We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again, curb appeal is real! Tending to and maintaining a beautiful garden on your front or back lawn brings a lot to a home.

Surrounding the facade in a lush landscape is an addition that brings colour, life and vibrancy. A little planning can really go a long way when it comes to the layout of your garden.

We’re here to deal with the issue of laying out your flowerbeds and placing the proper types of plants together. If you’re looking for tricks on this subject, then you’re in luck. We’re here to offer the ultimate tips for laying out these plant and flower beds.

5 Tips to Consider When Structuring Your Planting Beds

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1- Start off on the right seed

Let’s take a second to think about the specifics of your garden. If you’re working in a new space, choose somewhere flat and healthy looking. Weather and climate will be the two main factors when it comes to planning out your flower beds so that they thrive. The climate will be the dominating factor when it comes to how your plants' function, grow and develop. Here in Canada, the country is divided into 10 climate zones, and it’s crucial to determine which one you live in before you start picking plants for your garden.

Starting with zone 0 as the warmest and moving through to zone 9 as the coldest, determine which plants are able to survive in the region where you’re living. For example, if you discover that you live in zone 4, plants from the first 4 zones will live comfortably in your garden. If you’re not completely sure about a certain plant, it’s better to be cautious instead of spending money, time and energy trying to get them to grow in a climate where they’re unsuited.

Other things to consider when planning out the plants and flowers you want are as follows: how much sun does the space get in the course of a spring or summer day? Are you looking for something that is high or low maintenance? Where will the sun be tracking during the growing season? These are viable and important questions to answer to make the most of your garden's growth potential.

2- Design your ideal garden

Now, the next step is to make a drawing of how you envision your garden. It should be close to the scale of what you’re imagining while also offering a clear layout of your plant placement. Of course, the placement of your plants will depend directly on your yard as well as sun patterns. Any shade-loving plants you plan to use should be placed in the shadiest spots or those with shade at the hottest time of the day. Alternatively, sun-loving plants will need to be placed in areas that receive the most sun.

Another reason the drawing is important is that it will give you a good idea of how much dirt or seed to buy as well as how many plants you’ll truly be able to fit in a space.  Make sure to include trees or buildings in the surroundings that may cast shadows or shade.

If you plan for your garden to be particularly large, then you might want to break it down into smaller sections in order to make the planning and development more manageable. Organize these sections with plants and flowers that would logically go together, whether that means by colour, by type or by annuals or perennials.

3- The importance of soil and its drainage

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If you’re a novice gardener, you might not realize the importance of the soil you choose to use. It’s true, not every soil is made equal. In fact, your garden will only be as prosperous as your soil so preparing it for a new life is key to keeping your plants alive and thriving. To start, remove all grass, weeds or unwanted vegetation that might already be growing in the place where your new garden will go. This can be done with a spade or herbicide specifically designed to kill these plants. If you end up choosing to use a herbicide, wait at least one week before you put any new plants into the ground.

After waiting the week, spread organic material on the soil to ensure it’s fertile. This can be in the form of manure, compost or other organic materials. Following this, make sure to turn the soil over in order to break up any heavy clouts or sections. This will work the organic material directly into the soil and help your plants to thrive.

4- Think annual versus perennial flowers

The all-important question: how much time do you want to invest in your garden each year? As their name suggests, annuals only last a year but come in a wide variety of beautiful colours and options. Annuals do require quite a bit of maintenance and that’s important to bear in mind, especially for beginners.

They often require plenty of attention when it comes to watering, fertilizing, weeding and maintenance. In contrast, perennials can last for years to come and will grow and spread beautifully across your garden. However, these plants will cost more upfront and the preparation of the soil is incredibly important if you’re hoping they last past the first season.

5- Other garden specifics

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Bedding plants are something to know about, regardless of your level of gardening experience. This is a broad term used to loosely describe a plant purchased for gardening, potting or landscaping. These plants are generally purchased in the spring, but make sure to check the zone map before picking specific ones for your garden. For many long-time gardeners, this type of plant is an obvious choice, as they are easy to care for and often look beautiful. If you are purchasing them already grown, make sure they are still blooming.

Spacing plants is another point of consideration, as this will have a huge impact on which direction they grow and how well. Proper space allows plants the room to fully develop as well as fill in holes that might appear in the early stages. If your garden is large, leave room for you to walk along or between rows. Two rows can be planted close together if enough space is left on the outside of both for you to manoeuvre around.

Here are a few articles to continue your journey in landscaping:

• Is landscaping a good investment?

• Garden planning: the best plants to repel insects

• Working with a horticulturist: average prices and things to know