Question
I live in Chapel Hill, NC and would like to start a small flower garden in my front yard.  My favorite flowers are tulips and daffodils, but I think that they need to be planted in the fall.  What types of flowers could I plant now (early-mid March)?

Thank you!

Answer
Gina, This is a general reply to my most asked questions. I send this to people that want to know about creating flower beds from the ground up and also sources and lists to shop plants,designs and companies to browse on the internet. I just covered it all in one reply. Some things may not apply directly to your question.
If you follow these steps I can promise you a gorgeous flower bed all year round!


Your planting zone is zone 7 I think.The Carolinas have zones 7 and 8.
The first thing to do now is to make a plan for your future garden spaces.You have plenty of time if you plan now. If you want a colorful bed for all season color,planning is the key to success. First of all,take a good look around your front yard and decide where the bed will be.Pick a sunny location that receives at least 8 hours a day of full sun. If you want a shady bed under large trees,the concept is the same,but the plants will totally different. For the meantime,lets start with a sunny spot.

Make a rough sketch of how you would like your bed to be shaped and what plants you want to use.I will give you a list of great low maintenance perennials and annuals.The bulbs should be planted later in the fall. When shopping for plants,read the tags carefully. Start with the main plants and repeat them throughout the bed.You can get great design ideas from gardening magazines and books. Don't get too many different varieties or the bed will look too "busy". If your bed is an irregular shape with some curves,remember the heights of your perennials.The tallest should be scattered throughout the middle of the bed and then the medium heights and finally the smallest along the edges of the bed.You can plant bulbs later on scattered throughout the bed.The spring blooming bulbs should be planted close,but not touching the taller perennials in the center so that their fading foliage will be hidden when the perennials start coming up in mid spring. I prefer curved oblong or kidney shaped beds as opposed to sqare or rectangular which is to me an unnatural shape.

When choosing the perennials,keep in mind their bloom time so that you can have year round color. Buy at least 4 of one variety,depending on the size of your bed. Make sure the perennials you choose are compatibleAlso,I always like to add some evergreen shrubs or small cone shaped trees and ornamental grasses for winter interest.These should be planted first,before the perennials. Some plants are gorgeous just for their foliage. Don't forget that summer annuals can provide quick color to your bare spots. Choose healthy new plants that have either buds or a few blooms already, not the kind that have been in the garden center all season or else they are useless.

Dig up a bit of soil from the spot you choose and see what kind of soil you have. Is it heavy clay or sandy or dry,etc. Chances are you won't have perfect soil,so you should go ahead and start buying some big bags of potting soil,perlite,compost mix or anything you can afford. You will need to mix this with your existing soil.

The next thing,and to me the most important step, is getting rid of the weeds and/or grass in the spot where your bed will be. There are different methods and all gardeners do things differently.This is just the method I prefer. I use Round Up weed killer(concentrated to mix strong),black plastic and garden staples. The black plastic and metal staples to hold it down can be purchased at any garden center.Lowes has it in bulk,as well as huge bags of soil. It is cheaper to buy things in bulk and I am always running out of things. Spray weed killer over the entire area of the bed and cover it with the black plastic.Use the garden staples to hold it down tight so that it will stay in place until you can get your plants and mulch in. The weed killer will not effect your plants as long as you wait a few days before planting.

After you get your plants and are ready to start planting,sit them around on top of the plastic in the  design that you  have sketched out or a plan that you have chosen from a magazine or book. Mark the spots with a can of white spray paint or paint stick. Cut out about 7"  diameter circles in the plastic and dig your holes about 8" to 9" deep. You will then use your bagged soil mix in the holes. If your perennials are root bound in their containers(most are),don't be afraid to cut off the tightly wound root ball at the very bottom of the plant leaving loose roots intact.This will insure a faster root development and quicker bloom from your new plants. After everything is planted water VERY deeply on each plant.

Your last step is mulch. I like pinebark,but the choices are numerous these days so choose what you personally like. Mulching around new plants and on top of the plastic is a MUST. If you don't have a lot of spare time for watering get a good soaker hose and wound it throughout the bed. That way you can just barely turn on your faucet and give them a slow soaking. If you choose drought resistant plants constant watering won't be an issue. Perennials are much healthier when they get a long soak rather than a quick dousing. The plastic and mulch will keep in the moisture for a long time. I have gone months with no watering at all once the plants are established.

This all sounds like a lot of work but the final result will pay off in the long run. You will have a beautiful flower bed with very little maintenance aside from cleaning the sticks and leaves out of the bed  in spring and fall and cutting back dead foliage. When you add your spring bulbs this fall you can clean out the bed at the same time, accomplishing 2 tasks at one time. As with perennials cutting 8" to 9" circles for the bulbs is ample size to insure plenty of water.

Here is a list of good low maintenance perennials annuals and bulbs for zones 2 through 8:
PERENNIALS: Blue Salvia "May Night" and "Blue Hill", Purple Coneflower, Shasta Daisy, Sedum spectabile "Autumn Joy" and "Sieboldi", Rudbeckia "Goldstrum"(Brown- Eyed- Susan),Phlox,Monarda(Bee Balm),Russian Sage,Dianthus, Catmint(Nepeta),Lavender,Verbena "Homestead Purple" and "Sissinghurst", Veronica(Speedwell),Tradescantia(Spiderwort,
Aster(Michaelmas Daisy), Chrysanthemum,Achillea,Coreopsis,Campanula,Foxglove, Perennial Geranium(Cranesbill).

ORNAMENTAL GRASSES: Miscanthus(any type),Blue Oat Grass, Blue Fescue

EVERGREEN GROUNDCOVERS AND DWARF SHRUBS::"Blue Star" Juniper, "Broadmoor" Juniper, "Blue Chip" Juniper, "Blue Tamarix" Juniper, Globe arborvitae "Rheingold" and "Woodwardii",Mugo Pine,Nandina "Moonbeam"(not evergreen but red foliage stay on all year round).

EVERGREEN PYRAMIDAL DAWRFS: Dwarf Alberta Spruce,Pyramidal arborvitae "Techny" and "Elegantissima","Skyrocket"
Juniper,Dwarf Holly and Green Mountain Boxwood.

SOURCES ON THE WEB: Bluestone Perennial, White Flower Farm, Jackson & Perkins,Shady Oaks Nursery, Forest Farm,Musser Forests,Wayside Gardens

SOURCES FOR BULBS: Van Bourgondien, Van Dycks,Dutch Garden,McClure & Zimmerman