Before choosing plants or planning your garden, go out into your garden and observe the proposed garden location throughout the day. Is the location in full sun? Is the area heavily shaded throughout the day? Is it exposed to strong winds? Is it near a road where salt from snow drifts could affect plant growth?

Plants and overall design will be affected by the amount of sunlight your garden site receives each day. Plants also vary greatly in their water needs: some plants need a lot of water, while others die if they get “wet feet.” Monitor your garden site for humidity levels.

Soil pH will also affect plant growth. Some plants, such as roses, prefer alkaline soil. Other plants, such as rhododendrons, prefer acidic soil. When designing a garden, be aware that some plants will not be suitable companions due to their different needs!

A soil testing kit can be purchased at any garden supply store. Test your soil to determine its local pH. If you want to acidify the soil, enough coffee can be added to lower the soil pH. Add lime to raise the soil pH.

Plant choices will depend on where you live: the same plants that thrive in Georgia won’t survive a Minnesota winter. Likewise, some plants do better with hard frosts and will not thrive in southern locations.

The USDA provides a map of difficult gardening zones: Check your location on the map and choose plants appropriate for your area. Plants from warm regions can be grown as annuals in cold regions: these plants will die back in the winter and will not return the following year unless stored indoors during the winter months.

In general, place plants in individual groups (3 or 5 plants together). Create a repeating pattern throughout the garden: This helps tie up tall borders or front yard landscaping.

Tall plants should be placed at the back of the garden or in the center of the island garden. Young plants should be planted on the edges.

Check the labels of all plants to determine their full height and width. Your new garden may seem a bit sparse at first, but over time it will fill with plants. Planting small plants too close together will cause overcrowding, and if you plant plants too close together they may need to be moved or rearranged later.

Adding a specimen plant, such as a weeping cherry tree or Japanese maple, can set a theme and add a dramatic element to the garden.

Gardens in the southern states accommodate plants that bloom almost year-round. Annual plants such as geraniums, daylilies and agapanthus bloom most of the year. Gardeners in northern states often grow perennials that bloom only a few weeks a year.

There are many ways to get flowers throughout the growing season, choosing plants with different bloom times will ensure that there are always a few flowers in the garden at any given time. Another way to achieve a longer blooming season is to plant perennials under lamps.

For example, daffodils and hyacinths can be planted under daylilies. The daffodils will bloom first, and the emerging daylilies will hide the faded foliage. Daylilies will bloom in June, and lilies in July. This planting spectacle gives the garden three months of color in one garden section.

Some “re-blooming” perennials have been developed. These perennials usually bloom at least twice: irises, lilacs and daylilies are now common in modern gardens.

Adding annuals to the garden also adds color throughout the growing season. Begonias, geraniums, asters and marigolds will add color from planting until the first hard frost.

The spring garden is often full of flowers – from bulbs to early perennials. Make the most of the season by planting bulbs under perennials and adding a spring-blooming specimen tree (such as Stella magnolia or weeping cherry).

The summer garden can suffer from heat and lack of water, but plant lilies, lilies and annuals to last through the season. Also look at plants for color: Coleus (annuals) provide great color for the summer garden.

Hosta bells and corals come in different colors. Annuals such as elephant ears can give a summer garden a dramatic, tropical look.

Sedums and chrysanthemums bloom in late summer and early fall. Grasses are a wonderful addition to the garden, as their seed heads are as beautiful as some flowers and add color and texture to the landscape. Slender shrubs such as burning bushes add gorgeous red foliage to enhance the fall garden.

Add interest to your conservatory with bark textures, colors and interesting ornamental plants.

River Birch has a beautiful, scaly bark that stands out against the winter landscape. The peculiar branch structure of corkscrew hazel provides winter appeal.  Add a gazing ball, garden benches or sculptures to enhance your winter scene.

This garden plan uses three main plants: hydrangea, hosta, and lemon balm.

Endless summer hydrangea is a beautiful flowering plant that blooms all summer long. The flower color will be pink or blue depending on the acidity of the soil.

To encourage blue flowers, keep the soil acidic – for pink, add a small amount of lemon to raise the soil pH. This plant will grow to a height and width of 3-5 feet. Foliage turns bronze in fall: This hydrangea is suitable for zones 4-9.

Hosta Guacamole has beautiful foliage. It grows 1 to 3 feet tall and makes a beautiful flower display in midsummer. Guacamole has aromatic flowers, unlike the majority of hostas. Its large green leaves contrast beautifully with the hydrangea.

Limium is a low-growing ground cover for shady places. It grows 6-8 inches tall and produces pink flowers throughout the growing season. The leaves are silvery and light shaded spots.

Attracting butterflies to the garden is easy, and the flowers that attract butterflies are vibrant and beautiful. This garden uses the following plants:

Buddleia Black Night (also known as Butterfly Bush): This large, central shrub is full of deep purple flowers in summer. Flowering time can be extended by cutting off wilted flowers. This shrub grows about 6 inches tall and 4 inches wide and is suitable for zones 5-9. The butterfly bush may die back in the winter but comes back in the spring. Like all the other plants in this plan, this shrub needs full sun. Buddleia will attract adult swallowtail butterflies and monarch butterflies, among other species.

Purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) grows 2-3 inches tall and about 1 inch wide. These beautiful perennials are hardy in zones 3-9 and attract adult butterflies as well as songbirds. It’s also deer resistant!

Rudbeckia (also called black-eyed Susan) grows 2-3 inches tall and has dark gold flowers. Space plants 2 feet apart and notice their rapid growth in summer – rudbeckia attracts butterflies and mature birds. Rudbeckia is hardy in zones 4-8.

Liatris Spicata (also known as Blazing Star) grows to 2 feet tall and about 10 inches wide, making it a tall, narrow plant. Butterflies and bees are attracted to its purple flowers in midsummer. Liatris is hardy in Zones 3-10.

Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) is easy to grow from seed but does not transplant well due to its long root formation. This plant has a blooming season (May to September) and has gorgeous orange flowers. Plants are 10 to 24 inches tall, slightly shorter than liatris. Butterfly weeds attract adult butterflies and also support monarch and queen larvae. Grow this plant in zones 4-9.

Verbena ‘Blue Princess’ is a hardy ground cover perennial growing up to 6′ tall. This plant produces beautiful blue-purple flowers that are very fragrant. Grows as an annual in zones 7-10 or cooler.