How to Design Large Canna Beds

• 1). Locate a well-drained area of the garden that gets at least 6 hours of full sun each day. Keep in mind that you have a choice of many different types of cannas. Some canna lilies grow up to 8 feet high, such as the flower spike; other varieties only get 2 to 3 feet tall. The taller cannas should be planted in the back of the bed if viewed from one side and in the middle if the bed if viewed from all sides. Remember that after 10 years or so, the cannas need to be divided to keep blooming properly, and that can be a major chore, so plan accordingly when it comes to the size of your canna bed.
  
  
• 2). Mark off your proposed canna lily bed with a string, rope or flexible water hose. A flowing free-style form is more attractive for tropical plants like canna lilies rather than a bed with sharp angles. Leave your marker in place for at least a few hours, and return to the site with a fresh look. Verify that you still like the area you marked off, and make any necessary adjustments.
  
  
• 3). Divide the area into several small squares or rectangles, and compute the square foot by multiplying two sides of each square or rectangle and adding them together. For example, if you mark off two rectangles in the bed, each having one side that is 2 feet long and the other side 4 feet long, then each rectangle is 8 square feet. Add them together to get 16 square feet total available planting area. This only needs to be an approximate figure, but it will help you decide the number of canna lilies to buy or plant.
  
  
• 4). Draw the large canna lily flower bed from an aerial view, adding rocks, garden art and any other permanent fixtures. Pencil in where to plant each canna lily. One canna lily will take up an area equal to 2 square feet. This leaves enough room for each canna to reproduce without the need for dividing for several years.
  
  
• 5). Peruse a list of different types of canna lilies and the heights and colors available. Choose canna lilies that are the right height for your project and have complementing foliage and color. For example, yellow flowers and bright green foliage of one type may match well with the yellow flowers and silver striped foliage of another. Or, the burgundy foliage and red flowers of one variety may match well with the dark green leaves and burgundy flowers of another variety.