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Believe it or not, fall is a great time to build a flower garden. There are so many plants that do best when planted or seeded in the fall. Plus, the cooler weather is wonderful to work in. Recently, our Texas HEB (a local grocery store), teamed up with the Native Plant Society of Texas to offer native plants for sale. These plants thrive in tough growing conditions are are also so important to pollinators. The gorgeous selection spurred me on to finally build two flower beds next to my husband’s workshop.
Here’s what I got:
Step 1: Lay A Foundation
My husband had already built charming decorative fences to go around the flower gardens…it just took me a while to add the plants! Fences, arbors, or trellises are such important aspects of garden design – I wrote a post on them here you can check out.
The first thing you will need to do is clear the ground of any invasive weeds or grass. If you plan ahead, you can smother the grass with tarps for a month or so. I didn’t do this, so had to remove all the grass and weeds manually. Luckily, my mom gifted me the most amazing tool – a Dutch Hoe. Seriously, it’s life changing. No bending over (and I’m 5’9″) or crawling on the ground. It made such quick work of the beds.
Next, you’ll lay a solid layer of cardboard down over the ground. Save those Amazon boxes! Just make sure you remove any plastic tape or labels from them. Cardboard is a great base layer because it not only suppresses weeds, it’s also biodegradable, and will encourage decomposers like pill bugs and earthworms to move in.
Step 2: Add Garden Soil
Once your foundation is in, it’s time to add soil to the flower garden. This is definitely the most labor-intensive part of the process. My husband brought in a truckload of it for me, so I put on an audiobook (The Benevolent Society of Ill-Mannered Ladies – HYSTERICAL!) and got to work shoveling.
Step 3: Place Plants
Before you plant anything, it’s important to properly space your plants based on their MATURE size. To do this, first take a look at the growing card attached to the plant. This will give you information on the mature height/width of the plant, as well as its water needs.
Add your tallest plants in the back, and work towards the front with shorter plants. Just like in interior design, odd numbers are most attractive. I chose to plant mine in groupings together, so when they mature, they will form large swathes of color, rather than scattered color throughout.
To ensure ample growing room, here is an easy way to mark the mature width of the plants. You’ll need two simple things: a tape measure and either flour or cornmeal.
I popped my cornmeal in a glass jar with a pourable lid to make it easy to mark my boundaries.
You’ll look at your growing card and determine the mature width of each plant. Cut that in half. So, for a plant with a 4′ mature width, we are going to measure 2′ with our tape measure. We’re basically making an ad-hoc compass.
Place your tape measure where you want the plant to go, and rotate it around in a circle, drawing a line in the dirt with the end as you go. It’s a little tricky to see, but hopefully this gives you an idea. When you’re finished, you’ll have the mature size of the plant you’re planting.
Next, take your flour or cornmeal, and pour it along the circle you just made. That gives you a good visual of the size your plant will be.
Continue doing this until all your plants are marked. It’s surprising sometimes how empty your flower garden looks, but just remember, these plants will GROW!
Step 4: Plant Plants
Once your plants are all properly spaced, you can begin planting. A good rule of thumb is to bury the plant at the same depth as its growing container.
Gently tap out the plant, and tease out a few roots that are wrapped around the soil ball. This will encourage them to grow outwards. Dig your hole and add the plant, firming it in with soil on top.
Continue on until everything is planted, and then give your flower bed a good, deep watering. Transplanting is a little shocking for tender plants that have been raised in pots in a nursery, so make sure to keep them moist for the first few weeks. This will help the plants get established for strong growth. Mulch the beds for additional frost protection and water retention.
What About All Those Bare Spots?!?!
I hear you. At first, your flower garden will look a little sparse. This is a great time to add annuals to fill in the gaps, In fall, Pansies, Cyclamen, Snap Dragons, Cabbages, Kale, and Marigolds are all great options. I haven’t decided if I’ll add anything this year or not….we’ll see! I’ll also let my husband take care of trenching around the beds and installing edging 😉
It’s So Much More Than A Garden
Building a flower garden has so many benefits. It not only will get you outside in nature, but it will also add so much beauty to your surroundings. If you choose plants that are native to your area, you’ll also be providing a critical food source and habitat for local wildlife. Butterflies, bees, and birds all rely on flowering and late seed bearing plants for their survival. So go ahead, plant it for you AND them. Happy Growing!
