Creating a patchwork garden bed can be an easy project following these tips. Each year the design can be changed as your creativity expands. Plant material may be your inspiration or the various colors and textures of individual plant species. Your design can be taken directly from popular patchwork quilting patterns or create your own. Sources can also be glass window designs, coloring book pages, or mosaic tile patterns. Simple geometric shapes can be your inspiration.

Use newspaper to create a template, taping together as many pages as necessary for the size of the patchwork garden bed you wish to create. Newspaper is used because it will easily compost into the soil. The inks used today are nontoxic as long as you stay away from the glossy colored pages of flyers.

Transfer your design using a marker onto the newspaper. If your artistic skills aren't that good, a day at the local print shop enlarging your design might be in order. Trace your enlarged design onto newspaper. Number each outlined section of your design. Make a list of the numbers and assign colors to them symbolized by letters. A-pink, B-white, etc. Now you are ready to select seeds of flowers and plants that match your color choices. Stay with annuals. Try to keep the heights of the plants about the same.

Letter your seed packets according to your color choices. Add a color letter to each newspaper section; 1-A, 2-C, etc. again using a marker. Cut apart the sections of newspaper. It will be easier to work with sections.

Working with one section at a time, create a penciled grid onto the section corresponding to the spacing requirements of the seed packet sowing directions of the plant color for that section. Make a thin mixture of flour and water to use as a glue. Use an eyedropper to put a drop of the glue in the middle of each space created by the grid. Add one or two seeds onto each drop. Allow to dry. Drying will be quick and not allow the seeds time to germinate. Use a pair of tweezers to handle tiny seeds.

Prepare the garden area. Dig soil at least a foot deep removing any grass and weeds. Choose an area that gets at least 6 hours of sunlight suitable for most sun-loving plants. Amend the soil with compost, peat moss, time released fertilizer. Lay down weed fabric to prevent most weeds. Lay down your newspaper sections recreating the full design. Cover with soil only to the depth recommended on the seed packets. Water well with a light mist. Watch in amazement as your picture gets painted by nature.

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For you gardeners that prefer instant gratification, Create a picture or design on a prepared bed using a stick to outline sections. Fill in the sections with flats of suitable plants from the nursery already in bloom.

Note that inorganic items like stones, sand, pebbles, crushed shells can be used in conjunction with plants to create the designs you desire. Another resident in our neighborhood created a beached sailboat on a large round bed of sand. The boat was done in purple sage. The sails were of white sweet alyssum. Bamboo made up the masts. A real anchor was used.

The easiest project to do for the beginner is to monogram the lawn. Cut out sod in the initials you choose. Make them hefty enough to contain the plants of your choice. One plant or flower color is fine or you can add an outline in another flower or plant color. You are only limited by your imagination.