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I'm a new gardener with ZERO experience. I just bought a house that is overgrown with weeds and has hacked up dead plants everywhere! I'm overwhelmed with removing the old stuff and trying to figure out what new stuff I can put in!

I started with a built in flower bed in the back yard (seemed smallish and easiest to conquer first). It is framed by concrete and it is about three feet deep, two feet wide, and 20 feet long. There were a lot of dead plants in it, and I am still removing two large bushes that have thorns and red hard berries on them.

This area of my yard gets full sun the entire day.

I really want to grow flowers in this area. My dream has been to grow dahlias. But I would also like to grow fragrant flowers too.

1. After digging things out, there are still a lot of twigs (roots?) left. Do I need to get all of this stuff out?
2. I found that about half way down the bed, there is a pipe running along the whole area, it is connected to one of my spigots. Should I be worried about this? Obviously bushes were growing there before so I'm assuming it's ok.
3. Could dahlias survive in this confined space? Is it deep enough?

Any tips would be REALLY helpful to me. I am excited to start a flower garden. I am in zone 10, by the way!

Hmm... You know, it's possible you are removing potentially keepworthy plants, especially if you live where the plants are coming out of winter dormancy. (They might not be dead -- just dormant and needing maintenance clean up/trimming of last year's geowth, etc.)

...shrubs with thorns with red hard berries could be roses or firethorn, hawthorn, etc....

But if you have already ripped them out, then the point is moot.

It sounds like you uncovered a sprinkler system which probably means at one time there were plants that were meant to be kept alive. Is there any sprinklerheads connected to this pipe or does the pipe have holes? Have you tried running water through it?

what applestar said! The pipe is obviously part of some kind of irrigation system. If still working, it should be a good thing, but you will need to figure out how it works and how much water it delivers.

Three feet is a very deep raised bed. You can grow anything in it and 2x20 is plenty of space! But you need to think about whether it is the right space for dahlias. Full sun would be great for dahlias for me, but I don't grow them, because I would have to dig them up and store them indoors for the winter and replant every spring. You don't have to lift them. But you do need to look for heat tolerant varieties and protect them from hot afternoon sun.

Where are you? Is your climate hot, wet, tropical or hot & dry?

You don't necessarily have to dig out all those roots, but if you are not going to, I would put down a heavy layer of cardboard, wet it thoroughly and then put down a few inches of good enriched soil on top of it and plant in to that. The cardboard will eventually break down and plants will be able to root down into the soil below, but in the meantime it will help suppress all the weeds and whatever might sprout.

Oh my! Clean slate, but not clean. Where are you? How long has the house been vacant? Especially in a warm climate, weed (unintentional) shrubby things can grow big in 1-2 years, and be persistent. (dig out if possible) If you haven't gardened in the area before, check what flowers and plants do well in the full sun. As you are starting fresh, try to plant with your climate (temps, rainfall) and seasons.

Lots of trial and error, gardeners know both well, and have fun.

If you take photos and post them, sometimes we can recognize what kind of plants the winter dead sticks and shriveled up foliage are.