Kind of hard to understand your questions. But you certainly don't need to create separate gardens for each type of flower. Spend time looking at fine gardens either in person or through books.

What makes a garden interesting is, in fact, not the flowers at all. It's having a mix of coarse and fine textured foliage, different color foliage, and different shapes of plants (think domed sedums, grass like foliage of grasses or daylilies, wispy plants like Russian Sage, etc.) One of my most outstanding gardens is a large planting of Achillea (Yarrow) 'Fireland' mixed with daylilies in the same colors (rusty red and gold), backed by Agastache 'Blue Fortune' and in back of that, a "wall" of Calamagrostis 'Karl Foerster" (an early blooming, tall grass). To the side is a very large Nepeta 'Wild Cat', an everblooming Silphium gracile (a type of cup plant) and in front of these Gaillardia 'Fanfare'. The flowers are great, but the whole thing looks interesting long before bloom commences because of the shapes and textures.

it seems.. the root of your 'problem' is that you think a garden is to be planted ONCE ... forever ...

plant anything .. and everything .... that tickles your fancy ... and enjoy them ..

in fall.. decide what isnt right.. AND MOVE IT ...

if you have room .. always start a new bed .... so you have somewhere to move them to ...

i will yell... NOTHING IS PERMANENT IN THE GARDEN ...

live.. learn.. experience.. and then admit your mistakes [to yourself.. no one else need know.. lol] .. and move them.. or destroy them ...

no garden you have ever seen .. was made from a plan.. with no editing or correcting... its nice to start with a plan.. but not unlike war.. the plan fails.. the minute you meet the enemy ....

good luck

ken

as to your title... there is nothing to be confused about ...

just go zen ... and once you decide what is bothering you in a given space .. perhaps a wrong color .. then move that one out ....

that is why you get a comfy lawnchair.. and your favorite libation.. and sit and ponder your garden.. in the evenings ... its supposed to be relaxing ... and contemplative...

if it is stressing you .. or confusing you .. you are not doing it right ...

ken

I designed & planted a curved bed in full sun and am gradually adding plants to it that attract bees, butterflies and hummingbirds so the mix of plants is eclectic to say the least. Currently there is a magnolia in the center surrounded by ornamental grass (Karl Forester), Shasta daisy, false indigo, butterfly bush, blanket flower, hardy geranium, salvia (blue), globe flower (gold/orange), delphinium, peonies, gayfeather (purple), hardy hibiscus (pink), cushion spurge (lime green & yellow) along with quite a few others.

There's no right or wrong combination of plants posted anywhere that I'm aware of. If you want a pink-burgundy-maroon theme in your bed, go for it! There are no flower color police going to show up and issue you a citation. Go with whatever color/shape/form/height combination pleases you and feel free to add/remove things that don't suit your eye.

I do try to plan my garden so there's always something blooming right through the season but that's not everyone's goal--it's what pleases me. Including different foliage types as laceyvail suggested helps keep things interesting even when nothing is in bloom.

yup, it is all about goals. Usually the first goal is color from flowers. But goals change as you will discover how challenging it is to have a lot of color all the time. You will come to appreciate foliage and form. I think new gardeners have to go through trial and error to evolve their own style and likes and dislikes. Attempting to copy gardens that you like the looks of and adjusting is a good way to start off.

Trying plants and moving them is definitely a tried and true method. Just be aware that each time you move them, you set their clock back a bit in development. So do your best to consider the placement as best you can, but don't fret about moving them to get it right.

in re-reading your post, I see that you need to consider heights. Read the tags, google the plant names and then plant the taller ones in back and shorter ones in front.

Buying 3 of something is good. In a large bed placing them in different locations, several feet apart, is a good design strategy to create continuity. However, placing 3 in a cluster/triangle together for stronger impact is another great option. For a brand new garden, I would recommend the cluster to start things off. If it works, then you can always divide and move more around later.

yup, it is all about goals. Usually the first goal is color from flowers.

