Start along the south fence, where the ground drains fastest, and work back toward the shaded corner. Sort the plugs by bloom window as you go — that keeps the bed reading full from May straight through to the first hard frost.

Yes. Fold the soil check into the walk itself and you save roughly forty minutes. Carry the pH probe, a short trowel, and one bucket of grit; everything else can wait by the gate until the layout is pegged out. Peg the wide drifts first, then the narrow ribbons between them, so the spacing stays honest.

Water in the first evening rather than at midday, and leave the clippings where they fall for the first fortnight. The mix will look thin for a season, then thicken on its own once the deeper roots take hold.

Would you like a version scaled for a smaller plot, or one for a shadier corner?