Rock gardens

• Rock garden
  
  For an almost carefree garden bed for flowers, try a rock garden. Choose a space in the landscape that needs some character and color. Lay landscaping fabric on the ground and cover it with soil, mounding the soil up about a foot to allow room for root growth. Place rocks of different shapes, color and sizes around the area to add character to the rock garden bed. Also add rocks where needed to prevent soil runoff. Choose plants of different heights and colors for your rock garden.
  
  

Brick

• Brick garden
  
  Add color and interest to the side of a house or shed by making the wall a backdrop for a brick garden bed, which you can fill with foliage and flowers. Level the ground for the brick and nestle the first layer of brick into the soil for stability. Add cement or a mortar mix on top of each layer of brick, checking at frequent intervals to make sure the garden bed is still level. Lay landscaping fabric on top of the soil. Fill in the garden bed with quality soil and tamp down. Plant colorful foliage or flowers.
  
  

Prefab garden beds

• Prefabricated garden beds can be made from recycled rubber, treated wood or aluminum. Decide what size, height and width of garden bed best suits your needs and order from your garden center. The benefit of a deeper garden bed is the easy access for gardeners who have difficulty stooping down. While waiting for the prefabricated garden bed materials to be delivered, buy quality garden soil and landscaping fabric for the bed. Shop for plants, flowers or vegetables to plant in the garden bed or plant seeds to grow seedlings for the bed.
  
  

Pressure-Treated Lumber

• Lumber for garden
  
  Decide what size to make the garden bed, and buy 2 x 12 pressure-treated lumber and galvanized nails (2x12 is the dimensions of the lumber, 2 inches thick by 12 inches wide. The length will be decided by you when you plan your garden bed). The higher the garden bed, the easier it is to access. Go for shorter widths in a garden bed; this makes it easier to reach from one side to the other. Cut the lumber to size and nail together at the ends, forming a box. Level the soil and nestle the box into the soil. Lay landscaping fabric down and fill the box with quality soil. Put in your choice of plants.
  
  

Landscaping timber

• Choose a spot in the landscape for the garden bed and decide the width and height of the bed. Buy landscaping timber and metal spikes to nail the timber together. Level the ground for the bed and cut the timber to the desired size, mitering the ends for an attractive garden bed. Layer the landscaping timber, nailing the ends with spikes and checking to make sure the timber is level. Lay landscaping fabric inside the bed. Pour quality soil into the garden bed and then plant.