Garden

Plan your perfect garden with Bovis Homes

- 25 Jun 15

Now is the time to get your garden ready for summer! Planting a few flowers around the borders, or adding a bit of colour to some patio pots can brighten up any outdoor space.

If you’re thinking of laying top soil, sowing grass seed or need help on where to place your plants, here’s a handy infographic on planning your perfect garden.

Before planting anything, testing your soil to find out the pH type is the first step in planning your garden. Plants thrive in different types of soil so make sure your plants suit the ground they’re in, otherwise there will be problems with growth and foliage.

It’s easy to test soil pH type as most garden centres stock DIY test kits that give good indications of the soil type. There’s a quick test that can be done at home, using vinegar and baking soda. The pH test will reveal whether your soil is acid or alkaline:

pH 7.0 is neutral
anything below 7.0 is considered acid
anything above 7.0 is considered alkaline

It is possible to lower the acidity or alkalinity of soil through adding elements such as lime for acidic soil, and sulphur, or iron sulphate for alkaline soil.

Alternatively, using pots gives you control over the soil type to ensure the conditions are right for the plants you choose to grow.

Use our plant chart below to plan what flowers would suit your garden.

In-season Timeline

Table of Flower Types

Plant Name	Lighting Required	Soil type	Soil PH
Achillea	Sun	All Types	Alkaline
Agrimony	Sun	Loam	Neutral
Asters	Sun	Loam	Any
Celosia	Sun	All Types	Acid
Cornflowers	Sun	Clay	Alkaline
Cosmos	Sun	Loam	Any
Delphiniums	Sun	Chalk	Alkaline
Dianthus	Sun	All Types	Alkaline
Geranium	Sun or Shade	All Types	Any
Hollyhocks	Sun	Chalk	Any
Hollyhocks	Sun	Sandy	Any
Hollyhocks	Sun	Loam	Any
Hydrangea	Shade	All Types	Any
Impatiens		Loam	Neutral
Iris	Sun	All Types	Acid
Lady's mantle	Sun or Shade	All Types	Any
Lavender	Sun	Chalk	Alkaline
Lobelia	Sun or Shade	All Types	Neutral
Marigolds	Sun	Sandy	Alkaline
Marigolds	Sun	Clay	Alkaline
Peony	Sun		Neutral
Petunias	Sun	Sandy	Alkaline
Petunias	Sun	Clay	Alkaline
Poppy	Sun	Loam	Neutral
Rosemary	Sun	Sandy	Alkaline
Roses	Sun	Chalk	Acid
Salvia	Sun	All Types	Acid
Sweet William	Sun or Shade	All Types	Any
Violet	Sun or Shade	All Types	Neutral
Zinnias	Sun	All Types	Any