There are some hard and some easy ways to go about digging a new garden. The hardest way is with a spade, a fork, and a pick ax. If your yard is like mine, that may be what you'll need.

First determine what type of soil you'll be working with. Start by digging a few holes and taking samples. Scoop a handful of the dirt and squeeze it into a ball. Now try to break the ball apart by pressing into it with your thumb. A good soil will break apart readily. Check the wetness of the soil. It should have some moisture, but never work with soil when it is too soggy or you will ruin its structure for a long time to come (if not forever!).

Now that you know what you are working with, you can decide what method to use. When I added a new garden in my front yard, I borrowed a friend's rototiller which did a relatively good job breaking up all the clay and mixing the organic matter into the soil.

If you do use a tiller, go over the area afterwards and carefully remove all roots or stems. The more you can catch now, the less weed problem you will have later. Use a rake to help find any other roots or stones, then throw at least three inches of organic matter over the entire surface. Nothing improves a garden's soil faster and better then homegrown compost. I also add some peat moss, organic fertilizer, and even some shredded leaves. It's much easier to add them now--so don't stint.

When you are all done spreading everything on the ground, rototill the whole garden again and rake it smooth.

Rototilling works very well if you have just had soil brought in, or you are in a newer home with a good layer of loose topsoil. For older yards, hand digging is probably the better way to go. One advantage is that you can find all the rocks and roots intact, and dispose of them as you go along; another is that tillers only dig down at the most six inches. Perennials will grow faster and better if they are given more leg room.

Begin at one end of the garden and dig a trench about 12 inches deep. Put all the dirt either in a wheelbarrow or I use an old wading pool the kids have outgrown. Add some organic matter to the bottom of the trench and then move over and dig another furrow next to the first one. This time throw all the dirt into the first trench mixing it with compost and other amendments as you move it from one strip to the other. In this manner, work all the way across your garden. When you get to the last trench retrieve the soil from the original furrow, rake the garden smooth, and you are ready to plant.

If you don't want to go to the trouble of rototilling or hand digging a new garden, there are two easier ways. The first is to make a raised bed. Remove all the sod first and then use landscape timbers or rocks to create short walls which can be filled with loose soil for planting. The only prohibitive part is finding better soil to fill the raised bed.

The other way is for the patient gardener that has relatively good soil at the start. Mark the outline of your new garden and then spread 12 layers of newspaper over the entire area. Hold the newspaper down with rocks so it doesn't move around and then get all the compost you can get your hands on and cover every inch of newspaper. Three inches of compost is good--but more is even better. If you can't find that much compost you can go half and half with top soil or even manure.

All you have to do after that is wait. Next season you should have a garden that's friable and ready to be planted. In the meantime, go to the library and check out my favorite gardening book 'The Perennial Garden', by Jeff and Marilyn Cox. It has everything you need to know about gardening and you can enjoy the beautiful photos while you are waiting for nature to do the work for you.