2021 Update!
It has been two years since we added our landscaping. in our Spring landscape project part 2. Our plants have filled in as well as the lawn. Maintenance has been relatively easy with the occasional weed whacking along the stone but it’s mostly mow and go. We changed the wood edging on the inner flower bed to stone to match the main flower bed. The ground cover has been filling in and we hope that we will not have to mulch that area soon. We may be changing out some of the flowers that are getting crowded out.
We have not continued around the side of the house yet. We are planning a deck addition first then the landscaping will be added. The updated railing project also delayed our wish list as we had to replace them for poor material and workmanship from the contractor.
Lower flower bed
Spring landscape project part 2 is complete. We have added the lower flower beds and seeded the lawn. We added our foundation plantings and once they become established we will add more plants for color.
In part 1, we formed the wall for the walkway and let it settle in. Our main flower bed uses the same process as our wall for the walkway using smaller stone. We used a curve shape to make it easier for mowing and give it a more natural look.
Plants and Mulch
Choosing plants is a personal choice. We had already planted some shrubs in the central flower bed, and to keep it simple, we used the same shrubs for our foundation plants. For some color, we are using roses. We hope that these will fill in the corner of the porch as well as near the steps.
I have made flower beds in our last home and have used a commercial weed barrier cloth to make maintenance easier. Typically the cloth is rolled out and staked to the ground. I would cut holes through for the plants and then mulch. Doing it this way is time-consuming. For this project, I decided to plant our shrubs first. With the shrubs planted, I can grade around the plants. I didn’t have to worry about stepping over the wall. With the plants installed, I formed the new flower bed wall.
Wall construction
Unlike the retaining wall for the walkway, the flower beds are designed to separate the lawn from the flower beds. The stone will hold the mulch back but the grass is another story. Since I want to reduce maintenance time I used a barrier on the backside of the stone. It serves multiple purposes. The barrier is 8″ tall composite material that is buried on the backside of the wall. In the flower beds themselves, I use a commercial weed barrier cloth. I then add 4″ of mulch. Mulch is where most people cheap out. Mulch serves several purposes but the main reason is weed control. You will still get weeds from time to time but they do not have a strong medium to attach to and are easily removed.
Grass
The stonework for this year is complete. We will continue around the side of the house either in the fall or next spring. It has been a few weeks since we completed this project. I wanted to wait until the grass had come in for the final images. Because the land was cleared for the house construction the topsoil had been scraped back and piled near the pond. When the home was completed the topsoil did not get spread back as promised by the builder. Grass has been a challenge in front of the house. I tilled and amended the soil, planted the grass seed and fertilized. The grass came in very fast. However so did the weeds. I managed to get grass to grow around the house but it takes a season or two to reduce the weeds. But green is green and it looks great.
Thanks for checking out our spring landscape project part 2. I’ll be back in the shop now with some new woodworking projects. Please leave a comment or two.