There are many benefits to adding a flower or garden bed in your front yard. Even a simple landscaping feature can enhance curb appeal, personal enjoyment of your yard and make your home more inviting. You don’t have to be a gardening guru or a professional landscaper to create a simple, yet elegant, garden in your yard. Here are some tips on how you can do-it-yourself starting from scratch.

Pick a Spot

When starting your garden bed, chances are you’ll have to remove some of your grass. You could dig it up with a spade or sod cutter, smother it with newspaper for a couple of days, or apply herbicides.  Read more tips for removing sod.

To create a curvy shape for your garden bed, Better Homes and Gardens suggests laying a garden hose on the lawn in the shape you desire and marking the edges with sand or flour. When it comes time to dig up the shape you can use hand tools, or save yourself the physical labour and rent a motorized tiller from a trusted company like Spectrum Rent All. Be sure to remove any rocks, roots or other debris.

Soil and Compost

Soil is the foundation of your garden. You want to make sure your soil is high in nutrition, has a solid pH level and good drainage. Our friends at the Classic Landscape Centre provide a wide selection of soil including screened topsoil, garden mixes, peat moss and compost. They can also give you advice on what type of soil would work best for your project and what you’re attempting to grow.

Incorporating organic matter into your soil is very important. Compost is a key ingredient created and required by nature to help things grow. If you don’t already have a compost container on the go, you can also purchase compost. Mix it into your soil with a tiller and smooth out the surface with a rake.

Edging & Garden Borders

Creating edging will help keep the grass from growing into it your garden bed and will increase the aesthetics of your yard overall. Use a sod cutter to dig a trench a few inches wide that will stop sneaky grass and other weeds from growing over. You can fill this with purchased edging material like landscape bricks, stone, plastic, concrete, or wood.

This article from bobvila.com has some great DIY ideas for creative edging using recycled and found materials like glass bottles, clam shells, pipes, flower pots, bamboo and even dinner plates. This could give your garden feature a unique sense of style!

Begin Planting

There are many things to consider when selecting plants for your garden. Do you need sun plants or shade plants? How big will it grow? Does it require dry or wet soil conditions? How much maintenance does it require? The staff at the Classic Landscape Centre can help you pick out annuals, perennials, trees and shrubs in all shapes and sizes, and give you the expert advice you need to ensure your garden will grow successfully.

It’s a good idea to place your plants on the ground where you would potentially put them before actually planting them. This will help you get the spacing just right, see which plants look good next to each other and help you create a colour scheme. Once you know where each plant is going it’s time to start planting!

Finishing Touches

Keep your garden healthy and low-maintenance by spreading it with mulch. Good organic bark mulch goes a long way in stopping the growth of weeds. It also helps your soil retain moisture after the rain. Once your garden bed is planted and mulched give it a good watering. Remember that your mulch will absorb most of the moisture first, so soak it to ensure your plants are getting enough water.

Landscaping Companies & Supplies

From simple DIY projects like enhancing your garden to major yard makeovers, RenovationFind.com has an accredited directory of Edmonton’s best landscaping companies that you can trust. Whether you are hiring a professional landscaper or require landscaping materials and equipment rental, you’ll find the services you need to create the outdoor space of your dreams.