Planning a garden is an exciting time and with good planning, it can be done so that you have a stunning garden, filled with color and sweet fragrances.  While there are many things to consider when planning a garden, you should focus on the five specific issues:

1. Start by determining your landscape design.  For instance, do you like things that are curved or do you prefer, straight, clean lines.  Do you like a look that is formal and elegant or is your taste more free-spirited and sporadic?  If you like formal flower gardens, then you would want to consider symmetrical designs, which would be an excellent option for traditional homes.  On the other hand, if you like a less formal look, one that is natural and with country flair, then you should think about planting a profusion of colorful flowers.  Finally, if your style were contemporary and unique, then a Japanese garden would be beautiful.

2. Another consideration is the size of the garden.  One common mistake for new gardeners is that they create the garden too narrow, feeling overwhelmed with the prospect of caring for it.  In truth, you want a garden that will accommodate at least three layers, being a front, middle, and back.  If you plant a flower garden less than five feet wide, you will not be able to achieve this layering effect and therefore, the garden will be lacking a thick, lush appearance.  Instead, create the garden between six and ten feet wide.  A good rule of thumb is that once you have determined the length of your flower garden, you want it to be wider than that measurement.

3. Give some thought to a flower border or island bed for your garden.  With the flowerbed, in most cases it would be created somewhat like a backdrop, being planted around rocks, a fence, one or more walls of the house, the side of a deck or patio, and so on.  For the island bed, this would be a design consisting of flowers planted in the lawn.  Island beds look amazing around or near trees, producing a burst of vivid color.

4. The season is yet another consideration.  In other words, you could plant all bulbs that bloom in the spring but that means during the summer, you will have no blooms at all.  However, if you plant a variety of spring and summer blooming bulbs, then you will have a beautiful garden all year long.  Additionally, choose bulbs that produce fragrance so that as you sit outdoors in the evening, or work in the garden during the day, you can enjoy their pleasant aroma.

5. Finally, the amount of sun a flower garden should get is something else to think about in that too much sun can dry and burn plants and too little, not produce strong, healthy blooms.  In most cases, plants that bloom love full sun, meaning they should be planted in an area that will receive approximately six hours of sun a day.  If you do not have such an area, then you could choose a location that has partial sun and the plants should do fine.  However, if you only have shade, then you need to choose bulbs that grow well in shade, which would among others, Siberian iris, cranesbills, coral bells, geraniums, and hostas.