Are you a budding gardener with hopes of planning and planting a beautiful flower garden? A well-tended flower garden can yield striking blooms that you can enjoy for several months - whether the flowers are cut for decorating in your home or left in the flower bed to provide an explosion of color in your yard. While the idea of creating the perfect garden may seem daunting, particularly for a novice gardener, the process isn't difficult - it just takes some planning and patience, along with a little research, good quality fertilizer and a little elbow grease for good measure. Read on for information on how to plan a flower garden, including tips on preparing the garden and planting the bulbs.

The key to having a thriving flower garden is planning. You'll want to decide ahead of time what kinds of flowers you want to plant and where you want to place your garden. Different types of flowers are planted at different times of year and some flowers don't thrive in certain climates. You'll also want to make sure you have the space for a nice flower garden or bed and the time to nurture it properly to ensure the best results.

Before you can actually begin planting, you need to figure out exactly what kind of flower garden you want. Would you like a beautiful display of native wildflowers or a bevy of sunflowers or roses? Would you like to plant a perennial flower garden, with blooms returning year after year, or a garden full of colorful annual flowers? Consider your climate: some flowers may thrive in your area while others may not be well-suited for your environment.

One of the best ways to find out whether a flower will do well in your garden is by consulting an expert. Talk to staff at local nurseries and garden centers, ask them what they think might work best. Chances are good the experts will have a good idea of which types of flowers will work best in your particular area.

If you don't want to consult a nursery, you can research online to see which flowers work best in your area. Many online gardening websites, including those that sell seeds and bulbs, provide specific information on what flowers will grow best where. You'll also find out about the flower's growing season, so you'll know how long it will bloom.

Once you have determined the types of flowers you want to plant, the next step involves designing and preparing your garden. If you are a novice at flower gardening, you may want to start on a smaller scale - you can always expand your garden later.

Begin by sketching out a design of your garden on paper first, trying to make it to scale if possible. Block out areas where you want certain flowers to go. Having the design down on paper will give you a better idea of how to prepare the actual garden.

Once you've got a sketch, it's time to go outside! Determine where you want your flower garden: do you want a nice flower display that you can admire from the backyard or a burst of color for your front yard's landscape? Block off the area where you will be planting the flower garden by using wooden stakes (if you have them) or even a garden hose. Begin carefully tilling the area, removing debris (rocks, sticks) and be sure to remove any weeds that are growing. Once the soil is mixed up well, add a compost or fertilizer to enrich it. If you live in an area with a lot of red clay, including many parts of the Southeast, you may want to add a special soil conditioner to improve drainage and encourage healthier flowers.http://www.fafard.com/?p=95

You've decided what kinds of flowers you want in your garden and how it should be designed and you've tilled the soil and prepared the flower bed - now it's time to plant! When planting, keep in mind that it may be best to plant your taller flowers toward the back of the bed (they will easily catch the most sunlight), then add your medium height flowers next and finally, your shorter or smaller flowers in the front.http://www.farmersalmanac.com/home_garden/a/how-to-plant-a-flower-garden

Where spacing is concerned, read the directions on each flower seed packet or bulb to determine how far apart the flowers should be placed and how deeply the seeds or bulbs must be planted. If you are using flowers in containers, a good rule of thumb is to plant them as deeply as they are in the pots.http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ContentView?pn=Planting_Flowers&langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=1 You don't want to cram too many flowers too closely together in your flower bed - you run the risk of stunting growth.

Once you have planted your flowers in your new garden, you may want to consider adding some mulch - wood chips or pine needles will do - to keep weeds at bay and help the bed stay moist after watering.