DIY Network

Jordan Holtkamp: The Plan, Costs and Products Meet Jordan Holtkamp and find out the gardening challenge plan. From "Garden Sense" episode DGAR-411

Host Walter Reeves (right) with Jordan Holtkamp.

Meet Jordan Holtkamp. He loves plants so much that he not only works in a nursery, he lives right next door. Jordan has been in the nursery business for 12 years. He started when he was 12 years old, riding his bike to a local nursery where he learned his trade.

Now he has joined his friend Jennifer to start running a nursery. As part of the arrangement, he struck a deal to live in a house on the property and rehab the yard.

His one problem, his strength is growing plants, not designing landscapes. And he has quite a mess to overcome. He needs to replace some crowded plants that get little or no sun, and he also needs to deal with the slanted rooftop of an underground tunnel.

When he's finished, he wants the yard to look as beautiful as the nursery next door. That's where Walter Reeves and the DIY Garden Sense team will help.

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Gardening Challenge

Before — side yard

Before — long shot

After — side yard

After — "Pick of the Garden" garden

After — long view

Required Project Timeline

The backyard project took just six hours because Jordan and his friend Jennifer cleared all the old grass and beds before Walter Reeves and his crew got started. Otherwise, the project would have run into a second day.

Project Details

DIY's Garden Sense team had two big goals for this project. First, be mindful of all the shade in the yard so they could create a landscape that will thrive. Second, they wanted to use a combination of flowers and foliage to brighten up the garden.

The first step was to clear out the beds and extend them. Jordan and his friend Jennifer did this before the team arrived to save valuable time. Walter Reeves had them save the existing plants to replant throughout the garden.

Walter also selected lots of shrubs to give the new landscape color and texture. For example, the Kumson Forsythia has wonderful leaves. Spicebush has yellowish green foliage to brighten up the shady space and the Rainbow Pillar Serviceberry has rainbow of foliage color in the fall.

The biggest project of the day called for hundreds of Vinca plants to cover up the ramp and as a ground cover in the garden. Plus, the team added patches of color under the shade of the spruce tree with Mardi Gras Heuchera and Evergold Carex.

Gardening by Zip Code If you're looking to start a gardening projectbut don't know your gardening zone—visit the National Gardening Associations's USDA Hardiness Zone Finder. Enter your Zip Code to identify the proper zone.

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