A friend’s yard sorely in need of TLC!

A weedy mess before me, I had seen this many times and could look at it no more!!!
SOOOOO I started planning.

Sorely Neglected –
Nonexistent Flowerbeds

Supplies and Tools

• Weed Blocking Fabric – Contractor Grade
• Shovel
• Plants
• Potting Mix
• Marble Landscaping Stones
• Red Rubber Mulch

Initially I had a shovel with a flat end not realizing that this was no regular soil! The builder didn’t finish the yard with top soil, instead they left “back fill” – a mixture of sand, dirt, and gravel which isn’t the easiest mixture to work with. So a shovel with a pointed end was in order as lots of digging and cultivating was ahead of me.

Once I removed all of the weeds and salvaged the existing shrubbery I determined plant placement. The plant selection was a mixture of sun and shade plants from the clearance areas at Lowes, Home Depot and Walmart since the area is sunny part of the day and shaded the remainder of the day. They included:

• Hostas
• Speedwells
• Day Lilies, and
• Elephant Ear Bulbs

Being sure to mix potting soil with the existing soil to provide nourishment for the new plants, plant placement began.

Landscaped Flowerbeds

Next I laid out the landscaping fabric – which I normally would put down first under better soil conditions. The fabric was then cut and placed at soil level around each plant. The last plants to include in the design were the Elephant Ear bulbs which were spread throughout the flowerbeds by placing them below cut out areas of the fabric.

The final steps were to frame the area with the White Marble Stones and filling in the interior of the flowerbeds with Red Rubber Mulch.

END RESULT: This landscaping project completely changed the look of the front of this home.

A few weeks later the Elephant Ears were in full bloom.

Elephant Ears in Full Bloom

Note: All plants used here are perennials so they will come back year after year. Depending on your climate Elephant Ears need to be dug up and replanted in the spring to avoid the cold killing them, especially in climates with cold winters.

– The Projects Chick – Vicki McGill