How to Make a Heart-Shaped Flower Bed

Select a flat section of ground that receives 6 to 8 hours of sunlight if you wish to plant sun-loving plant varieties or less than 4 hours of sunlight if you wish to create a shade garden. Dig a 1-foot deep hole in ground with a garden spade, positioning the hole in the center of the selected area.

Fill the hose full of water from a garden hose. Wait for the water to drain into the soil completely, leaving the hole empty. Fill the hole full of water a second time. Insert a ruler into the hole and note the depth of the water. Leave the hole for 15 minutes.

Insert the ruler into the hole again, noting the depth of the water. Subtract this measurement from the first measurement to determine the difference in the water level. Multiply the difference by four to determine how many inches of water will drain in one hour. For example, if the first measurement equals 12 inches and the second measurement equals 11 inches, then subtract 11 from 12 to get 1. Multiply 1 by 4 to get 4, the number of inches of water that will drain into the soil per hour. Select a new area if your result equals less than 1 inch, a sign of poor drainage, or more than 6 inches, a sign of excess drainage.

Water the selected site with a garden hose, moistening the soil to a depth of 6 inches. Leave the ground to sit for 2 days, allowing the water to soften the soil.

Lay a garden hose or a rope on the site, positioning it around the chosen area for the garden bed. A rope is generally easier than a hose to maneuver into a shape. Adjust the outline of the hose or rope to fashion a heart shape, making it the desired size. Spray a line of spray paint onto the ground around the outside perimeter of the heart, marking its shape on the ground.

Place the blade of a half-moon edger on top of any point around the heart's outline. Stamp down on the top of the edger's blade to cut down into the ground through any grass or other plant material. Cut down to a depth of 3 to 6 inches. Repeat this process to cut around the entire heart's perimeter.

Cut horizontal lines across the heart with the edger, dividing the grass into parallel strips. Space the individual lines 12 inches apart.

Insert the end of a spade under one end of a strip of sod located within the heart. Push the spade horizontally across the strip to cut the grass from the ground, keeping its blade two inches below the grass' surface. Roll up the sod strip and move it from the heart's interior. Repeat this process to cut and remove all the grass from inside the heart.

Insert the spade's tip into the ground at any point on the heart's perimeter. Position the spade so that its back side faces the ground outside the heart and its inner surface faces towards the heart's center. Dig down to a depth of 6 inches, removing the soil. Repeat this process around the heart's entire perimeter to create a trench for the landscape edging.

Unroll the flexible landscape edging. Place it in the trench outline the heart's perimeter. Position the edging so that its flat edge sits against the outside vertical edge of the trench and the v-shaped fold along its bottom edge faces the heart's interior. Ensure that the top, rounded edge of the edging sits 1/2-inch above soil level.

Cut vertically through the edging with a utility knife to remove away any extra length. Join the open ends of the edging together by pushing one-half of an edging connector tube into each end's hollow-centered rounded edge.

Drive one edging stake or staple through the bottom v-shaped edge of the edging and into the soil wall of the trench using a hammer. Position the stake or staple at a 45-degree angle. Repeat this process every 3 to 4 feet along the entire length of edging.

Fill the trench along the inside of the edging with soil. Tamp the soil down against the edging to provide for extra support.

Spread a 2- to 4-inch layer of compost over the soil inside the heart's perimeter. Mix the compost into the top 10 to 12 inches of soil with a rototiller or garden fork. Smooth the soil surface with a rake.