Preparing a new flowerbed
PassTheFox
Posts: 26
Good morning gardeners
I want to start digging a new border in an area that is currently grass. (Big thank you for the advice on my garden design thread!!
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Never attempted this kind of thing before so I would appreciate some advice, please.
How deep do I need to go when removing the old turf? I was thinking about a spade's depth.
The soil is heavy clay so I know it will need improving before planting. I've found a local company doing bulk bags at a reasonable price. I'm a bit confused about what combination would be a good 'topper' for the flowerbed. I was thinking manure and general purpose compost. Would it be better to include a topsoil?
Any tips or links to existing threads on the topic would be fantastic and much appreciated. Thank you so much!
I want to start digging a new border in an area that is currently grass. (Big thank you for the advice on my garden design thread!!
)Never attempted this kind of thing before so I would appreciate some advice, please.
How deep do I need to go when removing the old turf? I was thinking about a spade's depth.
The soil is heavy clay so I know it will need improving before planting. I've found a local company doing bulk bags at a reasonable price. I'm a bit confused about what combination would be a good 'topper' for the flowerbed. I was thinking manure and general purpose compost. Would it be better to include a topsoil?
Any tips or links to existing threads on the topic would be fantastic and much appreciated. Thank you so much!
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Posts
I just take around 3 or 4 inches depth of turf, or whatever suits the soil at the time [all clay] I lifted the back lawn I created around 8 years ago, a couple of years back, but that was shallower as it was designed to mitigate the wet conditions, and was raised. In other gardens, or in other areas, I've probably gone deeper. Push your spade in, see what it's like when you lift a divot, and judge from there, but you really don't need to go too deep.
Add as much rotted manure and compost as you can, leaf mould if you have it, then leave it to settle for a month or so. That will all be ideal for improving soil structure and drainage. I wouldn't bother with topsoil.
If you're just having the bed directly into the lawn, without a border, you can heap the new stuff up quite high, leaving a slight trench between the grass and the border itself. It will also depend what you're planting, and the aspect of the site.
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Another method, which takes longer, is to cover the area with cardboard then a thick layer of compost, which kills the grass eventually, but not weeds like dandelions. It avoids having to dig, but I've found with clay soil it works better to dig the compost in.
I will need to practice patience to hold off from planting too soon. The beds will be borders around the edge of the garden - west and north facing.
Don't rush your planting though. Time spent on the soil prep, pays dividends later with the plants. You'll need a fair old bit of organic matter though
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
It's a big area and we are working on it at weekends so perhaps a better approach will be to focus on digging old turf, get in the little bit of hard landscaping and mulch. A month or two after, I can top up mulching. By autumn I could get the bigger shrubs/small trees in and look to do other planting the following spring.
It will look a bit bland this year but in the long run it will be worth it.It should give a better starting point and is helpful financially - the mulch and plants won't be cheap over such a large area.
The last couple of years we've applied a thick manure mulch (advice I'd read from threads here!) and it's made such a difference. My Dad gardens on very dry sandy soil and it makes me appreciate the positives of clay soil!
Really appreciate learning from all the experience and wisdom here, so thank you
Getting any hard landscaping in first is always the best method, and then anything structural, ie the trees and shrubs, before the finer perennials etc.
I know how hard it is when you want to get it all done, but you can always add some annuals and pots etc, to tide you over until the ground suits the other plants.
Autumn is ideal for planting many hardy perennials if they're a good size, and you can put lots of spring bulbs in with them, so you can always do some planning with that in mind, over summer too.
Preferably on a seat with a bit of sun and a nice cuppa, or whatever your preference is
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
I ♥ my garden.
I have previously removed grass for planting trees and bulbs and I found this way has worked well (and stayed grass free for years since):
1. Remove any dandelions or similarly deep rooted weeds. Use thin trowel or weeding tool for this.
2. Use something with a flat blade (eg border spade or half moon edger) to cut lines in the grass. Make the lines the distance apart of your spade width. Then cut in the opposite direction to make squares.
3. With your spade nearly flat to the ground, get the spade blade under the grass roots but only the minimum depth you can get away with. I found after a short while I could tell this by feel. The grass roots are a bit tough if you try going through them, going too deep also gets heavy with the weight of soil. But there is a sweet spot where the grass roots thin out and the spade slices through pretty easily. In the few lawns I have done this in this has been at about 2-3cm deep.
4. Remove the squares of turf, and stack them upside down somewhere and they will turn into soil over the year.
Once I plant whatever is going in the soil then I cover the soil with a layer of woodchip and that stops most weeds growing.
Thanks for the advice. I do enjoy the satisfaction of getting to a weed's taproot!