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Planting a Flower Bed

Here is how to plant a flower bed:

1. Pull all weeds and unwanted sod, including the roots, and dispose of them. Use a spading fork to turn over and aerate the soil. When the soil is moist-not too wet and not too dry-spread 2 to 4 inches of compost or well-rotted manure on first-time beds, and an inch on older beds. Work in to  a depth of 18 inches, and then smooth the soil with a ground rake.
2. Try to plant on a cool overcast day to prevent wilting. Arrange potted plants on the bed until you like the arrangement. Space plants per label recommendations of-for a lusher look-about 25% closer. Place perennials at 3 feet from shrubs; annuals can be planted close if you don’t disturb established roots. To promote root development, pinch of any blooms.
3. Dig a hole so that the plant will sit on the soil at the same depth as in its pot. Make the hole several inches wider than the pot. Grasp the bottom of the soil -and-root ball, and tease the roots apart a bit in two directions to encourage them to spread outward. Set the plant in the hole, fill in with soil, and very gently tap the soil with your fingers.