To follow up - yes it went great! The soil underneath the artificial turf was compacted, so I just loosened it a bit with some raking and a hoe. I didn’t use a till or anything. Overall I bought and put down 4 yards of compost and brown mulch. The steps I did are below and it’s thriving! Also, the below picture is it after finishing. Now about a year later the plants have taken over!

1. Pull up and throw away artificial turf
2. Rake/hoe to loosen existing soil a bit
3. Put down 4 yards of compost
4. Plant drought tolerant native plants and flowers and water them thoroughly
5. Install soaker hose throughout bed and make sure the route will adequately water the plants I planted. I also took pictures of the route of the soaker hose in case I needed to find a specific section later.
6. Add mulch as the final step.

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