Do-It-Yourself Garden Beds

We’ve all been there. You see a beautiful cake posted on Pinterest or Facebook, but when you try to duplicate it, the results are… let’s leave it at “less than photogenic.”

In a similar way, you might be a bit intimidated to try and build your own flower bed when you see how gorgeous your neighbours’ are. After all, at least with the cake, you ate the evidence; the garden would be there for everyone to see.

Just remind yourself that any garden will add to the beauty of the world. So don’t sweat making it perfect; just make it yours.

The best way to start off is by planning out what kind of flower bed you want to have and taking a look at the space available. Take a walk around your property and decide where the best place to put your flower bed will be. If there’s a particular kind of flower you know you just have to have, make sure you choose a spot that will have the right amount of sun or shade.

It’s also a good idea to make sure your flower bed will be easy to water – you don’t want it to be 20 feet away from where your ten-foot hose connects (or, at least, if that’s where you have your heart set on putting the flower bed, don’t forget to pick up a longer hose!).

Figure out if you want a straight edge on your flower bed, or if you want it to be curved or even wavy (which is a good option if you’re not great at drawing straight lines; you can always pretend that you meant for it to be that way).

Next, you have to eliminate the grass from where you’re putting in your bed. Your best options are to dig it out (be sure not to disturb any underground utility lines!) or smother it, such as with cardboard or newspaper.

Then, it’s a good idea to add in black garden soil. We recommend BigYellowBag Black Garden Soil, which is proven to help your plants grow healthier and larger, even if all you do is add it to your existing soil.

When choosing your plants, consider choosing ones with staggered blooming seasons, so you always have something new happening in your flower bed. And when you have two types of flowers that will be blooming together, try to pick ones with complimentary colours. Like we said before, make sure you pick plants that will do well in the amount of sun or shade available. Be sure to research the plants you’re putting in – some of them might have a tendency to spread more than you want them to.

Creating a flower bed is a great way to give yourself a creative outlet, while also reaping a number of health benefits.

And remember, even if it doesn’t turn out at all like you wanted, you can always blame Mother Nature!