A garden bed can take many forms.
And today, it’s perfectly acceptable to use a garden bed for vegetables and other edibles.
Such a garden is often described simply as a “perennial border.”
The Spruce / Kailey Whitman
It is remarkably easy to create, and much of the enjoyment comes from the planning.
The key is anticipating the heights, colors, textures, and mass of all the various plants.
A trip to a local arboretum or public garden can also give you ideas.
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And garden magazines may include planting diagrams aimed at achieving a particular look for a finished garden bed.
Such a raised berm can also help give a three-dimensional aspect to an otherwise flat, boring yard.
Such a garden may also include a shrub or two to provide shape, texture, and winter color.
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One popular scheme is to fill a garden bed with blue, purple, and yellow or gold flowers.
These colors are complementary and almost always work well together.
Choose Plants
The real fun starts as you choose the plants to fill your garden bed.
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This can involve a lot of enjoyable research into the cultural needs and characteristics of various plants.
Most important is to choose plants that are appropriate to the USDA hardiness zone of your area.
Along with plant color, give some consideration to plant shape and texture.
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And remember that “green” foliage comes in many hues, from deep blue-green to nearly yellow.
you might also kill two birds with one stone by using iris, such asIris pallida’Aureo-Variegata'.
Its flower provides a purple color, while its variegated leaves inject a touch of light gold.
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In addition, its large, spear-shaped leaves make for a nice contrast of textures with the other plants.
Finally, give attention to including a variety of plant sizes in your plan.
The first step is to lay out the garden bed on the lawn area.
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This removes most of the soil from the sod so that it is not wasted.
Dispose of the sod by placing it in yourcompost bin.
Another popular method is to simply kill off the grass.
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This can be done with a broad-spectrum, short-lived herbicide, such as glyphosate.
Glyphosate effectively kills all plants but then becomes inert almost immediately after contact with the soil.
Then, you’re able to churn up the dead grass with the soil by repeated deep digging.
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The dead grass adds organic material to the soil and also improves its texture.
After the grass is dead, simply dig it into the soil.
If yoursoil typeis clayey, add peat moss as an additionalsoil amendment.
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The best weed barrier for a garden bed is woven landscape fabric.
Later, mulch will go down on top of the weed barrier to hold it down.
The mulch will also shield the weed barrier fabric from harmful UV rays as it hides it from view.
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Staples are especially helpful on planting beds set at a slope.
Daylilies planted beneath landscape fabric, for example, may have trouble expanding to form larger clumps.
Pack fill soil around the rootball, then fold the weed barrier back around the stem of the plant.
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verify to give adequate space for each plant.
For example, a decorative ceramic planter or small birdbath can draw attention.
Don’t overdo it, though.
In most cases, a single accent piece is sufficient as a finishing touch for a small garden bed.
