Front Tree Bed Makeover
This weekend I worked on some gardening around the house. About four years ago I made a bed around the base of the tree in my front yard since no grass seemed to be able to grow there. Unfortunately, due to some neglect this year a bunch of weeds and grass had made the bed a huge overgrown mess that was in dire need of some help.
Because I had let it go for so long it was quite a lot of work to clean it up. I had to use a shovel and trowel to dig everything up to get at the roots. I also removed all of the stones to pull up grass that had grown in between the rock border.
After about an hour I had the whole bed cleaned up and cleared of all the weeds. Much better!
I was thinking of putting some ferns in, but when I got to Lowe's I saw that they had these pretty blue green hostas for only a dollar in the clearance. They were a little rough looking but they were basically healthy plants and it only took me five minutes to trim the dead leaves and make them presentable. Beside the hostas, I bought some New Guinea impatiens to add a little color for the bed.
I'm not keen on measuring so I usually just place out my plants and move things around until I have everything where I want it before I start digging.
After I finished planting the hostas and impatiens and added some mulch the front tree bed now looked like this.
I can't wait until the hostas start to fill in.
This was definitely a much needed item to tackle on my to-do list around the house. It makes it so much nicer to walk up to the front of the house and see a neat garden bed around the tree instead of a mess of weeds.
Have you been working on any gardening projects around your home? Do you hate weeding as much as I do?
Monday, June 17, 2013 at 8:09AM | Posted by Lisa | 6 Comments | Share Article | Email Article | Print Article 
Reader Comments (6)
I do not mind weeding. I find sometimes it is great therapy. I pretend that the weeds are the issue or the someone I am annoyed with and I rip it away. It seems our front yard grass is nothing but weeds this year which I think is a result of the lack of rain and strict watering rules from last summer. This year's biggest yard project has been having a gate put in the back fence so we can easily access the field behind us, which then required a path laid and plants re-arranged. There were some cedars planted for privacy and blocking the view of the junk pile next door. I think the projects are done for this year. Just the regular weeding left which could be wonderful if those cedars do not grow faster and block the view.
Looks great! Since our house is new (well, 6 years old), we don't have tons of shade yetlike you have, the few trees we have are young. So, only the north side of the house has a shady patch where we put in hostas and hydrangeas this year. All the hostas came from my mom's yard (she has a ton of varieties) and we got the hydrangeas at a local garden place. So far, so good with the hydrangeas, they are even starting to bud! Unfortunately we're fighting the rabbits for the hostas! We had to rig up some little cages using a coated fencing and zip ties. I think the rabbits are still doing some nibbling through the cages. Ugh. It seems to be the babies that do the most damage and there is a never ending line of them waiting their turn to destroy my hostas. There was one hiding there this evening when I was watering. Cute but evil bunnies are taking over my yard!
Mary-Lou- It sounds like you have been doing a lot of lovely work in your yard. Cedars are such beautiful trees and the gate sounds very convenient. The previous owners put in a chain link fence that I would like to replace with a wooden one someday.
Hilary- Until I took down the dying tree in my back yard my whole property was shade. I love hydrangeas and I am sure they will look great. Have you tried any of the animal repellant spray with predator urine in it to keep the rabbits away? There are tons or rabbits and other little critters in my yard and that seems to work to keep them from devouring my garden. Good luck saving the hostas!
I purchased a powder from the nursery that was $$$, it didn't contain urine, but garlic, blood meal, and a couple other spices. It only lasted for 2 applications and my side yard smelled like Penzey's spices (which is not such a horrible thing IMO). I think the next thing will be a less expensive spray with urine in it...my goofy husband has threatened/volunteered to "treat" the area on his own but I've politely declined that sort of help. ;p
Hilary- Your husband cracks me up! That is something that Frank would say, too! The spray smells pretty yucky when it first goes on but once it dries it dissipates and then you can't smell it anymore. Good luck with deterring your bunnies!
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