, instead of spending it weeding or feeling guilty about not weeding.

Click here for everything you need to know about mulch.

Designing a low maintenance flower garden with perennials doesn't have to be an impossible task.  Here's some ideas for landscaping a flower bed that even a beginner can do--like these beautiful flowers along the fence. #perennials #garden #flowerbed

Fill in Spaces With Annuals

Beginner gardeners are also disappointed to discover that it takes a lot more flowers to fill up a space than they bargained for. While you’re waiting for those perennial flowers to fill out, add in some annual flowers for season-long colour. Here’s 22 picks for shady spots. I haven’t written about sunny spots because, let’s face it, if you planted in a sunny location the world is pretty much your oyster.

Realistic Expectations for Your Flower Bed

Have you ever heard the saying about perennials, “First year sleep, Second year creep, Third year leap?”

There’s profound wisdom in this statement.

Your flower bed is likely not going to look the way you imagined it in its first year of growing–especially if you used smaller perennial plants. In fact, it won’t look much better in year two.

However, don’t give up!!

In the third year, your perennials should get to a more mature size, and your flower bed will start to look the way you envisioned. By year five, those perennials will likely have started to multiply, creating a lovely, full flower bed.


Want to Create a Perennial Garden that Constantly Blooms from Spring to Fall, without Constant Work? Here’s how. . .

Everything you need to easily create your own perennial garden with constant blooms. You’ll get an easy to follow system, along with 5 templates and 5 done-for-you plans, plus fun bonuses.

Learn More Here!


Are you planning a flower bed this year? Tell me about it in the comments!

Kristen Raney

Kristen is a former farm kid turned urban gardener who owns the popular gardening website, Shifting Roots.  She is obsessed with growing flowers and pushing the limits of what can be grown in her zone 3b garden.  She also loves to grow tomatoes, but oddly enough, dislikes eating them raw.

www.shiftingroots.com

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Filed Under: Uncategorised Tagged: flower bed, flower garden, low maintenance, perennials

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Welcome!

Hi, I'm Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

P.S. First time gardener? You'll want to download the quick start gardening guide below!

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Welcome!

Hi, I’m Kristen and I help new gardeners learn to grow their own vegetables and beautify their yards. I also share recipes that use all that delicious garden produce. Grab a coffee (and your gardening gloves) and join me for gardening tips, simple recipes, and the occasional DIY, all from the lovely city of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

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Are you gardening in containers this year? When y Are you gardening in containers this year?  When you're shopping for vegetable seeds, look for varieties that have names with words like patio, tiny, small, etc.  While lots of vegetable varieties will do fine in a container, you'll have an easier time with ones that are specifically bred for that situation.⁠
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📸 by @blushbrandphotography
I'm living the pepper dream in this photo. While I'm living the pepper dream in this photo.  While these ones are a bit on the small side, who doesn't want ripe peppers in July in zone 3?!?! ⁠
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Over the years I've gotten better at growing peppers, and I promise I'll spill my secrets in February when it's actually time to start them.  Until then, get yourself all or one of my four favourite varieties: ⁠
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🌶️Carmen⁠
🌶️Escamillo⁠
🌶️Candy Stripe⁠
🌶️Hungarian Hot Wax⁠
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Do you have a favourite pepper variety?⁠
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Have you flipped open a seed catalogue lately? It Have you flipped open a seed catalogue lately?  It's so easy to get completely overwhelmed, especially if you're new to gardening.  Why are there so many varieties of everything and which ones do I choose?⁠
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Here's how I try to narrow it down.⁠
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🌤️ Short growing season like me?  Try and prioritize varieties that have short dates to maturity.⁠
🥗 What do you or your family actually eat?  While I think you should always try a couple of new things, there's no sense in planting a giant garden filled with vegetables that you're not going to cook with. ⁠
🥒 Do you care whether your vegetables are heirlooms or hybrids?  Heirlooms are the kind that have been around for 50+ years and you can save seeds from.  Believe it or not, this year we're prioritizing hybrids for some of our garden.  The Hermit @mgsraney is obsessed with production this year, so anything that's going in "his" greenhouse better be able to produce a lot.  I'm using more heirlooms in my "glamour garden" as we call it, because I want things that are pretty and I can save seeds from.⁠
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What do you prioritize when you're picking out seeds?⁠
Last week we started thinking about our plans for Last week we started thinking about our plans for cut flower gardening, now this week we start thinking about plans for our vegetable gardens.  Unlike cut flowers, there's not as many vegetables that need to be started ridiculously early.  However, it's still fun to plan and dream and get your thoughts sorted.⁠
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I'm curious--what size of garden do you have to work with?  Are you on an acreage or farm, city backyard, or do you have a couple of pots on an apartment patio?⁠
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As for me, I have quite a mix.  I have my container garden on my backyard deck, the small cut flower garden in my yard, then vegetables in raised beds.  We also garden at my Mother-in-law's acreage, so there's a giant garden over there where we're figuring out how to grow food on a larger scale.  Then finally, sometimes my Mom grows things for me in her garden if I'm nervous that I'll ruin them in my own garden--call it a backup garden if you will.⁠
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📸 by @blushbrandphotography
I hope you've enjoyed this week of chatting about I hope you've enjoyed this week of chatting about the best flowers to plant in a cut flower garden.  There's so many options, these 5 that I talked about all week don't even come close.  If you need more help creating a small cut flower garden, I created this plan intended for a raised bed (but you can plant it in-ground too.⁠
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Head over to my insta links page on my profile, and you'll see the button to click on that will take you directly to it.⁠
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#cutflowergarden #cutflowers #raisedbedgarden #raisedbedgardening  #growyourown #greenthumb #raisedbeds #urbangarden #urbanfarm #squarefootgardening #slowflowers
Hey friends! There's a lot of new faces in this l Hey friends!  There's a lot of new faces in this little corner of IG, so I wanted to introduce myself.  My name is Kristen and I'm the gardener & content creator behind Shifting Roots.  I'm wife to @mgsraney and mom to 3 kids, ages 8, 23 months and 7 months.  Needless to say, our house is BUSY.  I garden in zone 3 in Saskatoon, SK, so if I can grow it in my short growing season and cold temperatures, you probably can too.⁠
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Here's a few fun facts, can you relate to any of these?⁠
🍅I don't like raw tomatoes, but I grow a ton of them because I like tomato sauce.⁠
💐I probably sound like every flower is my favourite flower, but my two favourites are peonies and zinnias.⁠
🌈I can't pick a favourite colour--I love so many of them in different circumstances.  If you force me to choose, I think I've got it narrowed down to coral and turquoise, but even then I still want to throw in yellow, emerald green, fuchsia. . . ⁠
🖤Even though I love colour to the moon and back, you'll often find me wearing black and white in real life, because it's just easier and I don't have to think about it going together.
When you think of rudbeckia, do you think of those When you think of rudbeckia, do you think of those maybe-slightly-boring flowers with yellow petals and a brown centre? (Please don't come at me with your pitchforks if that's your favourite flower!!)⁠
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Rudbeckias, like these orange and burgundy ones, can be so much more!  Pair them with sunflowers & amaranth for an especially striking late summer bouquet.⁠
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🤞I'll have amaranth and sunflowers this year to play around with.⁠
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Need help planning the cut flower garden of your dreams?  It doesn't have to be complicated.  Grab your copy of Cut Flowers Made Simple and have pails of flowers like this one at your fingertips.⁠
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See my link in bio and click on the ebooks button.
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