Creating a Landscaping Bed

Most of my landscaping lessons I've learned the hard way, and this one is no exception.  I can't count how many hours I've spent digging up sod so that I could make room for plants.  When I took my Master Gardener class several years ago, one of the presenters showed us another way to create a planting bed that is SO much easier than what I used to do. Here's an example from my backyard that I just finished.

I needed to extend the curved edge of one planting bed by a couple of feet.  I laid down 10-layer-newspaper sections on top of the grass up against the edge of the existing bed.  

I carefully placed the edges right where I wanted the end of the new bed to be.  I wet the newspapers with a hose as I went along so that the wind wouldn't undo all my hard work.

I covered all the newspapers with a 2-3 inch layer of topsoil and compost, tamping it down with my hands along the edges.

Finally I put down a thick layer of mulch to inhibit weeds and keep the roots cool around my new dappled willow bush.



And that's it!  The newspapers will kill the grass over the winter, and I'll be able to dig through it and plant anything I want next spring.  This is MUCH easier than digging up sod. And leaving the grass in place gives the new bed some height without using so much topsoil.

Do you have any landscaping tips??  I'd love to hear them!