How to plan the perfect flower bed or vegetable garden

Planning for Planting

In the last few weeks of winter, we are more than ready to get on with spring. If you find yourself stuck in the house because it is simply just too cold to try to be outside right now you might want to sit down with a cup of hot cocoa and browse the internet for local plant nurseries. Once you find one, eh hem - " I hear King, North Carolina has one of the best around, just saying".  You should start to visualize your dream. Scope out your locations. Check out the available lighting in each place and begin to plan what you will put into each area. Note if the area is facing north, south, east, or west, paying attention to where the sun rises and sets. Also note if it is shaded by buildings or trees and has tree roots. Tree roots extend as far as the branches. It is helpful to draw it out on paper with measurements. You do not have to be an artist. It isn't like you are going to hang it in the local art gallery.

Trees and shrubs can still be planted now. Take advantage of warmer days to put them into the ground.

 Be sure to plan for blooms at different times throughout the season. Do not be tempted to plant an explosion of color. Your flower gardens will be more visually pleasing if you choose just a few colors and carry that theme throughout your entire landscape. Your vegetable gardens will produce better if you are mindful of the placement and lighting. For instance, you don't want your trellised beans to block the sun from your tomatoes and likewise, you don't want your tender lettuce in full sun, so you want to put this in the shadows of something larger.
 There is a myriad of apps available for download for IOS and ANDROID to help you along the way through the planning process.
INTO GARDENS
GARDEN PLAN PRO and
SMART PLANT
are just a few that have really captured my attention.
 Soon you will be able to hit your local garden center and begin to fill your spaces with plants and in no time you will have the beautiful blooms you have waited all winter to see once again.
I cannot stress enough that you can never measure too much. Lay your boundaries and measure, measure, measure. you don't want to get your garden too full. If you don't take the time to plan you can easily get too much going on and by the end of the season, things will look overgrown instead of lush and beautiful. Do some research on the plants you want. Make note of how tall and wide they will be at maturity and keep in mind that the width of a mature plant reflects your spacing between plants. For example, if your mature plant will reach 18 inches across, then you need to space your plants 18 inches apart.
SIMPLE FORMULA FOR SPACING
WIDTH OF PLANT 1  DIVIDED BY 2=
WIDTH OF PLANT 2 DIVIDED BY 2=                 ADD TOTALS TOGETHER FOR SPACING

Now you are ready.
As soon as the threat of frost has passed for your area you can start putting your gorgeous gardens together. Whether its vegetables or flowers, planning will make the planting go a lot quicker and smoother. It will eliminate the guesswork and prevent regret later.

I hope this helps a bit as we enter into the new planting season.
HAPPY GARDENING!