How to Till a Lawn for Planting Flowers

Remove all of the existing grass from the area by digging 3 inches into the soil with a shovel. Place the removed chunks of grass into a wheelbarrow and later into a compost pile to decompose. You can till under the grass with the tiller, but it probably will regrow in the flower bed.

Water the soil until it is damp to a 4- or 5-inch depth. Wait 10 to 15 minutes to allow the water to soak deep into the soil. Slightly damp soil is much easier to till than soil that is completely dry.

Put on work gloves and safety glasses; place the garden tiller at one edge of the planting site. Set the blade depth to at least 6 inches and turn on the machine.

Guide the garden tiller over the soil slowly and smoothly to allow it to churn up the dirt. Work your way across the entire bed in side-by-side rows. If your flowerbed has a curved edge, make a final pass with the tiller following the curved perimeter.

Spread a 1/2-inch to 1-inch-thick layer of organic matter, such as peat moss or compost, on top of the entire flower bed using a shovel. Smooth out the matter evenly on top of the soil.

Add a 2-inch layer of manure or amended topsoil to the area using the shovel and again smoothing out the top.

Place the tiller at one side of the area and adjust the blade depth to 10 inches. Turn the tiller on and move it over the flower bed just as you did the first time to mix the soil amendments deep into the bed.