Garden Makeover by Gardens4u

In my first season (summer 2012) in my new business, I was asked to transform a dated and overgrown garden into a more modern-looking and low-maintenance garden.  I enlisted the help of my 22-year-old son and husband to help me remove the “foundation style plantings” that were popular around homes back in the 1980s and earlier.  The cedars, junipers, and mugho pines were huge and had totally outgrown their allotted space.  A garden makeover was much needed.

We removed most of the old overgrown plants, pruned the ones I wanted to keep, and trimmed off the lower branches of the large pine tree that were blocking the view of the house and garden from the street as well as blurring the line between the garden and the rest of the front yard.  I then gave the garden a new shape, using the curve of the sidewalk as a guideline…

It was then time to add new plants.  I chose low-maintenance shrubs and perennials (plants that come up every year) in a variety of color, shapes, and textures, replanting some that were removed from this client’s garden and using some that I had removed from other client’s gardens.  I believe in recycling the perennials and shrubs that people no longer want in their gardens, so take them home to pot them up after removing them and then use them elsewhere.  This practice helps to reduce the cost of my services and is much appreciated by my clients, especially those following a strict budget.

A layer of black cedar mulch was the final step of the garden makeover to help hold moisture in and keep weeds out.  I prefer the black or dark brown mulch as it looks like wet earth, giving the garden a natural appearance…

I have been back to this garden makeover many times for general maintenance and a bit of “tweaking”; it looks great now that the plants have filled in.  I do not like to plant perennials too close together initially as they get overgrown quickly, causing grief for my clients…

This is what the garden looks like this summer, two years later: