Over the past forty five plus years that I have been in this field there have been almost countless times when requests have been made of me to assist a client in their pursuit of developing an atheistically pleasing ornamental perennial landscape theme or design.
Of course as we all know, design is just one part that must be dealt with in conquering this type of project.
Planning a Perennial Garden
Choose the location wisely. Sun or shade?
Know the exact size of the proposed bed.
Have a good private laboratory test your soil. More on this later.
If you have a good understanding of what colors go best together then you are well on your way. If you feel somewhat limited in this area then consider purchasing an artists color wheel which will solve this for you.
Having arrived at your color choices it’s now time to select your plant material
Make your plant selection wisely with special consideration to required exposure. Sun or shade?
Know the mature plant heights and widths which will aid you in the proper placement of the various choices that you have made.
Plan your bed so that it has a layered effect with the shortest plants used as a front border and the medium and taller varieties moved to mid level and background locations.
Be sure to sketch out your plan as it will serve both as a shopping and planting list.
Now back to having the soil tested. Be sure to provide the lab with a list of the plant material that you have chosen so they will be able to provide you with proper ph and nutrient requirements for each variety.
Eradicate unwanted vegetation with a non selective herbicide. Round Up is a good choice.
After a few days you will be able to determine where and if additional herbicide applications are required.
Rake out all dead plants.
Spread four to six inches of compost throughout the bed and till to a depth of eight to ten inches.
Now is the time to apply all products that the soil testing laboratory has advised you to use.
Proceed with the planting process. For containers one gallon in size and smaller dig a hole at least one foot wide and deep. Then fill in around each plant with good loose soil and gently firm around each perennial.
When all of your selections have been installed it is time to apply Turf2Max and thoroughly water your new bed.
Keep your new plantings evenly moist during their establishment period.
We certainly hope that you have found these instructions useful. Happy Gardening!
limited in this area then consider purchasing an artists color wheel which will solve this for you.