This bed was overgrown. I pulled the edgers out and pressure washed them. I removed all of the unsightly shrubs.
This small stump grinder was all I needed to remove the shrub roots.
There were clumps of ornamental grasses that were just too big for the bed.
The cleaned edgers were reset in the beds. New plants were then added.
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This homeowner's property had large beds with well established weeds. They needed edging, weed-mat and mulch.
This bed is filled mostly with grass.
These stepping stones have sunk in.
Weed-mat is installed over the freshly weeded beds. It was needed along the edge because the weed problem was worst there.
Mulch will be applied and the stones placed on top of it.
The other beds have the same problem.
One side of the stone wall is weeded the other is not!
I pulled all the weeds out rather than spray poison to keep the other shrubs safe.
Upon mulching this side is now finished.
This is the last bed.
Here the weeds are so bad the border can barely be seen.
It is critical to install weed fabric along the border. The weeds pulled were so thick that they would come back and ruin the fresh mulch.
The combination of weed-mat and mulch will keep the bed looking sharp for some time and make it possible to maintain the weeds.
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This flower bed got out of hand and the new owners just did not know where to start. They liked the azaleas, hydrangeas, and hollies but did not know how to get them back to a manageable state.
It was a vine stricken mass of growth. Not just over grown.
These burning bushes will be "stump-ground" to make way for a 5" solid corex drainage pipe that was to be installed.
This is the front. There are azaleas and rhododendrons that needed a hard pruning to get them back to a workable state.
Along the side, the vines were removed. The holly was cut way back, and, the hydrangeas were cut to the ground. A drainage pipe was then installed to draw downspout rain water away from the house.
The azaleas were cut to the ground. Several small branches were left on to catch light. The roots were strong and the shrubs regenerated themselves within a few years.
(To see how these beds were finished when drainage pipes were installed, go to the drainage control page.)
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This bed needed pruning, planting, new weed fabric and reconstruction of the rock borders.
The shrubbery was first pruned back to keep it off of the house and stay manageable. Then a Dwarf Weeping Japanese Red Maple was placed in the center of this bed.
Here the rock border was removed as well as the old weed mat. The shrubs were pruned, fresh weed mat was installed, the border was rebuilt and finally, black mulch was added for a finishing touch.
Below a tall, flowering "Buckeye". This tree is native to the area.
It replaced a damaged "Cherry" tree.The tree planted here is a Pink Flowering Buckeye as it is often called. Buckeyes are native to this area and need little water.