4 Easy Ways to Mark a Garden Outline for a New Flower Bed (2024)

FAQs

How to mark a new garden bed? ›

Simply grab your garden hose and use it to outline your ideal garden bed on your lawn. This method is helpful if you're creating curves and arches in your flower beds. If no rain occurs, marks from the hose will be left in the grass, so you can easily remove the hose and start digging around the marks.

Mark out the shape with a string line

Tie a string between two canes or pegs for straight edges. For curved edges, use something flexible like a hosepipe, rope or string.

Consider bricks, concrete pavers or terra cotta tiles. Even wine bottles sunk neck-down could make a nice border. Make sure the bottles are sunk deep enough to keep grass from growing underneath them but are still easy to mow next to and not likely to be chewed up with a string trimmer.

Rubber edging works well next to driveways, sidewalks, planting beds or around trees. Some types have flat construction that is designed to prevent weeds and unwanted growth. Rubber is often considered the best lawn edging for underneath fences and around flower beds.

You can use many different materials and techniques for lawn edging, including plastic or metal strips, bricks, stones, and even plants or shrubs. However, the choice of edging material depends on the garden's style, type and design. Proper edging can help to prevent grass from growing into unwanted areas.

Consider placing taller plants towards the back or center of the bed, gradually transitioning to medium-height and then shorter plants towards the front or edges. This arrangement provides a sense of depth and ensures that all plants receive adequate sunlight.

Overall, the best garden rows are made using the row maker because it is the simplest tool to quickly and effectively make straight rows in the vegetable garden.

For even a simple flower border can look sophisticated if its termination is cleanly defined. And a formal planting (like my curvaceous rose garden above) must necessarily be edged in order to keep lawn from creeping in, and blurring an otherwise crisp design.

Newspaper or Cardboard

Even simple, cheap materials can block weed growth from below your garden beds. You can simply lay them on the ground before setting your garden beds on top of them.

What should I line my garden bed with? ›

Newspaper or Cardboard

Even simple, cheap materials can block weed growth from below your garden beds.

Easy Way to Prepare Your Garden Bed

To prepare your garden bed, line with cardboard, then dampen it thoroughly with a hose. Add around 6 inches of soil, compost, or mulch. After a couple of months, your garden bed should be ready for planting.

In general, plants in borders are arranged with tall plants (taller than 2 to 3 feet) placed in the back, mid-size plants (10 inches to 2 to 3 feet tall) in the middle, and short plants (less than 10 inches) in the front of the bed. It is best to use groupings or drifts of plants for a natural feel.