Perennial gardens are a source of great beauty, joy and pride for gardeners and admirers alike.

Anyone can plan a perennial garden by using a thoughtful step-by-step process. As you begin the planning process, give some consideration to the garden’s theme, size, shape and location.

Examples of garden themes are Japanese garden, butterfly garden, cutting garden or evening/moon garden.

The garden size is determined by the area devoted to the garden as well as the financial costs of soil testing and amending, plants and labor for garden preparation and maintenance.

Perennial garden shapes can be geometric or contoured to fit a particular space. Garden location may be close to or a distance from the house, and its orientation may be north, south, east or west. Having a specific plan that considers all of these factors ensures your garden’s health and your success.

Once you have a plan for the perennial garden’s location, size and shape, the work begins.

Select the garden’s location on your property, and use a compass to determine its orientation.

Tracking sunlight on the garden location throughout an entire day is an accurate means for evaluating sunlight conditions. Knowing the amount of sun an area receives is important when selecting perennials for the garden.

For example, three hours of cool morning sun is different from three hours of hot afternoon sun. Perennials requiring shade will scorch or require additional water if planted in sunny areas, while perennials requiring full sun will be leggy and not flower if planted in shady areas.

Measure the size of the proposed garden, which allows you to select the proper number of plants for the garden.

Consider the contour of the land and conditions of the soil. Note the presence of trees, which will compete with the perennials for moisture and sun.

Having access to water for plant hydration is important for compliance with watering in the absence of rain.

After measuring the garden’s site and size, assess its shape. Does your site have a square or round shape?

Decide on the shape you want the garden to become. Consider the amount of time, effort and expense associated with changing the garden shape. If you don’t have extra money to change the site’s shape, change your garden design to add shrubs, statuary or other objects to define your desired shape.

Obtain a soil sample for new perennial gardens. Take soil samples from random areas within the site to assure a complete soil profile.

For the Penn State Extension soil kit directions, select “Flower Bed” when mailing the sample for testing. When obtaining the soil sample, analyze the soil composition: Is the soil wet, dry, clay or sandy?

If you have a site that is extremely wet or extremely dry, use your creativity to grow plants that will thrive under these conditions.

Once you have considered the basics in site preparation, it’s time to sketch your garden design. Use graph paper or large sheets of paper and begin by drawing the garden site to scale. Note the direction of north to properly orient your garden.

Use your own codes for plant, shrub and statuary placement. Try drawing a few garden prototypes until you find a design that is appealing to you.

A good rule of thumb is to design in groups using odd numbers, such as three or five of a kind of a single species. A single plant can be used as a focal point.

Use a color wheel to select similar and contrasting colors. As a general guideline, small plants under a foot in height or plants at the front of the border should be spaced 8 to 12 inches apart.

Intermediate sized plants that grow 1 to 2.5 feet in height are best spaced 15 to 24 inches apart.

Spacing of 15 inches or more seems to work best for the majority of perennials, including tickseed (Coreopsis), sage (Salvia) and Veronica.

Larger growing plants — such as baptisia (Baptisia australis), beebalm (Monarda) or ornamental grasses — should be spaced 2 to 3 feet apart.

Plant labels give guidelines for expected size, but you can space plants close together to reduce weed competition and produce a lush, full looking bed. Calculate the number of plants you anticipate needing to avoid overbuying. Check your budget, too.

Read garden books, visit websites and study perennial gardens to learn more plant varieties, spacing and color. Travel to your local nursery and bring your design.

Look for perennials that meet your garden’s requirements for theme, size, site, location and soil. Select plants that will give you two or three seasons of interest.

Evaluate plants for their length of flowering time, foliage appearance and level of maintenance.

Lower maintenance perennials typically are noninvasive and have a life span of five or more years. They are cold, hardy, insect and disease tolerant, and heat, humidity and moisture tolerant. Lower-maintenance perennials often do not require frequent division, daily deadheading, staking or heavy fertilizing.

Most of this information can be obtained by reading the plant label.

Now that you have taken the time to plan your perennial garden, keep in mind that Rome wasn’t built in a day. Perennial gardens and their designs evolve over time.

Happy planning.

Terri Helfer has been a Penn State Extension Master Gardener since 2016.