Redoing front flowerbeds, need advice?

Question

My flowerbeds on either side of my front walk are horrible. This year I put out mostly annuals. I also have 3 azaleas that were there when I moved in, two lilies that never bloomed this year, and two elephant ear plants. Weeds growing in this flowerbed were awful. Also, the flowerbeds are uneven and are sloping. They just aren't very appealing.

For next year I would like to start from scratch. I thought about putting out a ton of weed and grass killer this fall in the flowerbeds, put some new borders around the flowerbeds to make it deeper, fill it in with dirt, and start over for next year. I have very little experience with gardening. I would love to do this in September or October, before it gets too cold. I want to have it ready to go for the spring so that then I can just get started with the fun part of selecting pretty plants.

My questions are:

1. I'm assuming I need to take the lilies and the elephant ears out before I put out weed killer. How soon can I take them out of the ground, and what is the best time in the spring to put them back in?

2. The azaleas are in a different section of the same flowerbed, along the front wall of my house. If I put out weed killer, in the main section, but not in the part where they are, should they be okay? Or will they absorb it through the soil? The first azalea is about two feet away from where I want to treat. If I do need to take them out also, when is the safest time to do that?

3. What is the best soil for flowerbeds in your opinion?

Thanks for any advice you can give me! I'm excited just thinking about how pretty it could look next spring!

Answer 1

Why not skip the chemicals.  What I did was dig out the first foot of topsoil (there were so many weed roots and seeds), added new soil and compost, planted spring bulbs (tulips, hyacinths, crocus, daffodils, irises etc.) and some summer bulbs (lilies, alliums, etc.), at this point you can plant your perennial plants again, now put about 4 inches of mulch over top.  Next spring you will have a beautiful garden that flowers all summer, and you don't have to worry about poisoning your other plants.

As far as what kind of soil is best depends on what you are trying to grow.  You can buy a soil testing kit at any garden centre, it will tell you if you are lacking in anything and what to do to ammend that.  Usually it will list some different plants and the pH they prefer.

In my opinion good soil is rich in organic compost and chemical free.