===>>> when i moved to 5 acres.. the first goal was to create beds that did not have to be mowed ...

then i decided i didnt want them all to be foo foo flowers.. so i found conifers.. which take up space.. but once 'established' are free range for life ...

i tend to like a riot in the garden.. i dont really care about color ... i simply plant by height in large beds.. though i can still find.. 10 years later.. 6 inch plants in the center of a 10 foot wide bed.. lol ... must have stroked out when i planted that one.. lol ..

but yep.. its about goals .... which is what i meant.. when i said find things that make your toes tingle.. i did say that above.. or something like it ....

ken

this used to take 1.5 hours to mow

{{gwi:240153}}

that's interesting... I had a similar goal when I moved here 20 yrs ago. I had a large backyard that was mostly a gentle slope covered with moss and weeds among the unmowed grass. I knew that area needed a new approach.

Totally newbie and not especially interested in gardening, I had a designer come and design a tree and shrub backyard with stone walls. I remember saying "not too much colorful stuff, I want a green calming feeling".

WOw did that change!! I've been adding color and becoming a plant-aholic ever since. Ironically, the goals have almost come full circle. Sometimes when everything is blooming like crazy (fulfilling the evolved goal), I actually think it is too colorful and I want the zen (original goal).

"Can I blend all of these different plants together or do I need separate gardens; one for daisy-like, one for yarrow-like, & one for lavender-like?
Please help because I obviously don't know what I'm doing!
Thanks VERY much, in advance, for your help!"

There are no rules.
There are no Perennial Police that are going to stop by and berate you for doing it wrong.

There are commonly accepted ideas that work well- tall plants behind short plants, staggered bloom times, complimentary colors, groups instead of singletons, gentle curves instead of hard corners- but in the end it is only about what you like.

The problem with many of us is that we don't know what we like until we see something we don't. Thus the rearranging, moving, winters spent planning "next year..."
In all honesty, you're not going to get it right the first year.
No one does.

The only advice I can give you is to look at a spot and choose a plant to put there as opposed to buying a plant and wandering the yard looking for somewhere suitable to put it.
It's a game to play, not a job to get done so get started discovering what you like by trying everything.

The problem with many of us is that we don't know what we like until we see something we don't.

===>>> that and usually.. published pictures never end up being what the plant looks like in your garden.. especially way back when you had to rely on a printed catalog..

i must have bought a hundred of plants that claimed to have blue flowers.. of which about 4 actually had such .. lol ...

and i agree.. the ONLY RULE.. in the end.. ends up being.. whatever pleases you ... [which has to do with what libation you are using.. lol .. i find i am much more at peace with my garden on scotch... lol]

you are the goddess of this garden.. pshaw on anyone who claims you erred ... suggest something else.. but dont ever tell me i am wrong.. lol ... i have a couple of those peeps buried out back ... not really ... but there have been a few i wished i could ...

ken

Just want to say, I've been gardening 10 years, and I'm just NOW starting to get the feel for it. It's an art as well as a learned skill, and there is always so much more to know. You will make mistakes -- that's part of it. I don't think I'll ever feel like I know exactly what I'm doing. Gardening really teaches you to enjoy the process, and if, by happy accident, the result comes out great -- well, ta-da!

Enjoy the dirt!

I agree, I've also been gardening for 12+ years and only recently have seemed to get the hang of it - whatever that means. Until now, I've been moving perennials around every year. It's exhausting! I've finally come around to an actual plan for my beds and I'm sticking to it.
From now on, the only thing that will be dug up will be because it died (and nothing dies in my garden if I have any say about it!) or didn't perform well, not because it has to go 8 inches to the left.

The comments here brought a chuckle or two and I've enjoyed reading them. I remember my husband saying my plants should have roller skates built in cause I moved them so often. I thought I was doing something wrong at the time, but have found that a garden evolves and my ideas and tastes changed.

