Spring is here and it is time to get the outside of your home ready for the warmer months!  We’d like to share some gardening tips on how to spruce up your walkway or fence by adding brightly colored annual flowers.

In order to have the best look, go with brightly colored annuals.  Violas are a great gardening option as they can thrive in almost any US climate.  Grouping colors together in large spaces can help boost the intensity of your walkway or fence.  Colors will lost impact if they are spread farther apart.

When you are out shopping for your annuals, check the roots.  If there are fleshy or individual roots around the outside of the root ball, don’t buy them.  A younger plant’s root-ball is still mostly dirt.  This is what you want to look for.

Before planting you want to properly prepare the soil by spading the entire plot.  A spading fork works better than a shovel.  Add 3-4 inches of compost to the plot and mix the compost with the soil and rake smooth.

In order to get a preview of your gardening efforts, arrange your flowers out before planting to determine your layout.  In order to prevent stomping on your flowers, plant them from back to front.  Plants should be spaced tightly, with root ball to root ball.  While this sounds unusual, annuals don’t live long enough for their growth to be a concern.  With tight spacing, if one dies, there will not be a noticeable gap.

Dig a deep enough hole so the entire root ball is covered.

After planting, make sure to water the entire flower bed.  If you start to notice wilting while planting, stop and water that section but make sure to avoid watering on the actual foliage.  Water on foliage can act as a magnifying glass with the sun shining and damage your plants.

To make your flower’s color last, check your plants daily and clip off any faded blooms.  It is also important to fertilize with half of the manufacturers recommended dosage but doing so twice as often.  Fertilizing generously and regularly gives your annuals a stable diet and encourages more consistent blooms.

After you fertilize, it is important to water the bed to ensure the nutrients are sent deep into the root zone.  This technique will make any fertilizer used more effective.

To give your flower bed more visual interest, add potted plants.  Brightly colored pots add to your garden as pieces of art.