Flower beds

Browneyedhunni85

When the weather starts to get warmer we plan to work on our flower beds and planting new bushes. Any suggestions on what type of flowers and bushes we should plant?  I'm new to all this and would like something with little maintance. We moved into the house in May and didn't do a lot of gardening and planned on working with it this year.  There is currently pinestraw lining the flower beds and I would like to use something else. Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

rubyiu

Well this depends on a lot of factors. For example, do the beds get full or partial sun? Do you want to plant perennials or annuals? What I did was went to a nursery and asked for suggestions based on the soil type I had and the amount of light. I'd suggest you do the same. Then I planted some smaller bushes in the beds that are perennials. I line the beds with flowers each year - I've done marigolds and impatiens, both hardy and will last pretty much all summer if you take care of them.

nitaw

Ditto rubyiu. First thing's first - figure out how much sun the area gets. Full sun with a southern exposure will fry plants that can't take the heat (pun intended). Next, what type of plants do you want? Do you want something evergreen as well so that your bed doesn't look bare in winter?

A local nursery can go over options with you and let you know what plants will work best in your area. Also, see if the nursery has some sort of planning service. My local nursery was able to give me a plan based off of my pictures and bed dimensions. 

another KT

I would talk to your local master gardner extension.  I find nurseries want to sell what they have on site, which may not be the best for your needs.