How to Put In a Flower Bed

May 11th, 2009 by
A bed line not only separates the lawn from your flower beds, a well designed bed line gives form to the yard. It shows that thought was put into the beds and landscaping, and that the shrubs weren’t planted just anywhere. It's a great way to turn a bare corner of the yard into a beautiful flower bed. Creating a bed line is easy and fun. First, plan it out...
  • Use smooth curves. Tight angles are hard to mow and don't flow well.
  • If the bed line will cross any kind of path, make sure you can draw an imaginary line straight across the path. You don't want the beds to look out of sync.
Next, mark the bed line...
  • Use a hose or long rope that you won’t mind getting dirty and lay it where you’d like the bed line to be. The point here is to move it around until it looks right.
  • Some people mark it with marking paint, which is different than normal spray paint. Try using a thin or dotted line at first so you can move it around until you like it.
Time to clear the bed...
  • Spray this new area with grass and weed killer. (Follow product’s directions; they usually take three days to work.) Oh...and windy days should be avoided for obvious reasons. You don't want to kill the neighbors prized roses on accident!
  • Once everything is dead, use a sharpshooter (trenching shovel) or other narrow shovel to edge along your marked line.
  • It’s good to dig down 6 inches so you’ll have room to mulch.
  • This is the time to add any edging. These can be brick, plastic or metal as long as it will keep grass out and keep the edge from falling apart. The alternative is to re-edge the bed every few months to keep it looking neat.
  • Now it’s time to remove the grass with the sharpshooter or sod lifter. Scrape down to the roots to completely remove the grass and weeds. It’s tempting to till it all under, but if you do this, make sure the grass doesn’t have deep roots so it can regrow.
Preparing the Soil and Planting
  • The best thing you can do for your plants is to till and loosen the soil before anything goes into the bed. Hopefully you’ve planned the landscaping so you know what type of plants you’ll use and what their soil requirements are. This knowledge helps you fertilize properly now.
  • If your soil is sandy and rocky, you can add organic matter to slow drainage so plants can absorb water better. If the soil has a heavy clay content, organic matter also works to provide air in the soil.
  • The native soil should compose at least half of the matter you add to the bed around your new plants. They’ll have a better chance this way to spread their roots.
  • You’re ready to plant your bed and then cover with a thick layer of much. This keeps weeds out and moisture in, plus it adds the finishing touch to your bed.
Now the hard work is done. You can enjoy your landscaping and spend relaxing time caring for your plants. I'll leave you with a two examples of some of the beds shared by YardShare members. Shared by Pamela Smith:

Edge to a flower bed

Shared by Lark:

Nice curved flower beds