Achieve a professional looking garden by clustering flowers, grouping colors and waiting patiently for planting season

A Better Landscape & Sprinkler Company experts work with scale, color and form to design landscaping

Shrubs, trees and decorative grasses give a landscape definition, but it’s the flowers that give it color. Knowing which type of plant will prosper best in the environment will ensure optimum color display and longevity, according to Tony Nickerson of A Better Landscape & Sprinkler Company in Denver, Colorado, in the landscaping business for two decades.

Nickerson starts by educating his customers on the difference between annuals and perennials. Perennials come up each year from roots or are self seeding. They are hardy, living over from one year to the next. Annuals, on the other hand, must be planted anew each year.

Annuals can be started from seed, as is common with zinnias and marigolds, or can be put into the ground as plants. Petunias and many other plants grown specifically for planting purposes are commonly purchased in flats at garden centers to be planted in borders or gardens to provide a splash of color. In selecting annuals, it is important to take into account where they will fit into the existing landscape and how they will enhance it and whether you need plants that thrive in shade or varieties that need plenty shade. As example, petunias do well in Colorado’s strong sun, but impatiens need full shade.

“Before planting, review the area of your landscape for sun impact and water access,” says Nickerson. When recommending where to plant specific flowers, Nickerson first assesses the heat reflected off walls, the level of shade or sun over the course of a day, and the reach and effectiveness of the sprinkler system.

Because of Colorado’s unpredictable spring weather, the planting of annuals should be delayed until the danger of a late frost has passed. May is the best time to plant annuals. May planting gives the plants time to get established before the hot summer begins while keeping them safe from a killing frost. Some seasoned Colorado gardeners use Memorial Day as the benchmark day for planting annuals in order to avoid having to replace and replant after unseasonably low temps.

For a professional effect, says Nickerson, annuals can be bunched amid a background of green shrubs or planted in borders. Large beds of annuals can wind among trees and grass providing color and interest in a landscape. They make colorful bouquets for inside the house as well as the summer months go on.

Consider grouping varying heights of flowers, starting with the lower flowers closest to the front and increasing the height of the flowers behind. Color, too, plays a role in the impact of flowers; for example, planting varieties of blue and purple flowers achieves a monochromatic effect that is both soothing and easy on the eye. Accent walkways or corners (either where the fence meets or at the corners of the house) with larger-scale, brighter flowers or flowering shrubbery. Anything is possible. “It’s like decorating a room inside your home once you get involved in the process,” Nickerson adds.

Annuals, like all other plants in a landscape, should be grouped together according to their watering needs. This makes for more efficient use of water and is better for the plants. Blooming plants are better served by drip or underground irrigation systems as opposed to the spray systems commonly used to irrigate grass. The blooms suffer less damage and the plants get just the water they need without evaporation loss inherent in spray systems.

Soil preparation too is important to the growth and blooms of annuals. They must be well watered when planted and for a week or two thereafter. Occasional applications of plant food will help boost their growth and improve their blooms. Take care not to over-feed or over-water flowers or they can burn or die from too much of a good thing.

Nickerson can be reached at A Better Landscape and Sprinkler Company at 720-314-5990 or info@abetterlandscapedenver.com