In Bloom: 4 Keys to Great Flower Beds

There's no better way to enliven a landscape than with colorful flower beds. Flowering plants are especially effective when planted alongside a foundation wall, fence line, patio, front porch, retaining wall, or pathway.

Flower beds typically contain three types of plants: perennials, which bloom each year for several years; annuals, which bloom, seed, and die all in a single season; and biennials, which bloom after two years and then die. You don't have to be a botanist to realize that perennials require less tending than annuals, which must be dug up and replaced every year. Annuals are often rotated throughout the growing season. For example, many gardeners plant early-blooming annuals in the spring, which fade and die around Labor Day, and then replace them with other annuals that will last until the first frost. In warmer regions, you can often plant a third time for producing flowers late into winter.

There isn't a single approach to flower-bed maintenance?there are simply too many different varieties of flowering plants. But here are some general rules that can be applied to nearly any flower bed.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/improvement/lawn-garden/in-bloom-4-keys-to-great-flower-beds?src=rss

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