How do I Start a Flower Garden?
Whatever the size of your outside space, a flower garden adds a splash of colour and creates a garden to enjoy all summer long. It can feel overwhelming to start a flower garden from scratch but by following a few simple steps, it can be made fun, enjoyable and even relaxing!
In this guide, we’ll walk you through everything from picking a theme and prepping your soil to choosing the right plants (including wildflowers!), and keeping them healthy all season long.
What is your Flower Garden Theme?
When picking what you want your flower garden to look like, there’s no right or wrong. You can use flower beds, plant straight into the ground, use bright flowers, or go for a softer, comforting colour scheme – it’s completely up to you.
Reflect your personality, or the personality of your house, and create a space you love to spend time. You can browse popular garden themes via home and garden magazines, the local garden centre, and social media, to give you a feel for what you might enjoy.
Popular themes include cottage garden vibes, creating a wonderful wildflower meadow, and a cut flower garden.

The Perfect Spot
Flowers can be quite fussy, and they are very specific about where they want to be grown; the wrong spot can make all of the difference when looking to create a thriving flower garden.
Most flowers need a lot of sunlight, so the best spot is one that gets 6 hours of sun a day. If you have a shadier garden, no need to worry, just opt for a shade tolerant seed mix!
Flower seeds want to be planted in soil with good drainage, to check the soil structure, look outside after rain and stay away from the areas that flood. If your soil doesn’t have good drainage, use raised beds or containers!
If you’re a beginning gardener, pick a small part of your garden to begin with, so that you can get the hang of working with flowers and it’s not too difficult to maintain!
Choose your Flower Garden Layout
It’s time to get your creative hat on… choosing the layout can be hard as you want it to be perfect. Planning is the perfect way to help you organise and make planting simpler.
On a piece of paper, sketch out your garden. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just sketch out the shape of your garden and any structures within it (raised beds, etc). Once you have the base, label out sunny areas and shady areas, from there, you can plan where you want your flower garden to be.
You might choose to keep it all symmetrical using straight lights and corners, or you might opt for curves and free-form planting (ideal for wildflowers!). Think about layers when you choose plants and where they might go on your diagram. You want tall, short, and medium, with taller flowers like sunflowers being put at the back.
Prepping the Soil
Soil prep is not the most glamourous part of creating a flower garden, but it is by far the most important factor – flower gardens start from the ground up, and poor soil can really impact flowers. If the patch is too moist, working soil will help maintain good porosity and structure.
If you’re growing wildflowers, the approach is a little bit different. Unlike most flowers, wildflowers prefer low nutrients in the soil – thriving in poor conditions where other plants might struggle. Enriching the soil with compost or fertiliser can be counterproductive, as it encourages aggressive grasses and weeds that outcompete wildflowers.
Instead, focus on removing stubborn weeds and grasses, and rake the area to expose bare soil, which helps with seed-to-soil contact. This allows your wildflower seeds to settle in, germinate, and establish a self-sufficient, low-maintenance wildflower patch that supports pollinators like bees and butterflies for years to come.
Prepping the soil before planting gives the seeds the nutrients (for normal flower seeds), drainage and structure they need to survive and thrive.
Clear the Area
The first step is removing weeds, grass and any existing vegetation. Use a garden fork or shovel to loosen the top layer of soil and dig out any roots. This creates a clean slate for the flower patch and reduces your plant’s competition for nutrients.
Test Your Soil
If you have time, scoop up your soil and squeeze it, if it clumps like clay or runs like sand, the soil structure needs to be improved. Good soil is crumbly, rich and holds moisture without being wet.
You can get soil testing kits to check the pH level and nutrients.
Add Organic Matter
To improve poor soil, add organic matter. Adding compost, aged manure, shredded leaves or organic material helps create a well-draining soil, boosts fertility and supports healthy root growth.
Level & Rake
Once everything is mixed in, rake the surface so it is smooth, if sowing wildflowers, the smooth, level surface ensures even seed contact and germination.
