How to design a stunning spring garden

Going vertical can expand, add a unique touch to your space.

As the saying goes, April showers bring May flowers and if you want to get the most out of your buds, you’ll have to take the proper steps to carefully design your spring garden.

If you haven’t started on your garden this season, it’s not too late. Garden Gate magazine says depending on the temperatures and where you live that year, spring can begin anywhere from February to April.

To get started, consider the space you have. While it may be tempting to go the route of simple rows along the ground, you can also expand your designs and take advantage of vertical space.

“That includes walls, transitions, and what’s overhead. Going vertical adds a unique touch to gardens of any size,” designer Susan Morrison said in her book, “Garden Up! Smart Vertical Gardening for Small and Large Spaces,” which was coauthored by Rebecca Sweet.

You’ll also want to take into consideration the kinds of flowers you’ll be planting.

If your garden isn’t quite as lush as you’d prefer since last fall, The Spruce recommends pairing bulbs with hardy annuals. Suggested duos include tulips and primroses and daffodils and scented stock.

“The resulting look will resemble a gardening magazine spread or public garden display you have admired,” the website noted.

It’s not always just about the flowers, either.

For a garden that will have your neighbors thinking it was designed by a professional, High Country Gardens advises mixing in ornamental grasses and shrubs, which will add texture, structure and movement. It’s also beneficial for local wildlife, as it doesn’t disrupt their habitats.

Home gardeners should also consider mixing plants with a variety of heights to avoid monotony. The tallest flowers should be planted in the back while the shortest ones should be in the front for visibility. Each plant should always be planted in odd-numbered groups, too, beginning with three, five, seven and so on.

Similarly, Better Homes & Gardens suggests incorporating variety when designing gardens.

“Similar shapes and colors reinforce a theme,” the publication said. “But certain focal points, by virtue of their interesting character, deserve major attention. These focal points should stand out from the rest of the garden. Occasional accents, such as an arbor, a sculpture, or a specimen plant, help create balance in a garden between the reference points and the background.”

CHRISTOPHER OQUENDO/AJC FILE A Virginiahighland backyard is filled with different flower varietals. There are hydrangeas, peonies and a whole host of other flowers that Erin and Ryan Watstein inherited from the previous owners. “We love the garden,” said Erin, “but we cannot take any credit for it.”

CHRISTOPHER OQUENDO/AJC FILE On her backyard storage shed, Barbara English installed a gutter garden. Plants in the gutters hang over the sides, camouflaging the shed so that it becomes part of the garden. “It becomes a living wall,” she said.

REYNOLDS ROGERS FOR THE AJC Homeowner Angela Green laid all the brick and stone work throughout her garden and built the red arches that let vines grow upward to the sunlight for her Cobb County garden.

CHRISTOPHER OQUENDO/AJC FILE Vine-covered walls, with New Dawn roses planted in front, anchor a section in the garden. Often in the planter, home owner Jill Helmer uses dusty miller, grasses and ivy.

CHRISTOPHER OQUENDO/AJC FILE “My yard is blooming all year,” said Barbara English, whose back garden at her West End home contains hydrangeas, hostas, vincas and magnolias.

REYNOLDS ROGERS FOR THE AJC Hoya plants plunge toward the ground from their hanging baskets. This particular variety adds a unique texture to a Smyrna garden’s collection.