Starting A Flower Garden

When you begin your flower garden, it's easy to think that all you have to do is get your plants into the ground, and with the exception of weeding, watering and cutting your plants back each season, your garden is done. But here's what really happens: The first year, your new perennials are underwhelming-the clumps small, the flowers sparse. By the second year, you'll see more flowers and better growth. But in the third season -watch out- your plants look like they're on steroids, and you look like an accomplished gardener. After that, many plants get bigger each season, while the odd one does a disappearing act. Responding to inevitable change is the challenge and that's why veteran gardeners often say that no flower garden is ever really finished.