If you've ever sought a less expensive, more creative alternative to a traditional lawn, this episode will give you the inspiration you need to transform your property from "so-so" to "so gorgeous"!
In upgrading the property featured in this series, host Mayita Dinos and crew have already completed a dramatic deck makeover and added a picturesque water garden in the front of the home. Now they're ready to replace a large portion of the high-maintenance, water-consuming lawn into a dramatic yet easy-to-care-for garden and pathway space. Materials and Layout The first step will be intalling surface material that's not only low maintenance but cost effective as well. Next trees, plants and shrubs will be added to provide year-round color and transform the garden into a beautiful living space. The ultimate the goal of this project is to plant a dramatic entry garden that offers more visual interest than a traditional front walk. The key to achieving this objective lies in the selection of the surfacing material and the diverse assortment of trees, perennials and accent plants used to define the new entrance. Note: In addition to visually upgrading the property, this project will also reduce the homeowners' lawn-care costs. To create the garden design, Dinos uses landscape software and a digital image of the unadorned lawn (figure A) to experiment with various looks until she has the perfect layout. To keep the path from feeling constricted, Dinos designs the garden with an emphasis on openness (figure B).
The hard-surface walkway will require little, if any, watering or weeding and the plants will lend it a soft, natural look. In selecting the best surface material for the path and garden, Dinos chooses flagstone. This material will create continuity with the water garden, where it's already been generously utilized in the hardscape. (Other options such as pavers would work but wouldn't create this visual tie-in.) To make the area more intimate, a grove of trees will be planted in a staggered fashion along the path; clumps of low-maintenance perennials between the stones will round out the design. For intermediate do-it-yourselfers, this project will rank 4 on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the most difficult, and will require 16 hours over the course of one weekend. Perfect Plants All plant material used here is compatible with climates of the northeast zone (figure C). Be sure to find those that are suitable for your climate zone. To prepare for this project, you'll need to remove the grass; if you have Bermuda or other type of pernicious grass, you may need to use weed killer a couple of weeks in advance to eliminate the grass down to its roots A spade or a shovel may be used to remove lawn, but to make it easier in the example here, Dinos and crew opt for a sod remover (figure D).
Horticulturist Frank McDonough explains that there are three basic ways to prevent a lawn from growing back: - Edging, which will physically prevent the lawn from creeping into other areas
- Choosing clumping variety of grass--it will be a lot less likely to invade other areas
- Making sure other areas are mulched--it's much more difficult for grass to reestablish itself on a thick bed of mulch than on soil.
After the area of lawn has been removed (figure E), it's time to level the area.1. Using a 2x4, you can determine where there are high points and low points (figure F). Leveling is essential for this project since the flagstone must be able to lay flat: dips can cause stones to crack and even break beneath unevenly distributed weight. 2. Cover and grade with a rake (figure G); another important part of grading is to make sure to remove all water from the property, which is what drainage is all about. General rule of thumb: get water going away from house. Here, get it to go between deck and pond, right off the side of the hill.
3. With the sod removed and the grading complete, it's now time to lay the large flagstone (figure H). There are many pieces to choose from; goal is to create a fairly direct path to the steps of the deck. Carefully look at the size and shape of each piece (figure I); choose each on the basis of where it will sit on each piece of ground.
4. Leave 6" to 12" between stones (figure J). The stones should be close enough for a comfortable step, but there should still be enough space for plantings with a one-gallon rootball in between. Also leave enough space to allow water to get down into the soil; otherwise, the garden will be in big trouble. 5. When placing the stones, the goal is to create a path of travel that is natural, not entirely straight. Offest the end of the last stone to create a gently meandering line of travel (figure K). Designwise it gives a more gentle feeling of transition so the effect is like traveling through the garden rather than walking a path.
6. Lay stones out along the sides of the center stones to expand the width of the overall garden space. Again, choose each one carefully so that it fits comfortably into the space where it's laid. Look at edges of neighboring stones to ensure they visually "relate" to one another. Note: The central flagstones are considered the primary path; the peripheral flagstones are considered the secondary path. 7. Throughout the secondary path, the stones are laid 18" to 2' apart (figure L) so five-gallon rootballs can be planted comfortably between them without fighting the edges. It also allows for the planting of groupings with one-gallon perennials for a cottage-garden look. Once the plants mature and spread, the edges will not be visible. Important Note: Be sure to level the ground! Flagstone is very soft and will break under weight if it isn't perfectly level (figure M). Since the stones are very heavy, we're leveling them by placing sand underneath. Sand allows the stones to be more easily moved into a level position. One good technique is to place a rock beneath a pry bar and use it to leverage the side of the flagstone (figure N). Then you can easily shovel sand underneath.
Time elapsed: 8 hrs.
RESOURCES :
Plants from Monrovia Growers
Monrovia Growers
Website: www.monrovia.com
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