Dig up the area
Now it's time to dig! You can use a spade or a digging fork for this. The fork has the advantage of crumbling large clods of soil. It also gives earthworms and other animals that live in the soil a fair chance of survival. When digging, you lift a piece of soil from the area and throw it back onto the ground upside down. In very heavy or root-laden soils, you can work your way down to spade depth in two or three stages. Large chunks that don't fall apart when dropped can be broken up with a digging fork or spade. The bed is perfectly prepared when all the large clumps are gone and the compost, sand, and horn shavings are evenly distributed in the soil. Finally, take a rake, crumble the remains, and level the area. The purpose of digging is to loosen the soil. However, since this literally turns the soil structure and thus the habitat for soil organisms and microorganisms upside down, digging isn't necessary every year. However, it's certainly a good idea when creating a new bed or dealing with heavily compacted soil.
Planting the bed
Once you've prepared the bed, you can start planting. For a perennial bed, place the potted plants on the area. Look at the bed from different perspectives: close up and far away, as well as from different vantage points. Some things may not look as planned. Then you can rearrange the potted plants. Once you're satisfied with the arrangement, start planting.
To create a vegetable bed, tie a long string to two stakes and stick them into the ground so that the string is taut. Plant the small vegetable plants along this straight line. Just like in a perennial bed, you'll need to water thoroughly after planting.
