How to Use Landscape Stones to Create a Flower Bed

Even an overwhelming, weed-covered flower bed can be turned into a beautiful, low-maintenance landscape. Just use landscape stones and follow these easy steps in just one day. You will be able to enjoy a beautiful flower bed with little maintenance. Spring is the best time to create a flower bed. If you have not started by Memorial Day, you may want to wait until next year. Read on to learn more.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Triazicide (Optional)
• Flowers in Planters and/or Garden Decor
• Weed Control Fabric
• Shovel, Rake, and/or Tiller
• Weed Killer and/or Weed Control Crystals
• Flower Bed
• Landscape Stones and/or Rocks
• Edger (Optional)

1. Prepare the bed. Remove all of the weeds, mulch, rocks and other material from the flower bed. Shovels will be necessary for large, deep rooted weeds. Use a rake or tiller to smooth out the soil. The soil should slope away from the building and should be evenly distributed to create a level surface. If your flower bed is edged by grass you may want to install an edger to keep the stones in place.

2. Ready the soil by using weed killer on the edges and sprinkle weed control crystals over the rest of the flower bed. As a preventative measure to eliminate weeds, Preen should be sprinkled over the entire flower bed. If you would like to also rid the flower bed of insects, you can cover the soil with a triazicide.

3. Spread weed control fabric over the flower bed to further prevent weed growth. Follow the instructions on the packaging to properly install the fabric. The fabric will keep weeds from appearing and allow you to enjoy your flower bed without constantly weeding it.

4. Cover the entire flower bed with landscape stones of your choice. Stones will not wash away or degrade, so they do not need to be replaced year after year. This helps keep the flower bed beautiful with little effort.

5. Place planters or other garden decor in the flower bed. This step is completely up to your decorating taste and the size of your flower bed. Different sized planters with flowers of different colors will provide variety.

Tips & Warnings

• Water plants according to their specific needs. To see if the plants need water, insert your finger to the first knuckle. If your finger tip comes out moist, the plant has enough water.
• Follow the directions that came with your plants. Some plants may need to be fed. Others may need to be shaded part of the day.
• Purchasing pre-filled planters at your local nursery will eliminate the extra work of creating a beautiful planter and will cost about the same.
• Use more stones to fill in bare spots after the first rain has redistributed the existing stones.
• Never water plants in direct sunlight. The best time to water is in the evening before the dew falls.