Summer Blakeley: VIDEO: How to Convert Your Lawn into a Flower Bed- Sod Removal & Soil Prep🌱 || Wyse Guide

Got a patch of grass you’ve been eyeing for a flower bed? In his latest video, Kaleb Wyse of Wyse Guide tackles the first and most important step of that transformation: getting the lawn out and the soil ready. As part of his ongoing four-year pathway project, he’s converting a stretch of yard along the path into a new perennial border — and this video is all about doing the groundwork right before a single plant goes in, including how he uses Espoma Organic Land & Sea Gourmet Compost to prep the soil once the grass is gone.

Here are 4 top tips for converting lawn into a flower bed:

1. Start with a Clean Slate — Remove the Sod

There are plenty of ways to turn a lawn into a flower bed, but for a large bed plans like Kaleb’s, full sod removal is well worth the effort. Removing the grass and its roots creates a clean slate for planting, helps prevent grass from creeping back into the bed, and lets you start planting right away. Kaleb also avoids harsh herbicides, preferring to keep the soil as natural as possible for healthy root development.

2. Rent a Sod Cutter

For a conversion this size, hand-digging isn’t realistic. Kaleb rents a sod cutter for the day — economical for the amount of work it handles. Here’s how he uses it:

Set the depth to about 2 inches for the outer edge to pull up a solid root zone — a quarter inch just scrapes the surface and won’t get enough roots out. For interior passes, drop to 1.75 inches to make the sod lighter and easier to lift and move.
Freehand the outer curve of the new bed first to establish the shape, then make straight back-and-forth passes inside that boundary.
Do it when the ground has moisture. Dry summer sod crumbles and becomes a mess — with good moisture, it rolls up cleanly and can be saved and relocated to bare spots elsewhere in the yard.
Plan for a little hand work around trees at the end — the machine can’t get everywhere.

Once all the sod is out, use a half-moon edger to cut a clean 4-inch trench along the border to keep grass from migrating back in over time.

For a large flower bed, renting a sod cutter can save hours of work and make the project much easier. Kaleb recommends using one to quickly remove the existing lawn while keeping the sod intact, making it easier to relocate patches to other areas of the yard if needed. After the sod is removed, finish the edge with a clean trench to help define the bed and reduce grass from creeping back into your new planting area.

3. Top-Dress with Compost

Kaleb spreads Land & Sea Gourmet Compost across the entire converted area and rakes it level. It does double duty at this stage: the fine texture lets it act as a light layer on top that reduces evaporation and keeps the bare soil from sitting completely exposed, while also working as a soil amendment. Compost adds organic matter and nutrients that helps to build soil health over time.

You Can Do It!

The groundwork you put in before a single plant goes in makes all the difference. Remove the sod and reach for Land & Sea Gourmet Compost to get your new bed off to the best possible start. Stay tuned — in another video Kaleb will be back to walk through laying out and planting the perennials.