With the right preparation, your garden beds will be flower-full but weed-free.

Dormant weeds can be stirred up by digging and raking when you prepare your garden bed for planting. You can prevent weed seeds from growing by applying a weed control product now to keep your flower beds weed-free for the entire season.

Apply a weed-preventer to the ground. Then, cover your plants with a blanket of mulch. It blocks sunlight and prevents weeds from growing.

Mulch can also help you save money on water. Mulch reduces evaporation so that you don’t need to water as often.

Your flower beds will look clean and tidy with the addition of mulch.

How to apply weed preventer to your flower beds:

• Hand pull large weeds before applying any weed control product. To loosen the smaller weeds, rake them and then discard them.
• Follow the instructions on the packaging to apply the weed prevention product throughout your garden.
• Before mulching, lightly water a granular control weed killer.
• Apply a weed control cream to your garden beds that are already mulched. Water the mulch regularly to ensure even distribution.
• Some weed-preventers can be applied multiple times during the growing season. For application frequency information, refer to the package instructions.

How to choose and use the right mulch for your flowers:

1. Select the right mulch

• Compost can improve the soil and provide nutrients for your garden.
• Shredded bark, bark nuggets, and pine straw make natural-looking mulch. Bonus: Pine straw can be used for acid-loving plants such as azaleas.
• Wood chips can be used to make a mulch that is informal. Wood chips can be used as mulch for a long period of time, but they will eventually decompose and take up nitrogen from the soil. Keep them around large shrubs.
• Use lava rocks, gravel, or pebbles for a low-maintenance mulch. Be careful. Be careful.

2. Mulch should be applied by hand, with a trowel, garden fork, or both. Mulch should be kept away from plants, stems and trunks as these are places where pests and diseases can hide.

3. If mulch becomes too thin or breaks down, add more mulch.