DIY Network

Mosaic and Asian Garden: Evaluating the Situation Mosaic and Asian Garden: Evaluating the Situation From "Grounds for Improvement" episode DGFI-104

Before: a patio in need of some TLC.

Mark and Emily Aznavourian have too much of a good thing -- their backyard is so big and overgrown that any landscaping projects are overwhelming. That's where Grounds for Improvement can help. Jackie Taylor and Dean Hill, together with the Aznavourians and some of their friends and relatives, are going to create an Asian-inspired garden around the patio and then do an art project in the rest of the yard to tie the two areas together. Emily has been collecting china for a mosaic project, so now's the time to break out -- literally -- the collection and make a series of mosaic panels for the yard.

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Dean Hill's computerized layout.

Garden Project Overview

• Clean out area.

• Mark edge of beds.

• Frame.

• Fill beds with topsoil.

• Plant trees and shrubs.

To begin, the area must be cleaned out. The flowerbeds will be adjacent to the patio where the stone pathway is located, so the first task is the removal of a stone, which are carefully set aside for later.

Next, the team removes the awning over the patio and gets rid of the metal poles holding it in place.

Figure A

After getting a lesson in sawing from Dean, Emily gets her Paul Bunyan on and takes down a tree that is blocking light from the area. With the space opened up, Dean and Mark next plot out flowerbeds. Running adjacent to the patio (figure A); the curvilinear beds will incorporate the stump from the dear departed tree. They use landscape paint to mark out the border, and then it's time to move the border rocks into place. Dean points out that you should always use local stone in landscaping projects; since the Aznavourians live in the Philadelphia area, they have chosen Pennsylvania blue tone. Dean shows the team a back-friendly technique for moving large boulders: Turn a wheelbarrow on its side and roll the boulder into it. Then, with one person holding the handles, a second at the back of the wheelbarrow and a third steadying the front, upright it and you're good to go!

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