Gardening—especially with flowering plants such as annuals and perennials—can become a grand passion, as the 20th- century American writer May Sarton noted. Working with Nature to show off her floral creations is a delightfully satisfying task that can “seize a person whole.” If you think about it, planting a flower garden is similar to creating a painting or a ceramic piece except that, besides indulging our creative instincts, we must abide by Nature’s whims. If it gets too hot, our flowers may suffer from thirst; and if it gets too cold, they may freeze. The pests may invite themselves in, or mildew may inflict itself upon the leaves.

Despite this fact of life, we gardeners persist. Why? Because gardening engages our senses and connects us to the undulating rhythms of the natural world. We enjoy the flow. And this enjoyment makes us optimists. We are always looking forward to the next growing season when we can plant our white-themed “moonlight garden” or tend our perennial pollinator landscape. The call of a spring morning inspires us to get out the shovel and the hose, and to turn the soil to make room for yet another flowering plant that we absolutely must have. Optimism prevails, even though we know it is an iffy proposition. You cannot expect success every time. As Sarton said, “Making a garden is not a gentle hobby.”

This chapter, Flower Garden Planting Tips, is intended to aid you in creating a new flower garden or enhancing one you already have. I emphasize practicality and following Nature’s lead. The gardening tips in this chapter are meant to provide you with hands-on techniques for turning over soil and caring for successful flower beds. It is not a comprehensive how-to manual but a compilation of some choice pointers I have learned and used over the decades to create gardens for myself and others (my company website is www.johnsenlandscapes.com). These tips make it easier to garden or at least make it more fun to work outdoors. I hope the suggestions and the photos I share will have you itching to go out and get your hands dirty.

Hybrid begonias, blue lobelia, and bicolor pink New Guinea impatiens make this part-sun flower bed a knockout.

A green-and-white flower! ‘Spring Green’ viridiflora tulip is white with a delicate band of pale green down the outside of each petal. They develop their best color in semi-shade and have strong, straight stems and grow 12 to 24 inches tall. Viridiflora tulips bloom in early to late May and last up to three weeks. Plant bulbs in fall for spring display. Zones 3–7.