Designing a new garden bed can seem daunting at first, but with a few tips you’ll have the landscaping of your dreams in no time.
Why add garden beds?
Maybe you are adding on more beds to add extra color or you are putting in beds for the first time around the foundation of your house. It’s important to consider where you’ll be adding these beds. Will they be in the sun? Does the area have drainage issues?
iScape it!
Use iScape to try it out before you lift a garden tool. Snap a photo of the area you want to add to, click ‘add cover’ and draw in a new area of mulch, then try out plants until it feels right. You can do this!
Create an outline
Use a hose or heavy rope to outline your new possible bed lines. Check out the potential bed from every angle, even from inside the house looking out. Once you’re sure, you can use marking paint to mark the edges. Use an edging tool to dig trench edges around your new bed. These will be easy to mow over and will require no extra trimming.
Common mistakes
The number one mistake homeowners make when adding a new planting area is making it too small. Very rarely should a new border or bed be narrower than 4 feet across, including the foundation beds around your house. A huge rookie mistake is tiny, 2 foot beds on the sides of your house. When the beds are too narrow, anything you plant in that teeny bed will grow and flop over the bed lines into the lawn. Start with a 4 foot border (at least), choose plants that get 3 feet wide at the most, plant on center, and then… SUCCESS!
Finish the job!
Once your new planting bed is outlined and edged, spread thick sections of newspaper on top of existing weeds or grass and top with 3 inches of mulch. You can insert plants first, and then add the newspaper around the base of each plant as well. This is a simple and economical way to make a big project into something you can knock out in an afternoon.
Using iScape should be the first tool in your toolbox to plan a garden that the whole household will love. If you’re not already an iScape user, you can download the app today and design the garden of your dreams!
