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DIY Landscaping

March 14th, 2015 at 09:43 pm

Instead of hiring someone to re-landscape our yard, we are taking the DIY approach. This weekend we are cleaning out the backyard bed, pushing it out a bit (to reduce the amount of grass, something I really want to do to reduce our water consumption), and creating a border using free bricks left over from our home's construction. Next we'll put in a few low plants (or annuals or perennials, we haven't decided yet but there will definitely be some milkweed for the monarch butterflies) in the pushed out area and spread mulch.

8 Responses to “DIY Landscaping”

  1. wowitsawonderfullife Says:
    1426392338

    May I suggest going onto kijiji or asking neighbours for any perennials they are splitting. All of my neighbours have my hostas, irises, and day lilies.

  2. VS_ozgirl Says:
    1426406357

    Sounds wonderful! I hope it looks great

  3. snafu Says:
    1426411091

    Had you considered using hourly paid, day labourers to do the real heavy work of removing the grass layer, addingl garden mi, top soil while you then carry forward with rototill nd planting program. WWLife idea of checking with neighbours is terrific. Does your community have a 'plant exchange'? Would you considered a 'Wanted' ad in FB Sale page, CraigsList etc for perimeter perennials to moderate the cost? Do you follow Lucky Robin's threads on gardening ?

  4. PatientSaver Says:
    1426421738

    sounds great, but fyi,milkweed grows 2 to 5 feet high.

  5. scfr Says:
    1426430205

    Thanks for the tips. Our milkweed will be antelope horn which according to Monarch Watch is the "right" one for our area, and according to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center grows only 1-2 feet.

    Forgot to mention that we will be mixing some compost in to the soil today. Unlike some of the fantastic gardeners on this site who compost at home, we will be buying compost.

    Thanks again for the encouragement.

  6. scfr Says:
    1426430822

    I am reluctant to hire people to work in my home who aren't insured. For my comfort, I choose to go with either pros (companies registered with the state that carry insurance) or DIY.

  7. ThriftoRama Says:
    1426435899

    I do all my own gardening, an that involves moving around tons of compost, planting, harvesting, etc. It's hard work but it's fulfilling, and it's good exercise. No sense spending the money if you are in good enough shape to do it yourself.

    I also go to a spring plant swap with other gardeners. I get a lot of great plants for free and get to share what I have, too. I highly recommend it if you have one in your area.

  8. scfr Says:
    1426453081

    Yes, ThriftoRama, you are right that it is good exercise and fulfilling! It is only 4pm and I am ready to crash for the evening, but DH and I are enjoying looking out the back window and seeing a noticeable difference due to our efforts. There is quite a bit more work to do but DH will be tackling what remains on his own during the week while I am at work.

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