Project Timeline
The Spring Garden project took about three days for removal of the trees and shrubs, extending the beds, bringing in new soil and planting the new beds.
Dollars and Sense
- We used 245 plants (22 varieties) in Hardiness Zone 6.
- We rented a compact utility loader with an auger attachment ($400 for the day) to speed up the project. It can dig a large hole in about a minute. The price is high, but it can save time (and your back).
- Another tool that saved us some time was a motorized wheelbarrow. They cost about $1,300 to buy; you can rent one for about $90, however. It helped us spread 11 yards of mulch.
- Equipment prices may vary by zone.
Expert Garden Secrets
Three gardening experts share tips to help the home gardener maximize any yard's potential.
Bill Bramlage buys three of the same kind of plant and plants them in three areas: full sun, partial sun and full shade. When he determines which plant does the best, he moves all three to that location. He also finds shade plants that deer hate, such as pulmonaria (a.k.a. lungwort, Bethlehem sage, cowslip), so his animal visitors avoid them.
Chris McCullough has a natural-looking garden. To achieve that look, she says you should remove all nonnative plants, but she makes an exception for her hydrangea. Another plant she recommends is the free-flowing northern sea oat, a showy woodland grass; she likes the fact that it looks overgrown and out of control.
Jerri Jones has to squeeze a lot into a small garden space. She recommends using a variety of containers to help raise the gaze so everything isn't at eye level. She can squeeze compact boxwoods into a narrow space, and she likes Japanese painted ferns because the silver contrasts against the green of her hollies to create an illusion of depth. She also recommends layering plants for depth.
Cool Tools
These are the cool tools and garden supplies used by Walter Reeves and the DIY team to help make the spring landscape project easier.
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