Now that the holidays have passed and 2008 has arrived, it’s time to start thinking about your springtime landscape and gardening plans! In fact, with New Year’s resolutions on everybody’s mind, it may be a great idea to come up with a list of gardening resolutions to make this year’s landscaping experience an enjoyable and productive one. You know, a list of all those things you’ve wanted to do with your yard and garden over the years but just never seem to accomplish.

Start with your foundation. Maybe you have those standard shrubs and hedges that seem to adorn the foundation and border of every new house. It’s time to replace those with something a bit more colorful and inviting. Do you have one of those standard evergreen hedges to separate your house from the neighbors? Replace it with something that offers some fall color to jazz things up and make the most of something that’s normally overlooked. The foundation and perimeter of your home make up the majority of focal points for landscape design. Make this the year you utilize them for creating a polished scene that will be the envy of the neighborhood!

Moving on to the garden! Fill your existing beds with some brightly colored perennials to create an outdoor oasis for your summer lounging, or plant that rose garden you’ve always dreamt of. For the ultimate charm, add a traditional vine covered arbor to your garden. If you are looking for something a bit more dramatic and don’t mind spending the money, rock gardens and retainer walls are ideal additions to any backyard! Surround with ground covers and ornamental grasses, and you’ll turn your yard into your own exotic hideaway.

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Would you like to have a green thumb but are afraid yours may be black? Perhaps you tried to plant a flower garden and where less then thrilled with how it turned out? The following tips will help those that have little experience in flower gardening to grow a garden that they will be delighted with and enjoy showing off.

Watering your flower garden is a very important part of raising healthy plants. Figuring out exactly how much water that your flower garden will need can be a difficult thing to determine. While you don’t want to over water your flowers, you don’t want to neglect them, either. Flowers should be watered lightly so that they don’t sustain any damage. Light watering will also simulate the effect of a light rain shower. A watering can or an attachment for a garden hose with a light setting is a must for any gardener, no matter what their skill level.

Just as you enjoy your own personal space, so will your flowers. While every flower gardener loves the thought of having flowers as far as the eye can see, it is simply not the best plan to keep the flowers healthy. Flowers need to be planted far enough apart to be able to grow to their full potential. If flowers are planted too closely together they can overtake the flowers around them, which is likely to lead to an unbalanced garden. If you have an idea about flowers that would create an aesthetic balance if planted side by side, read the directions enclosed with the seeds to find out much space each of the flower species will need in order to thrive.

Be sure you are planting your flowers in good quality soil. While the soil in the yard may look perfectly fine, it may not be good enough to properly grow the type of flowers you want to plant. This issue can be easily taken care of by purchasing soil that is rich with the nutrients that most all flowers require. This is then mixed with the soil already present in the flower bed area. You will also find that there are flower nutrients that can be placed in water for another way to cultivate healthy flowers.

Keeping these simple yet important tips in mind when beginning a new flower garden will help you to grow a prosperous garden full of healthy flowers.

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