I live in St. Louis MO. I am a first time home owner.
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Start with only a few perennials the first year. I buy 3 of the same type of perennial and space accordingly. Normally you can split those same plants within a couple years to expand your bed or create a new space. Dig the hole at least 1 and one half times bigger than the pot your plant comes in. I then add a lit bit of potting soil. Remove plant from pot. Loosen up the rooted area and place in hole Finished filling area around plant with potting soil. Once you have planted evrrything, make sure you water well. An easy weed preventive before mulching is newspaper. Very thick layers of papers and then add the mulch.
The key is to put the right plant in the right spot. This is a good time of year to plan for the spring.
Botanical gardens are great sources of information since they usually have lists of popular perennials http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/visual-guides/low-maintenance-perennials.aspx
Plant sun-loving perennials in the sun-- at least 6 hours per day. Plant shade lovers in the shade.
Perennials aren't going to be show-stoppers in the first year-- they tend to sleep, creep, then leap. That means that the first year they just kind of sit there and you might wonder if you made a mistake. But they are tricky that way. By the second year, they are doing a little creep, that is, they are spreading out. By the third year, they leap or kind of establish themselves and look like they've always been there.
You can buy smaller perennials and stretch your dollars as they will eventually fill in the spots. You can also look for plants that are stressed or less than happy that are sometimes put out for clearance. WalMart and Lowes does this regularly and you can get a lot of great deals. With a little TLC, the plant comes back, you look like Mother Nature's best advocate and you got a bargain in the end.
First find out what growing zone you are. Here is a link and to use your zip code. http://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/PHZMWeb/ No use planting perennials in your garden if they aren't hardy to your zone. Next add compost or leaf mold to your flower bed. The compost will help with the consticency of your garden soil. Either clay or sandy. It will give make your life a lot easier. Next are the plants themselves. Personally,, I think that planting in odd numbers, 3, 5, 7 etc. Makes for a prettier bed. Also the tallest towards the back for a long bed or in the center for a rounded bed. I wouldn't make a flower bed wider than 2 -3 feet. Mostly because you will be reaching in to plant and weed. After preparing your flower bed its not recommended to step in it. If you are going to be buying plants its going to be a little expensive. If you have a bright window or grow lights you can start some perennials and annuals from seed indoors. For the price of a packet of seeds you can have many plants. In terms of tools, I would get a shovel, a garden fork, a hand spade and gloves. While you are waiting for your perennials to fill in, maybe some annuals for color and/or veggies. There are many websites with info about gardening. Have fun and surf.
St. Louis has a great botanical garden that you can access and get ideas for plants. Go to your Lowes or Home Depot next season and look for the clearance plants that are going to need help. Check in with your neighbors and see if anyone is splitting some of their perenials and that you can use. Good luck
go to the exstention