Choosing Flowers
It’s time to get to the fun part – picking the perfect blooms for your garden! The best gardens combine colours, textures and bloom times.
Consider the light and space you have, and pick varieties based on this. If you have a shady garden, don’t pick flowers that want full sun, as they will not thrive. There are some great shade-tolerant flowers, so it doesn’t mean your garden has to be boring. Keep in mind the size of your garden too, and pick plants that fit within this!
If you’re struggling with all of the options out there, pick a colour palette, this will help guide your choice. Many wildflower seed mixes come with mixed colours that create naturally balanced displays.
The Best Wildflowers for Beginners
If you’re new to gardening, wildflowers are a great place to start. They are low maintenance, resilient, and add a burst of colour to any space. They also grow in poor soil, so are great for those tough spots in your garden.
Wildflowers come in both annual and perennial varieties, so you can choose based on how much you want to replant.
Here are some of the best beginner-friendly wildflowers to try:
Sunflowers (Annual)
They are bold, cheerful, and fast-growing and perfect for sunny spots and attracting pollinators.
Black-Eyed Susans (Perennial)
A tough, drought-tolerant favourite that blooms for weeks. They add a golden colour and support butterflies and bees.
Cosmos (Annual)
Light, feathery foliage with colourful daisy-like flowers. These bloom all summer and thrive in average soil.
California Poppies (Annual)
Easy-going, drought-tolerant, and glowing orange. Ideal for borders, raised beds, or open patches.
Cornflowers / Bachelor’s Buttons (Annual)
Vivid blue flowers are loved by pollinators and florists alike. They are simple to grow and great for cut flower arrangements.

Wildflower Seed Mixes (Annual & Perennial)
Pre-mixed blends from Kent Wildflower Seeds are perfect for beginning gardeners – just scatter, water, and enjoy a natural meadow look.
When to Sow Seeds
In the gardening world, timing is everything. Sowing at the right time gives your flowers the best chance to sprout, grow strong roots and bloom throughout the growing season.
The best time does differ depending on the flower you are growing and your local climate, but the general rule of thumb is to sow after your last frost in early spring. This gives the soil time to warm up and young seedlings aren’t damaged by an unexpected cold snap.
If you want to get a head start on the next year of growing, you can sow flower seeds inside in late winter and transplant them once the weather warms up.
How to Sow Seeds
The first step to sowing seeds is loosening the soil with a garden fork and mixing in any compost to improve the nutrients. Most plant seeds have different needs when it comes to sowing, so read the seed packets to get the correct spacing and depth. For example, most wildflowers need to be scattered lightly on the soil surface.
To sow, you can scatter across the soil, or plant in rows at the required depth and space. Once the seeds are in, gently press them to ensure the seeds are in good contact with the soil.
Once sowed, water gently with a garden hose or watering can, making the soil moist, but not waterlogged.
Caring for your Flower Garden
Once your seeds have sprouted and flowers are growing, you have to continue caring for them to ensure they bloom beautifully!
Regularly water your plants – especially during any dry spells. Most flowers need about 1 inch of water per week, this can be from rainfall or watering. Water at the base of the plants and avoid the leaves.
Weeds compete with flowers for nutrients, water, and space. Keep your garden beds free from weeds and pull them up as soon as you see them to help your flowers grow strong.
Mulching around your plants helps to retain any moisture, reduce weeds and improve the soil structure. Organic mulch, like leaves or straw, is great for flower gardens.
To grow strong and healthy, flowers need nutrients. Use a balanced fertiliser to give them the boost that they need. You can either use a slow-release granular fertiliser, or liquid feed.
To encourage more blooms, remove spent flowers, a process called deadheading. Pinch or cut off the faded flowers at the base of the plant. This prevents the plant from going to seed and encourages it to produce more flowers.
As the growing season comes to an end, take care of your garden by cutting back dead stems and foliage. For perennials, you can trim back the plants to help them prepare for winter. For annuals, you can clear them out to make room for new flowers next season.
