Most of the time we run to the plant nursery and buy our garden plants without giving much thought to the type of plant care that must be given to these plants.

Things to consider before buying your plants.

1) Do we want perennial plants or annual plants?
2) Does our garden have the right amount of sun or shade?
3) Is the ground well drained or waterlogged?
4) Is the area sheltered or windswept?
5) Is the ph level right for the plants we select?

When we consider the above aspects of our garden we then can determine the proper plants we need for our garden. We can then get shade loving plants for the shady areas and sun loving plants for the sunny areas of our garden. We can get plants that are suited for well-drained soil and plants that are suited for the waterlogged areas and by knowing the proper ph level with a simple ph test kit we will know if the soil is acid or alkaline. We can either adjust our soil to the plants we buy or buy plants that are well suited for the existing soil.

Now that you have taken care of the above details you will now need to decide if you want to plant in groups or put plants by themselves. You will need to know how tall each plant will grow. Before you put your plants in the ground, sit all the pots in the general area that you would like that plant to be and step back and take a good look at it. Does it look the way you want it to look or does it need some rearranging?

Keep in mind that you will want all the tall plants in the back rows of your garden or in the center if the garden will be viewed from all sides, then put in the next shorter plants in a staggered fashion or a stair step effect so the shortest plants will be in front, this will give a beautiful view of all the plants when they are full grown.

A combination of colors and textures will give you a delightful garden. Since not all types of different flowers bloom at the same time you will have different color stages throughout the year. A lot of the flowers have foliage with silver, gray or purplish foliage that is just as beautiful as the flowers themselves.

As you are planting your flower garden or your vegetable garden always try to keep them away from trees and shrubs as they tend to steal the water and nutrients away from your plants.