There are a few things that a lot of people use in their gardens that I just cringe at the sight of it. One of those things is landscaping fabric. I won't tell you the rest, since I will probably start receiving nasty emails. Yes, I admit that I have landscaping fabric in my garden. As a beginning gardner I didn't know any better. But now I know just how hard it is to work with. Not only is it hard to put plants in once you have the fabric down, but it also doesn't prevent weeds as they grow on top of the landscaping fabric. So here is my method for laying out a new flower bed.
1. Choose your location. I always dig up the sod in the area, but I know others who skip this step.
2. Line the new garden bed with cardboard. (You can also use thick sheets of newspaper (not shiny colored ad) I tried this but I have so many birds they were constantly pulling it through and I had newspaper everywhere.)
3. Cover the cardboard with compost.
4. Start laying out your plants.
5. Once you have them laid out the way you like them, then you can dig in and plant them.
6. This is the garden a year later.
7. This is the garden three years later, and I hardly ever have to pull weeds from this garden. My only issue with this garden is the chipmunks who like to eat my lily bulbs.