How to Build Shrub Beds

Shrubs add an eye-catching element to the landscape even during the winter months when flowers are not in bloom. Reducing lawn by adding shrub beds saves time and resources by reducing the amount of weekly mowing and trimming required for maintaining your lawn. A well-planned and properly built shrub bed provides the optimal environment for flourishing shrub growth for years.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Garden hose
• Tape measure
• Spade shovel
• Garden rake
• Tiller
• Soil test kit
• Compost

Design

1. Calculate the width of the shrub bed based on the height of existing structures in and around the bed. Shrub beds should be 1/3 to 2/3 of the height of structures such as a house, shed or tree. A shrub bed next to a 15-foot house should be 5 to 10 feet wide to appear proportional. A shrub bed around a 50-foot tress should be 16 to 30 feet wide.

2. Create the edge of the shrub bed in a gently contoured line. This softens the straight lines of buildings and fences and adds visual appeal. Lay a garden hose to create the gentle curves. The waves should pass on each side of the chosen width for the shrub bed. Follow the contour across sidewalks and driveways to maintain the visual flow. Maintain a gentle flow without tight curves to make mowing easier.

3. Adjust the garden hose as needed around structures. Maintain at least 3 feet from structures so the bed is wide enough for a mature shrub. Straighten the garden hose for visual appeal along straight sidewalks for a more formal look.

Cultivation

4. Use a shovel to dig a border along the garden hose. Dig down one shovel width and move a border approximately 6 inches wide along the shrub bed side of the garden hose. If the removed sod is healthy, transplant to bare areas of the lawn. If the sod is not healthy, or there is no need to move the sod to other areas, move the clumps to the center of the shrub bed.

5. Use a tiller to till the entire garden. Be careful to avoid rocks which may break the blades of the tiller.

6. Move through the new bed in small sections and remove weeds, grass and rocks from the soil.

7. Spread compost in an even layer across the shrub bed.

8. Use a tiller to mix the compost into the soil. Continue adding compost until the soil will form a ball when squeezed, but the ball will easily break into pieces when tapped with the other hand.

9. Use a garden rake to level the soil. Create higher and lower areas as needed to accent planned plantings.

10. Test the soil with a soil test kit and add amendments to the soil as needed based on the results of the soil test.

Tips & Warnings

• A newly constructed shrub bed will often have heavy weed growth for the first year. If you keep up with pulling weeds the first year the following year there will be minimal weeding required.
• Before digging, check with your local utility companies for underground utilities to prevent costly, and potentially life-threatening, damage to utility lines.

References

• Lowes: Add a Planting Bed to Your Landscape
• Shrub Bed and Garden Design
• Pruning and Shrub Bed Construction