Unfortunately, the word "design" frightens many people.
Here is the good news: You need not be an artist or even understand
the details of the color wheel to design and plant an attractive,
easy-to-maintain perennial garden that will bring you pleasure for
many years.
Sunnier Is Better:
Most perennials perform best where they receive at least six hours
of sunlight daily, so choosing a sunny spot for your bed will open
up the broadest palette of plants. If your yard is shady, there
are many great perennials that will brighten dark corners of the
garden - just be sure they are shade-tolerant varieties.
Get Soil Into Shape:
Select a well-drained site. To test for drainage, dig a hole and
fill it with water from a two-gallon bucket. In well-drained soil,
the water will disappear within an hour. Adding organic matter,
such as Fertilome Sphagnum Peat Moss 
improves
the water retaining capabilities of almost all soils and make them
lighter, which makes it easier for roots to grow. Add organic matter
with a spading fork or rototiller, incorporating about three inches
of peat moss or other soil conditioner into the top 12 inches of
your garden soil.
Choose Your Bloomers:
Pick out varieties that appeal to you for their color or leaf texture.
Make a note of each variety, how tall it gets and what time of the
year it blooms. Then you will have an idea of what color combinations
are possible. Choose color combinations that appeal to you. Do not
worry if the plant combination does not turn out the way you expected;
Simply rotate the plants around until the combination pleases you.
Spacing Plants:
The closer you plant, the quicker the garden will fill in. Some
plants require substantial space to accommodate their full, mature
size. For these bigger plants, it is important to provide enough
space at planting for them to adequately spread out. As a general
rule, allow at least one foot between every plant in a clump and
two or more feet between each clump. Even with generous spacing,
most perennials will need to be divided from time to time and the
clumps reduced to a manageable size. Because it may take three to
five years before plants fully mature, providing this much initial
space can leave you with a relatively sparse garden for a few years.
When you are faced with this situation you have choices. You can
plant at half the recommended distance so the plants fill in quicker
and later transplant them at the correct spacing. Or, you can plant
at the recommended spacing and interplant each year with annuals
to add color and interest until the perennials reach mature size.
Secrets To Success:
Locate your garden close to a water source, and keep it close to
your house. The more often you walk by the garden, the more you
will enjoy it. Do not get carried away by making your first garden
too large. It should be easily manageable.
Some things you just learn by experience. Most importantly, remember
the best criterion for deciding whether your garden is successful
is whether or not you like it. That is really what gardening is
all about - bringing pleasure to your life. And it is the journey,
not the destination that is the most rewarding.
