Planting Flowers for Curb Appeal

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Nothing can add curb appeal to your home more than a large display of annual flowers.

In this project, I am planting 25 white New Guinea Impatiens along a front walk.

It is mostly shady but does get 3-4 hours of sun in the late afternoon.

For tips on selecting the right annual for your landscape, click here.

 

Preparing the Flower Bed

If you want an amazing flower display in your garden beds, one of the tricks of the trade is to have great soil.

If your soil is hard and compacted, it will definitely pay-off to add “soil amendments.”

Examples of soil amendments are peat moss, compost and composted manure.

Simply mix the amendments into the existing soil with a shovel or trowel and they will loosen and enrich your soil.

The more generously you add soil amendments, the better the result.

This is truly one of the keys to having an amazing flower display.

It may require some up-front work, but it will pay dividends for years to come.

 

Planting Annual Flowers

Before planting, I place each pot on the soil to “layout” my planting design.

I place them in a zigzag pattern rather than a straight line.

This helps create depth to the flower bed.

Over the next few weeks, they will grow together and create a large mass of white flowers.

Once your soil is loosened, dig a hole that is about the same depth as the pot in which the plant is currently growing.

Loosen the soil at the bottom of the hole so that it will be easy for the plant’s roots to grow into.

Before planting, be sure that all your plants are well-watered and not dry. Then, remove the plant from the container.

I do this by gently squeezing the pot to help release the roots so it easily slides out of the container.

Most plants will have a strong root system that has developed and grown into the shape of the pot.

Another tip is to remove a small part of the roots that are at the bottom of the pot so that the circular growth pattern is broken.

This will force the roots to grow out into their new environment.

You can’t hurt the plant, this is actually good for their development.

Then simply place the plant in the soil and fill it with soil. Gently firm the soil so that the plant is securely in place.

Watering and Fertilizing to Create Curb Appeal

After the flowers are planted, I sprinkle a slow release fertilizer on top of the soil around each plant.

Most slow-release fertilizers will provide 3 months of nutrients.

In addition, once every 7-14 days I will use a fertilizer that I can mix in my watering can (this is called a water-soluble fertilizer) to give my flowers a little extra boost.

The final step is to water the plants well.

I use the shower setting on my hose nozzle to provide a gentle, but thorough watering.

I often will come back in an hour or two and water again, just to make sure that the soil is thoroughly moist.

If rain isn’t in the forecast, the plants may need to be watered daily until they are established.

Water and fertilize your flowers regularly and you will see them develop into a lush, vibrant display that will give your home curb appeal worthy of a gardening magazine!