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flower bed of perennials continuous flowering suitable for the park, patio area in front of house. On the Internet and periodicals, you can find a lot of photos of flowerbeds of continuous flowering( for differently sized land plots, different lighting, varied in color and species composition).
Selection of plants for a bed of continuous flowering
In order to make a bed of continuous flowering at a dacha, you need to know the flowering period of plants and use their various life forms:
- Early spring bulbous ephemeroids, or bulbous bulbous plants with a short growing season. Some of them begin to bloom when snow lays, after flowering, the aerial part dies quickly( crocuses, snowdrops, proleski, hyacinths, goose onions, anemone, hellebore);
- Late-spring ephemeroids: tulips, daffodils;
- Spring and early summer rhizome, tuberous and root plants: irises, aconite, peonies;
- Summer plants flowering once( for example, throw an arrow with inflorescences) - lilies, foxglove, gladioli, clematis, mallow, rhodiola;
- Summer-autumn continuously flowering plants that begin flowering in summer, and sometimes continue until late autumn. Roses, lavender, chamomile, aquilegia, dahlias, daylilies, yarrow;
- Late summer and autumn plants - chrysanthemums, sweeties;
- Autumn ephemeroids - colchicum, some species of scilla and crocus;
- Decoratively blooming cereals that bloom in summer, but the inflorescences of which decorate the flower bed before frost, and sometimes until spring.
Notes: the period of flowering of many plants can be increased by cutting off or cutting off faded flowers. This will stimulate the plant to throw out new shoots from dormant( spare) buds. For example: aquilegia, dahlias, roses, yarrow.
Woody plants for flowerbeds
Decorative flowering shrubs and shrubs have long been components of flower beds. Their sizes vary greatly: the smallest reach a height of only 10-15 cm, and creeping forms may be even lower. High shrubs suitable for the background of the flower garden. In addition to decorative, they will serve as protection from the wind and can be attracted to the sun too bright.
Some of them bloom in early spring - forsythia, some rhododendrons, daphne. Other shrubs bloom in late spring or in summer - spirea, tree peony, bushy( star-shaped) magnolia, rhododendron, colquia. 
Hydrangea retains inflorescences for more than a month, and during flowering the petals change color. And weigela is interesting because it blooms twice per season - in spring and summer.
Among shrubs, plants with tree shoots up to 20 cm high, suitable for a bed of continuous flowering:
- Potentilla( with proper care it blooms until autumn);
- Dwarf rhododendrons( spring bloom);
- Common Heather( blooms from late summer to frost);
- Dwarf roses( summer bloom);
- Thyme or thyme( different species differ in terms of flowering spring-summer).
Such plants can be used as curbstones, creating a natural border flower garden.
Planting deadlines for flowerbeds
The manufacture of a flowerbed of continuous flowering at a dacha must begin with determining the type of soil. Most decorative flowering plants in temperate climatic zones prefer neutral or weakly acidic substrates( pH 6.0 - 7.0).But some members of the plant kingdom need a more acidic soil, otherwise they begin to wither and die over time. The most famous of them are representatives of the heather family - Eric, rhododendron, heather, blueberry, cranberry, strawberry.
If the rock garden or rokkarii are taken as a plan for the bloom of continuous flowering, the plants inherent in mountain biocenoses often need a calcined substrate. Alkaline pH( above 7) is preferred: forest anemone, meadowsweet, campanula, chalk cream, some saxifrage.
But nowadays, the concept of "rock garden" often means any flowerbed of continuous flowering, in the design of which stones are added. Therefore, you can create a rock garden on soils with any acidity.
The planting pattern for a continuous flowering bed is quite simple, here are the basic rules:
- All ephemeroids that bloom in spring are planted in the autumn. In this case, you can arrange the flowers alone, but you can groups, they will not interfere with anyone, because other plants are just beginning to vegetate. Later, the aboveground part of the plants will wither away and will not spoil the appearance of the flower garden;
- Planting rhizomatous plants in the fall or early spring( before the beginning of the growing season), it is imperative to leave room for the plant to grow;
- Perennials that are sown by seeds are more rational for sowing in the fall;
- If plants are very different in height in a flower bed, then use a long-line planting: low-growing flowers are planted in the foreground, then - of medium size and high composition is completed;
- After planting, the soil around the plants will be mulched( to avoid loss of moisture from the substrate).As mulch, you can use finely chopped bark of deciduous trees, chopped straw or hay.
Note: when creating a bed of continuous flowering from perennials, you need to take into account that plants that grow strongly interfere with each other. This leads to a decrease in buds, and also to the development of fungal diseases( due to poor ventilation).
Top dressing and fertilizer
All decorative flowering plants need additional feeding. In the spring, the flower garden is fertilized for good leaf development and budding. As a mineral fertilizer, you can use complex fertilizers that are applied to the soil. Organic fertilizers are fed several times over the summer. For organic feeding suitable solution of manure or litter.
