Start putting in your plants; work the nutrients in your soil. Put
newspapers layers around the plants overlapping as you go cover with mulch and water well. Weeds will get through some gardening plastic they will not get through wet newspapers.

I never thought of this. We just had to remove a dead shrub and got to replace it with something. Whatever we decide this spring I will have to remember this. Thanks!

I do this and it does work for a year till they decompose. I do it in the veggie garden.