If you plan to create new gardens this spring, keep these design tips in mind:

• Keep your design simple. Instead of creating several small gardens, create one or two large ones. The visual impact will be greater. Large gardens also give you ample space to place plants in pleasing combinations.
• Sketch out your design on paper. Then use a long rope or flexible garden hose to shape the outline. Keep playing with the design until you get one you like. Give the bed some exaggerated curves that make it easy for the lawn mower to navigate. Use a spray paint to trace your design in the grass.
• Next, use a small tiller – or sharp shovel – to turn up the soil. My husband and I use the small but powerful Mantis tiller to do our major digging work. The tiller saves our back, and it turns soil into a cake powder-like consistency. Take time to work bark fines, which are shavings from shredded hardwood mulch – or compost – into your beds as you till. This prep work will create a healthy garden, especially if you have drainage problems or poor soil.
• Tilling also is the time to create a raised bed. A garden raised just 6 to 8 inches provides better drainage and looks nicer than a flat bed. Be sure your gardens, especially those close to your home’s foundation, slope away from the house. Otherwise, you may have water from heavy rains flowing toward your home.
• Once you finish tilling, rake out all the grass and rake your soil smooth.
• Finally, create an edging on your bed to give it a professional look. Use a pointed shovel with a sharp blade to make a nice, sloped edge all around the outer perimeter of your new garden. Shake the good topsoil loose from the pieces you remove and work the soil back into your bed. Now you are ready to plant and mulch your new garden.

Here are some garden books to get you going this spring:

Want beauty in your garden – daisies dancing in the breeze, roses climbing up a trellis, mums making you smile in fall?

• Create a new garden – or breathe life into a tired one with the help of Home Depot’s “Flower Gardening 1-2-3.” The book describes design and planning, as well as the critical role of plant selection, planting advice and overall care. It also contains more than 600 color photo graphs and a Flower Encyclopedia. – Published by Meredith Books, the 256-page hardback is available at Home Depot stores. Price: $25. For online shopping, visit www.meredithbooks.com.
• “Perennials” describes familiar favorites like asters, ferns, hostas, phlox, water lilies and more, along with lesser-known plants such as Phygelius with its long tube-like blossoms. An encyclopedia lists thousands of flowers; for example, there are 50 species and subspecies and more than 25 cultivars under just one entry (Iris variegata).
• “Annuals & Biennials” is done in similar style, containing more than 1,000 plants, such as impatiens, sweet peas and flax. You’ll also learn about those with curious names such as love-lies-bleeding, bottle gourd, tobacco and toadflax.- Published by Firefly Books, “Perennials” has 480 pages with 2,500 color photos; “Annuals & Biennials” runs 288 pages with more than 1,000 color images. Price: $50 and $25, respectively. Available through national bookstores stores such as Barnes & Noble Booksellers. For online shopping, visit www.fireflybooks.com.