Free Flower Garden Planner

Family Food Garden may collect a share of sales or other compensation from the links on this page.

A flower garden planner can help you plan and plant your flower garden

Deciding what flowers to plant and where is part of the fun of flower garden planning. There are many flowers to choose from, and you’ll need to pay attention to whether they are annual plants or perennials. Annual plants will need to be replaced every spring, perennial flowers include bulbs that are planted in the fall or plants like lavender. You can buy seeds for many of these flowers and start them indoors such as zinnia seedlings, or you can buy plants that are ready to transplant into your garden. Most flowers will need to be planted after your spring frost, some need cold stratification, it depends on what you’re growing.

There are pros and cons of growing flowers from seed or buying live plants

Many flowers take many weeks to start from seed. This can take up your time, and isn’t always cheaper. Plants like lavender can take 12+ weeks before they are a decent enough size to transplant. Other flowers such as marigolds, zinnias or calendula you can transplant after 4-8 weeks and are more affordable to grow indoors, especially if you have a seed starting set up already. There are many flowers you can ‘succession plant’ as in plant more than once to spread out blooming times. We do that with nasturtiums for example.

When flower garden planning use these tips to help you plan your garden

• How much sunshine do you have where your flower garden will go?
• Are you planting certain flowers in your veggie garden to increase pollination or for companion planting. 
• Is it springtime? Many bulbs are planted in the fall, except dahlias. You may have to buy plants or directly sow easy flowers from seed.
• Do you have drought? Certain flowers are better for these types of conditions. Cosmos, Cornflowers (also called Bachelor Buttons) and wildflower mixes have been adapted for reduced watering.
• Would you prefer perennial flowers or annuals? Perennials have the benefit of coming back every year, however you may want to change how your garden looks or try different kinds of flower color schemes.
• Pay attention to bloom times. It’s a good idea to spread out blooming times with spring, early to late summer blooming flowers.
• Do you have a shady spot? There are certain ground covers that will also offer some blooms.
• Are you limited on space? Can you put up some hanging baskets if you don’t have a garden?

Spend some time looking in seed catalogs or great books such as Floret Farms Cut Flower Book.

Many seed companies offer free planting charts. I love this one from West Coast Seeds for our region. 

Look for contrasting colors and leaves and spreading out blooming times.

Doodle out your garden and create a garden plan. You can head to the garden center too, and just buy whatever is appealing to your eyes. Just check the tag for growing and blooming information. Many flowers appreciate a fertilizer boost throughout the season, others are less finicky such as Cosmos or Calendula.

Here’s my free printable flower garden planner for you!

FREE PRINTABLE–> My Flower Garden

Happy Flower Garden Planning!

More posts on growing flowers:

• Calendula Officinalis (Pot Marigold) Growing + Benefits
• Cosmos Flowers: Perfect for the Cutting Flower Garden
• Grow Zinnias: Seedlings + Directly Sowing
• Wildflowers to Attract Wild Pollinators
• Bachelor Buttons (Cornflowers)
• Growing Sunflowers & Fun Types
• Edible Flowers: Recipes and Uses
• Easy Flowers to Grow from Seed
• How to Grow Lavender from Seed
• Nasturtium Flowers from Seed+ Colors and Varieties
• Easy Flowers that Bloom all Summer
• Wonderful Lilac Flower Recipes
• How to Plant a Lilac Hedge

Family Food Garden

My name is Isis Loran, creator of the Family Food Garden. I’ve been gardening for over 10 years now and push the limits of our zone 5 climates. I love growing heirlooms & experimenting with hundreds of varieties, season extending, crunchy homesteading and permaculture.