Overgrown front lawn garden
Lauren Steinberg
3 years ago
last modified: 3 years ago
Featured Answer
Sort by:Oldest
Comments (7)
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years agoLauren Steinberg
3 years agoRelated Discussions
Instead of lawn in a front garden
Comments (0)Instead of lawn, more and more homeowners are using drought tolerant shrubs and ground covers in California gardens. This is an example of one that has lots of Lavenders, Teucriums, and other Mediterranean basin perennials along with a few Mexican and South African imports. Here is a link that might be useful: A Mediterranean Climate no-lawn garden...See MoreNew To Gardening, check out what I did to my front lawn
Comments (5)Had you considered placing the asiatic lilies behind the hostas? Maybe use either 3, 5 or 7 bulbs/plants in a grouping. Probably the 7 might be too much. Do you have your date set on your camera? I've decided that is a good thing to have. One can keep track of time certain flowers usually bloom, or keep a record for another reason. You can always move stuff around later if you don't like it the first year. I like that red door a lot better than the white one! What about if you used the same color scheme in your flowerbeds as in your containers on the porch? Looks like you've got room for some nice porch sitting furniture and a small table in between the chairs....See MoreLawn Overgrown by Weeds-Lawn dead-what should I do?
Comments (9)While bermuda can be beautiful, it is a hassle to keep it looking nice. It is one of the few grasses that should be mowed at the mower's lowest setting. Partially due to that, it should be mowed twice a week during the summer to keep from scalping it every week. Bermuda also needs as much water as all the other lawns if you want it to be green. The idea that it needs less water depends on your tolerance for brown grass. When bermuda gets very dry it becomes dormant and turns brown. When St Augustine dries out completely, it dies. Thus you have to water St Aug to keep it alive but you could stop watering bermuda altogether and it would remain alive but brown. Bermuda also needs monthly doses of high nitrogen fertilizer to stay green. This is to say that you can have a bermuda lawn but if you are not willing to maintain it, it is going to look raggedy. It can also thin out and become a haven for weeds. Back in the 50s, before the modern herbicides became inexpensive, when you bought grass seed you got a mixture of a fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, rye, and even clover. The idea was that one of the grasses would dominate in almost any soil and you could have a green lawn with multiple species of plants. That approach is one you might consider. You are in the transition zone meaning that you would be able to grow almost any grass....See MoreNew House front lawn and garden are horrible, need tips for garde
Comments (1)Congrats on your new house! You're right about digging up that plastic. You can't garden until it's removed. Is there a border/barrier separating lawn from bed? If not, that would be my first order of business, installing one. After removing the plastic, smoothing things out a bit, an inch or two of compost would be great. Top off with fresh mulch (3-4".) I don't think I'd bother with many, if any, really small plants this year for 2 reasons. First, they are the accessories which should be added after whatever trees and shrubs you want have been placed. Second, with all of the disturbance you are about to do, the soil layers need time to readjust to their proper levels, I'm a firm believer in letting the microbes and soil dwelling critters do their thing. Tiny roots of tiny plants might not find this a good situation this year, but shrubs or baby trees would have much bigger root balls that would be installed more deeply. Sitting potted plants on top of the mulch is a good way to have some flowers this year while the bed is recovering from the digging. How much gravel is in there? I don't think I'd bother with trying to remove it unless it's more rock than dirt. The gravel likely won't bother whatever plants you want there later, it's perfectly normal for rocks to be in soil. If you have a pic (or several) you could add to the discussion, that always helps the advice to be as specific and relevant as possible. You can add one pic per post, so make several posts if you have several pics. If it makes you feel better, I'd much prefer to move to a house like this than one with beautiful landscaping that didn't necessarily suit my tastes. A basically blank slate is always more fun, IMHO....See Moreken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
3 years ago
Related Stories
FRONT YARD IDEASBefore and After: Front Lawn to Prairie Garden
How they did it: Homeowners create a plan, stick to it and keep the neighbors (and wildlife) in mind
Full StoryINSPIRING GARDENSBeach Cottage Loses the Lawn for a Stylish Low-Water Garden
Colorful plantings and soft exterior paint colors give a Southern California ranch cottage a fresh new look
Full StoryINSPIRING GARDENSLawn Gives Way to a More Natural Lakeside Garden
Meadow grasses, beach pebbles and driftwood replace turfgrass in a nature-friendly landscape on Lake Washington’s shore
Full StoryINSPIRING GARDENSNative Plants Bring 10 Southern California Front-Yard Gardens to Life
Rare plants, rain gardens and wildlife habitats are just a few of the features showcased on the 2016 Theodore Payne Native Plant Garden Tour
Full StoryFRONT YARD IDEASInspiring Alternatives to the Traditional Lawn
Consider the many attractive and ecologically friendly alternatives to turfgrass
Full StoryGREAT HOME PROJECTSHow to Replace Your Lawn With a Garden
New project for a new year: Lose the turfgrass for energy savings, wildlife friendliness and lower maintenance
Full StoryLANDSCAPE DESIGNLandscape Tour: Garden Rooms Edge a Lawn in New Jersey
Built and planted forms combine to create a relaxing suburban backyard oasis
Full StoryFRONT YARD IDEAS10 Ideas for a Front-Yard Edible Garden Your Neighbors Will Love
Choosing attractive, well-mannered plants and sharing the bounty will go a long way toward keeping the peace
Full StoryLANDSCAPE DESIGNA Tranquil Front Yard Retreat for an Urban Garden
A Craftsman home in California gains a terraced garden, a formal entry, a water feature and a front patio for lounging
Full StoryGARDENING GUIDESTexas Gardener's October Garden Checklist
Earn a "free" bonus by dividing perennials, make planting a priority now for hardy growth next year and keep an eye on your lawn
Full Story
Jay 6a Chicago