Choose an area in full sun, a generally flat spot with reasonable soil. Use a hose, rope, or string to layout the shape of your bed. It doesn’t have to be square. Curves are beautiful and will enhance the appearance of your landscape. 

To prepare your site, remove any rocks or debris. If the lawn is present, either mow it as low as possible or use a string trimmer to remove grass down to the soil. There is no need to till the soil. Do not use chemicals to kill the plants on your selected site!

Cover the site with cardboard or multiple layers of newspaper. Spray with water to keep papers in place. Wetting this layer assures it makes good contact with the soil and that it forms a barrier that will suppress weeds. Cover the paper layer with three to five inches of aged, clean, mulch. Mulch can be pine straw, very small pine bark nuggets, or topsoil mixed with peat moss, leaf mold, or compost. Do not use topsoil alone.