ENJOY your garden, mistakes and all. Next year your garden will be all the better for your mistakes. I've been gardening for more than 25 years and am always learning. A garden is an evolving process and I wouldn't want it any different. There's always something new that strikes your eye and you want to plant. Have fun and enjoy the learning process. I only wish God would have created tougher backs and other parts to handle the Love of Gardening.

Best advice is to plant groups of plants together that like the same light & soil conditions to simplify your work & increase likelihood of plant establishing for a perennial garden. Otherwise you're planting annuals.

Don't bother growing full sun, drought resistant & poor soil lovers in compost enriched part sun locations with mulch.

Referencing the funny posts, particularly about NO POLICE. Thank you! lol

So I am on the right track somewhat. I wanted to add two lavenders. One has silvery foliage but not the other. And I wanted to add two different yarrow to the sedum stonecrop. I like the ferny leaves. Two of each is all the store carries.

The 'daisy' plants I was talking about is coreopsis. They're different heights. And, one or two are different bloom times, I think.

The 'red fox' is speedwell. One of the three is a different height, but they're all summer bloomers. I'm not gaga for them. I feel like returning them to the store & trying something else. Hm, maybe purple fountain grass. It's so pretty.

By the way, the dusty miller & dianthus (sweet william, not pink, I think) stayed all winter & got bigger. They're the same plant, root ball, in the same location I planted them, not from self-seeding. I like the dusty miller because of its leaf color. I think it'd go good near the sedum & yarrow.

I've been container gardening for so many years. It's so much easier for me. I'd rather have nothing but different shapes & heights of 20-in & bigger containers.

Aside from the other advice regarding growing conditions, plant height, etc., I would also suggest groups of the same plants together, especially in a large space. For example, drifts of salvias, daylilies or astilbes have a completely different effect, from an aesthetic standpoint, than one planted here and one planted there. So while there is no general rule, you might want to decide which plants are best for grouping.

Laceyvail also made a good point - go for textural contrasts -- one of my favorites is Amsonia Hubrechti with Bergenias. Astilbes look great with hostas. Perennial geraniums look great combined with Iris.

Especially with a large space, it can tend to look too mix-moxy with too many "onesey's" around. Not that you have to plant everything together, you can plant the same thing in different areas of the planting bed, but I'd group them as such with a contrasting plant,and repeat that throughout for a better flow. In other words, plant them in groups together in the same garden, not separate gardens.

Like you, the first year I was gardening I went for color and what bloomed, and went from there. It doesn't always work the way you expect, as different plants have different bloom times. That progressed to foliage textures, and so on.

Unless of course you are going for an overall cottagy feel, but it sounds like you want more structure to your garden.

As time goes on, and you become more experienced with plant habits and growing conditions, your thumb will become greener, and you'll learn your likes and dislikes.

I started off a complete novice, I didn't know the difference between sun and shade perennials or annuals. Now, years later, I'm a complete gardening fanatic. At the front of my home, which is more formal in appearance, I keep it neat and simple, but interesting, and it's ever changing based on my tastes and experience. In my back yard, I'm still somewhat formal, but I play around more with flowers and less formal plantings. What I learned about myself as a gardener is that I need structure. While I admire cottage style gardens (when done right), my brain immediately wants to go into organization mode.

Also, take pictures to review over the winter. As you become more experienced, you can look back on those pics to determine what does or doesn't work, what you might want to change, etc., and it may help get you through long dreary winters. :)

Good luck and have fun!

I researched after my last post & decided on plants I like that go well with other plants I like.

I'll stay with butterfly bush x1, stonecrop sedum x3, buy 1 purple fountain grass, blanket flower x3, buy 3 or more yarrow, buy 1 shasta daisy, speedwell x3 (C'est la vie), coreopsis x3, maybe buy other coreopsis, buy 2 or more lavender, buy 1 butterfly weed.

I can't help have them in a line. It's not our home. And, you know what I mean when I say split-entry with living room floor/basement ceiling hangover? Yuck!

Thanks to all, roger & out!