The Making of A New Flower Bed


In this post I’ll be sharing our newly built flower beds with you and going through a step-by-step process to making flower beds. I know it’s not exactly rocket science, but then again, there may be people who read this blog who, like me, have very little gardening experience and could use a tutorial. And to tell you the truth, I did learn a couple of new things from a landscaping expert, which I’ll share with you.

First hubby had to take a pick and chop on some roots from a little bush/tree that used to be in front of the porch. (Fun!) Below are all the roots.The first step in the flower bed making process was to till up the ground a little, and then we spread out the peat moss. (I believe we used about 10 big cubes of this.) Then we used a tape measure and placed the plants where they should go. Then hubby used the post hole diggers to make a hole. My job was pull the plant out of the pot, place it in the hole, and pack the dirt in around it, while he went to the next place to make another hole.

Then we placed professional grade landscaping paper over the beds. (The landscaper who broke up our sidewalk recommended the professional grade over the regular kind. He said we’d still have weeds if we used the regular kind, and he informed us that newspaper is not good to use with azaleas. Funny, my parents always used newspaper…who knew it was “bad,”? But since he’s the expert, I’ll believe it.)


After spreading landscaping paper over the length of the bed, cut it from the roll. Then go to plant, and make a cut with your scissors. The cut should be made so that it’s along the center of the plant, and it should be long enough that it goes slightly past the back of the plant.

Tuck the paper in around the plant. Get it as close to the plant as possible. Then pull the two ends of the paper (from the cut you made) together, and use landscaping staples to hold the paper tightly together. (We used 3 large packs of these.)

The use the mulch of your choice to spread over the top of your bed. For azaleas it is recommended that you use a hard wood mulch rather than a soft wood mulch. Usually I prefer brown mulch, but we chose black instead. (We used about a dozen bags of this.)


Finally place a border/barrier around the flower bed. This can be as simple as a strip of plastic edging or something a little more fancy like concrete landscaping blocks. (Unfortunately I don’t have a photo of our completely finished products, as we put out the edging on a different day from when these pictures were taken. I’ll try to get a photo and add it to the post soon though!

Oh, and last but not least, get a broom and sweep all the stray dirt and mulch off the sidewalk!

-Jerri


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I’m submitting this post to the following carnivals:
Make Something Monday is hosted by
Jolly Mom and Go Graham Go.
Show and Tell Friday is hosted by
There is no place like home
Hooked on Fridays is hosted by
Hooked on Houses
Project Friday is hosted by
Sugarplum Cottage

Comments

  1. Hootin' Anni says

    I love this!!! I'm into gardening and flowers…always have been. There is nothing like working the land, and seeing all the hard work come to such beauty.

    My show n tell is not published. I finished a painting in watercolor, finally! Come by and see it if you can find time.

    Happy Friday.

  2. Simply Heart And Home says

    Your spring flowers will be blooming in no time. Thanks for the tutorial.

    Gina

  3. Hootin' Anni says

    Oops…sorry, I meant "NOW" published. Typo.

  4. lady m's lavender cottage says

    Jerri,

    Oh, wait until the azaleas begin to bloom next year! To just sit in your porch, drinking a nice cup of tea, looking at the beautiful flowers buzzing with bees. 😉

    Oh joy!

    blessings,

    lady m

  5. That is so much work. But it turned out so nice!

    XOXO
    Jen

  6. Your flower bed looks great! Now I know what that paper is for. We had some in our flower bed up front and dh said it was for weeds. I'm not a gardener although I'm attempting. 😀

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