Yes, that’s a goutweed-invaded lawn with a side order of ditch lilies.

While the new black fence was an improvement, this urban farming family needed a garden makeover to realize their goals. The entrance to the garden was a tired lawn with highly invasive gout weed.

We recommended removing the lawn and created a new design that would be a preventative barrier to keeping the goutweed out.

The design offered a clean, low-maintenance hardscape entrance using affordable textured paving stones that extended around the raised beds to join the back garden. New raised beds along the left fence line offer more impact and planting area.

We removed the lawn and created a weed barrier along the left side to prevent the goutweed on adjoining property from spreading. Custom hand-made raised beds along the border offer more planting area, interest and act as a further deterrent. The center was excavated, a sand base installed and affordable paving stones laid in perfect symmetry for a clean, inviting and low maintenance space.

The raised beds were installed in a lawn area that was overrun with weeds. We created a continuous path that connected the entrance gate to the edible garden and beyond to connect with an existing path along the back of the property.

Collars were placed around the base of the fruit trees and grapevine to protect them. The rhubarb was cut back significantly but will be overflowing by the next growing season.

The paving stone came in several dimensions allowing us to create an attractive pattern that would maximize growing space.

An area under the deck was cleaned out, grade A gravel that matched the paver stones installed for a tidy appearance and we relocated the compost bin to that area. The rhubarb patch was reduced in size to improve access on all four sides. Mature grapevines were protected with a collar before we excavated, installed geotextile as a weed barrier and laid textured concrete blocks for a clean, fresh look.

This view is from under the deck; we cleared this area out and disposed of old wood and debris before installing a tidy stone base. We created an area in which to use the garden compost bin and store garden items suited to outdoor storage. This design used affordable grade A gravel, crusher dust and textured paving stones all in the same cool gray tone. It keeps a rustic, mature garden looking clean, well-appointed, and works really well with the black fence and mulch.

So much for curb appeal!

A birch tree with lovely silver bark is lost among the weeds. This small garden bed was long overdue for maintenance.

The foreground bed has been weeded, edited, edged and mulched. In the background, a burning bush on the left side of the door is no longer blocking access while shrubs in the right side foundation beds were pruned before mulch was installed.

Along the back of the property, a neighbors firewood and canoe are camouflaged by a foreground planting of shrubs and perennial. The garden is very overgrown, weedy and it had been some time since the beds were mulched.

Spirea, honeysuckle and ladies mantle are among the plants that have been pruned and shaped before edging and mulching this bed. On the right side, the garden transitions to a fairly large raspberry stand.