Creating corner flower gardens
Designing a garden area in a corner of your yard can be a creative endeavor, bringing serenity and beauty into your life at home. Although many ideas can be gathered by visiting other gardens, such as city gardens for public view, one may also achieve a unique design by putting together some fundamental elements in an arrangement that is particularly pleasing to the garden’s owner.
Garden design ideas: Great ideas for corner flower garden designs
First, you will want to consider the shape of the garden. If a fenced or walled corner is the focus, you will be working with a triangle, or perhaps a semi-circle extending from, or arching into, a right angle. The tallest section of the garden will be the corner. You may wish to plant a small flowering tree here, but larger trees can cast too much shade, making it difficult to grow other plants in the area. Another idea for achieving height in the corner is a tiered succession of shaped, small leafed bushes. Keeping the further-most bush quite tall, a tiered effect of several shades of green, neatly trimmed, will make an interesting and permanent backdrop for the corner. Be sure that the shade from these bushes does not overtake the garden. Tiered bushes can serve as the backdrop for smaller, more colorful plants and flowers.
When choosing a variety of plants, be sure to note the growth season, so that you can attractively alternate varieties that will bloom at different times of the year. Your main plants should be eye-catchers throughout the seasons, and those that are not should be alternated with a successive species, such as spring bulbs planted in advance to fill the spots where summer flowers do not yet appear.
The easiest method for choosing plants is to visit a local nursery where there are knowledgeable salespeople. Even without advice, you can observe which plants are commonly planted in your part of the country, and safely choose these for your beginning garden. Also, there will be sun and temperature factors to consider. Be sure to make a special note of which areas receive the most sun at different times of day or year, and whether any part of the garden is exposed to wind or frost in winter. Also take care that you are not shopping indoors, where all the tropical plants are kept, when looking for outdoor plants that need plenty of sunshine.
For those who want to dress their garden with small plants and flowers, a succession of trellises is a lovely idea for the small garden area. These can be adorned with climbing, flowering vines, such as Morning Glories, to achieve a lovely effect. In a corner spot, a stair-step effect of the trellises, meeting symmetrically at the center from each side, will form a point of focus, giving rest to the eye. An attractive bird bath or fountain centered in front of the tallest point will add beauty and interest as well as the elements of water and wildlife to your special area. Another idea is to place rectangular trellises on each side, with a fountain or bird bath in the center. If you don’t want the look of a trellis, vines can also be attached to the fence or wall with a large staple or bracket carefully nailed over the vine.
If you want wildlife visiting your garden, you can inquire at your nursery about various plants which will encourage their attendance. Certain species attract birds, and there are clumping plants to attract frogs as well. You may wish to select only the heartiest plants for your garden, requiring minimum upkeep. The best course to follow in this event is to find locally indigenous plants. A book on this subject might be most helpful in planning an indigenous garden.
When choosing the colors for your garden, keep in mind your favorites. Some colors will have a more pleasing effect to you than others, and there are color clusters that go very well together, whereas others may clash. Plants and flowers leading away from your fence line should all be planted in order of height, leaving the shortest for the front of the garden. Also keep the center corner area taller than the flanking sides, or for the opposite effect, make your outermost plants very tall, to form a kind of pillar to each side. Symmetry is most pleasing to the eye, and following this rule makes arranging easier to accomplish successfully. Buy even numbers of every plant except for your center piece.
When thinking of a border for your garden area, consider using a heavy, contrasting element such as medium to large stones. Contrast adds to the effect of delicate flowers with their bright colors. If you are wanting for a more formal look, use a uniformly cut material to border the area. The cut-off line between grass and garden soil must be sharply divided so as to prevent grass from growing again into your flowerbed. After tilling the area to be planted, a flexible metal or plastic divider can be purchased for pushing down into the dirt, making a barrier to crossover growth. Set your decorative dividing stone along this divider. Add your garden soil to the planting area, and a fertilizer recommended by your nursery specialist. A solid green ground cover between your flowers and your divider may also lend a pleasing effect to the garden border.
Garden benches placed on each side of a climbing flower trellis arrangement with a birdbath, will form a cozy seating area. The garden may be enclosed with tiered bushes in this arrangement, which should be set toward the back side of the benches, allowing for beautiful flowers and interesting plants in the foreground. The benches can be accented with boxed flower gardens on each side, and set amongst a simple rock walkway. Pavement stones leading to your garden area are inexpensive and very easy to install. These can be arranged creatively to form an artistic path.
For the garden that is not created specifically for the purpose of contributing to your view from the house, garden benches set beneath flowering vine-covered arched trellises with will form an especially romantic setting. With the bench facing away from the heavy traffic areas toward the corner garden, a simple stone or pebble path leading toward a fountain would be most pleasing. To make your covered garden bench particularly romantic, cut a trellis form to fit the backside of the arch and cover the structure with flowering vines all around. In this more romantic arrangement, a Grecian urn pot of flowers flanking each side of the bench would be more fitting.
In keeping with the plan of symmetry, you may wish to duplicate the arched trellis at a right angle to the first. Both archways would form a sort of entrance to your corner garden, making it a private place for shaded rest, reflection or wine and cheese with your loved one. This area might be an ideal spot for a larger fountain, perhaps including the beautiful Koi fish.
Whether you choose to make an elaborate and expensive garden design, or to simply plant some well placed flowers, you can create a garden area with which to grow. Add to and embellish your special corner as you please, and in time, your corner garden will become a restful place and a beautiful work of art.
