How to make a flower bed in the garden

Making a parterre in the garden is a magnificent way to give a different touch to our nature. Something that does not involve much effort or great notions of gardening. Actually, making a flower bed is nothing more than creating a small garden within our garden. A delimited space that can be purely ornamental or have a purpose as practical as separating zones, if we choose tall plants.

Whatever your goal, making a flower bed is an easy way to add a different touch to any green space. A way to use the keys of landscaping to make our garden even more pleasant. And it is that we have to break with the traditional idea that we have of him. Why not: it doesn’t have to be just grass and potted plants. And no: modifying your look does not only depend on changing textiles, renewing outdoor plants or innovating in accessories and decoration. We can also achieve it by playing with sensations, emotions and even creating different atmospheres within it.

Because of its simplicity, making a flower bed is something accessible. And so simple to execute that we can carry it out with our own hands without too much complication. It is enough to know how to do it and, more importantly, the essential elements that you must have.

HOW TO MAKE A PARTERRE STEP BY STEP

Making a flower bed in the garden is one of the most common landscaping techniques. An effective solution that usually seeks to have a point of vegetation that is always in a perfect green state. Thus, and regardless of the season, we can enjoy a corner full of life.

Let’s take into account two important aspects that we must have to make a flower bed. The first is that, by definition, these mini gardens are clearly delimited spaces with respect to the rest of the environment. Something important, since we will have to calmly think about where to place it. It is true that, on many occasions, they are used to decorate a corner of the garden. But in addition to the decorative value, they can also have a practical character in large gardens. In them, they can even be located in the middle of the lawn space.

The other fundamental aspect when making a parterre is knowing that it is an elevated space with respect to the rest of the garden. A detail that is not minor, since part of its decorative weight is based on its height. And not only that: this elevation will allow us to facilitate drainage. A practical and vital point for our plants.

Taking these two aspects into account, let’s see step by step how to make a flower bed. An easy to execute gardening task that will completely change the design of our garden.

1. Choose the location, the starting point to make a flower bed

When we consider making a parterre, it is essential to take time to reflect. And its location is key to many things. We are not only referring to how the garden will look once it is finished. We also mean that where we do it will determine the type of plants we can use.

Therefore, nothing like imagining it in our heads before more. The starting point to choose your vegetation but also to place it in the right place so that it flourishes.

2. Draw the design on the ground

We have already traced it in our head and, probably, we will have scribbled it on some paper. It is time to take action and imagine how it would look, a priori, in the garden as a whole. And for this nothing like painting it directly on the ground with a paint spray. The best way to get an idea of ​​how it will look but also to correct its size before getting down to work.

When it comes to form, flower beds are more than varied. We can bet on a completely geometric one or one that follows organic shapes. If we opt for the first, the ideal is that we pull meter to correctly draw the figure.

3. Dig the contour, another essential aspect when making a flower bed

As we said, one of the characteristics of any parterre is that it is a delimited space. Therefore, an important part of its final appearance is how we separate it from the rest of the garden. Whether with borders or with stone, before placing any element that serves as a boundary, we have to prepare the ground for it.

Helping us with a straight shovel, we will dig around the shape of our parterre and pour the earth into it. One way to stop the soil that we remove is by placing cardboard on the surface that will later be covered with plants. The cardboard will allow us to hold the soil that we are removing. And no: it is not necessary to remove it afterwards. Being a biodegradable element, it will simply become part of the soil.

When we talk about digging, it is not a matter of making a hole too deep. It is enough to remove enough soil to remove the roots of the grass that has the bed around it. Regardless of the type of element that we use to delimit the flower bed, this dug area should not be more than 25 centimeters.

4. Place the anti-weed mesh

To prevent the proliferation of weeds, the ideal is to use an anti-weed mesh in the dug area. Thanks to it, we will avoid having to consider how to eradicate weeds in the future. In addition, this same mesh will serve to shape and contain the flower bed itself.

We start by placing it in the dug area and fixing it to the ground with stones or, if we opt for a wooden border, fixing it to the ground with garden staples.

5. Fill with earth

With the space for the weed control mesh ready and fixed, it is time to fill in with soil. And beware, because we are not talking about a universal substrate without more. Ideally, it should be enriched with earthworm humus, manure, organic mulch, or any other organic amendment. In this way, we will have a soil rich in nutrients. The perfect starting point for our plants to take root.

Although the substrate mixture has to be more aerated on the surface, it is important to compact the base part a little. In this way, our parterre will have a good subjection to the ground.

6. Planting, the most special moment of making a flower bed

It is clear: making a flower bed has the primary objective of enjoying plants. For this reason, and at this stage, it is convenient to take things calmly. The best way to correctly choose the nature that we want to enjoy in this colorful space.

In a flower bed, it is usual to create a combination of plants, shrubs and even trees. What’s more: if we combine perennial outdoor plants with perennials, bulbs and seasonal plants, our flower bed will be constantly changing. A way to provide it with even more beauty, and to adapt it to each season of the year.

The ideal is to combine perennial plants for the garden in winter with others that bloom in spring and autumn. In this way, our parterre will always be full of life and color.

7. Place the decorative amendments

If we do not intend to plant bulbs or any other plant that needs to emerge from the ground, we can give our flower bed an even more decorative touch. How? Using amendments such as pine bark or decorative stones. Some that will complete the set of our parterre and that, in addition, will allow us to keep weeds at bay.

Do you dare to make a parterre in your garden? You won’t regret enjoying a mini garden within the garden!