Renovating a Planting Bed, Summer Garden Projects #3

If you have already perused through Summer Garden Project #1 and Summer Garden Project #2, you will understand that this is the continued effort on our part in trying to reclaim the front of our house. I am just truly excited that I do not have to deal with removing Ivy in this project. My back still aches whenever I think about the Ivy Removal Initiative we did the year prior.

It's never fun to see the holistic task at hand. No matter what we do to try to tame this area, it just looks so disheveled. The area is on the side portion of the lawn that divides my property with my neighbors. I could not tabulate the total number of plants that were located on this small plot of land.

Time to get to work. My trusty tools and supplies consisted of a shovel, a spade, hand tiller (no I did not bother renting the motorized one for this project), plenty of garbage bags, top soil and mulch. The plants I wanted to remove have been there for years which required me to dig almost a foot and a half down in order to get to the bulb and the intricate root systems for each of these plants. Be sure to remove as much as you can, if not all of it, as they will be fighting for natural resources of the plants you are putting in and these old root systems may regrow and regain control of the area. I have no desire to redo this project. 

I do not know where I got the energy, but I was able to remove all the plant life in just a few short hours. I spent a good amount of time just turning the soil in order to remove any roots that I had missed and to also mix in the top soil that I purchased at the local home improvement store.

The remainder of the project is very similar to the later half of Summer Garden Project #1 and Summer Garden Project #2. Just remember to do your due diligence in the types of plants you are looking to plant. How much sunlight do the plants require and does the location meet those needs? Are the plants you are choosing to transplant in your yard rated for the area of the country you live in? If you are going to Home Depot or Lowes, they will generally carry plants that are ideal for the area of the country you reside in. It's the specialty garden centers that may bring in more exotic plants that may not be apt to you climate conditions. Just remember, if you are going with those other plants, they will require a significant effort on your part to ensure they can thrive in your lawn. 

As you can see, we are very simple people and thus our gardening vision reflects that. Granted these plants are in it's infancy and will grow to fill that plot of land, we chose to only plant 4 different species in this area. A far cry from it's previous condition, just a few short hours ago. We added a number of bags of mulch to help keep water in the soil and added the stone perimeter as we did in the previous project.

By removing all the erroneous plants, we now have given the appearance of a much larger front yard, or so I tell myself to believe. Three out of four sections of the front of the house has been completed. Now to take on the next Garden Project.