A well-prepared flower bed not only looks good, but promotes good drainage, has plenty of nutrients, makes watering and weeding easy, and discourages pests.
Things you’ll need:
· Flour or sand
· Trowel
· Compost
· Spade
· Rake
Steps:
1. Choose a spot for the bed and walk around it. Visualise plants of different sizes. Consider their needs for sun and shade. Make rough sketches.
2. Sketch a plan of the bed you want to plant. Tall plants should go at the back of the bed that is adjacent to a wall or fence and in the middle of a bed that will be viewed from all sides. Plants that need frequent attention, such as pruning, deadheading or spraying, should go where they can be reached without you crushing other plants.
Tip: There is no need to limit your flower bed to a rectangular shape. Flower beds can be any size or shape you wish.
3. Sprinkle flour or sand to trace the outline of your prospective flower bed. If you don’t like the way it looks, brush it away and start again.
4. Use a trowel or small spade and cut along the lines you’ve just marked out, the remove the grass from the surface.
5. Have your soil tested, or test it yourself with a home kit, and improve it as necessary. A local nursery can recommend the best products to use.
Tip: This method for creating a new flower bed only works if the soil is reasonably good. In areas with very sandy or very heavy clay soil, raised beds are your best bet. Or if you don’t mind the work, dig out and dispose of the problem soil and replace it with a mixture of compost and high-quality soil.
6. To eliminate weeds, dig over the area. Then leave it for at least a week to allow annual weed seeds in the soil to germinate. Dig it a second time to remove the weeds. Alternatively, spray the area with a non-selective herbicide making sure you follow the directions carefully, especially regarding how long to wait until planting.
7. Spread 8-10cm of compost and any other fertilisers over the top of the area you intend for the flower bed.
8. Dig up the soil to a depth of at least 20-25cm and up to 60cm if you’re planting perennials.
9. Toss out any large stones that appear on the surface.
10. Rake the surface smooth, and you are ready to plant.
11. Add edging, if desired. It isn’t a must, but does help keep out grass and some other weeds while creating a neat appearance.
Tip: Unless you’ve got a budget big enough to buy full-grown perennials, the plants you put in the ground now will look very different in a year or two. Leave room for them to grow. You can fill in bare spots with annuals.
Next week we will show you how to plant your garden bed.
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