Step 1: Create New Planting Beds

Use spray paint to sketch out the shape of the new beds on each side of the walkway. The half-circle beds in this project line up so that their outline, seen from above, forms a letter "S." Cultivate the soil inside the outlines and work in soil amendments as needed.

Wear safety glasses and ear protection when working with a power tiller. Remember, these powerful tools can be difficult to control; get assistance as needed.

Step 2: Make Sunken Planters

Remove the bottom from two plastic pots (Image 1). One easy way to do this is to use a keyhole saw to cut out the bottoms, slipping the saw in through a drainage hole in the bottom of the pot. Dig two shallow holes, each half as deep as the pots (Image 2). Place the pots in the holes so that they are half-buried. Fill the pots with half amended dirt and half potting soil.

• • 

    Image 1

  • 

    Image 2

Step 3: Plant a Shrub

Center a dwarf shrub of your choice in the pot and surround it with colorful annuals. Decorative grasses make a good choice for the areas around the pots. This mix of plants, and the half-sunken planters, gives lots of visual variety to the beds.

Step 4: Add Landscape Lighting

Low-voltage lighting comes in easy-to-assemble kits. A mix of walkway lights and uplights creates a safe path at night and illuminates the new plantings.