In a flower bed you can place colorful annual and perennial plants that will fill your garden with beauty. And of course flowers are essential for butterflies and other pollinators. So as you make more space for flowering plants, roll out the welcome mat for these beneficial creatures. Like a blank canvas, a new flower bed gives you the opportunity to get creative and fill it with anything you can imagine. The possibilities are endless, but first comes the actual construction. This may seem like a daunting project, but with a little planning, preparation and hard work, you will soon be able to enjoy a more beautiful, flower-filled garden.
Creating a new flower bed: tips for preparation
First, decide on the size and shape of your flower bed. Should it be onesmall round bedor would you prefer a long and narrow discount? Here are the most important decisions you should make in the planning phase.
Determine the size and shape of the flower bed
First you need to decide how big the flower bed should be. Consider things like your budget for the project, your own skills and/or amount of work, the tools you'll need, the plants you'll want to grow in the bed, and ongoing maintenance.
Select the location for the garden bed
After you have decided on the size of the bed, you should choose the location for the new garden bed. Get an overview of your property and note the space available for the flower bed, sun exposure, access to irrigation and soil quality.
In some cases, however, the location is crucial. For example, if you want to beautify a certain area in the garden, you can adjust the size of the bed accordingly.
This is how you create your new flower bed
There are some important steps you should follow when creating a new flower bed, regardless of its size and shape. The following instructions should help you add more color to your garden.
Mark the border of the flower bed
Using a garden hose or wooden stakes and string, draw the shape of the bed you imagine. These tools will help you design and visualize the bed. Once you have decided on the final shape of the bed, you can create the borderwith lawn coloroutline. Make sure to remove the garden hose and/or wooden stakes and string before moving on to the next step.
Remove grass
Assuming the new garden bed is currently covered in grass, your next step is toRemove grass from the new bed area. Depending on how quickly you want to get the new plants started, there are several ways to do this. The easiest, but also most time-consuming method is to lay a landscape protection fabric (or even newspaper) over the area. Secure the material to the ground to prevent it from flying away. After about 2 weeks, remove the material and all of the grass should have died naturally. Scrape off any remaining grass and discard it.
The quickest way to remove the sod is to use a sod remover or the good old method with a shovel and some elbow grease. Start with a straight shovel or spade to outline the perimeter you marked with lawn paint. Press the shovel about 10 cm deep andcreate a clean edgeto separate the turf around the border of the bed.
Are you looking for ideas for an original flower bed border? You can find a few cool and cheap alternativesin this post.
Soil improvement tips
The most important thing you can do to ensure a long lifespan for your new plants is to add good soil to the garden bed. Add about 10cm of soil mixed with compost and sand to the garden bed and work it in with the existing native soil. Digging can be done with a shovel; However, it is best to use a tiller for this task as it is very labor intensive.
Plant plants in your new flower bed
If your new flower bed has already been created, you can give it the finishing touches: plants and mulch! Pay attention to all information about your new plants, such as planting spacing and growth habits, and consider the best time to plant ornamental shrubs to ensure they thrive.
Typically, most plants are delivered in plastic containers. For your new plant, you will need to dig a hole that is at least as wide and deep (if not slightly larger) as this container. Once the hole is dug, carefully remove the plant from the plastic container and rough up the root ball a little so that most of the roots come loose without losing too much of the surrounding soil. Carefully place the plant into the hole and begin filling in the surrounding soil.
Add mulch
After placing the plants in your new flower bed, cover them with a layer of mulching material such as hardwood mulch, pine bark mulch, cedar mulch, or even small rocks. This layer of mulch protects the roots from the elements and ensures that the water you give the plants reaches them slowly before it can run off. Because hardwood mulch decomposes over time, you should replace this mulch at least once a year.
And it's so easy to create a new flower bed. Regardless of whether you undertake such a project yourself or hire a professional landscaping company to do it for you, with the right care, your new garden bed will last you for many years to come.
