Pages

Saturday, April 27, 2013

New bed in front--no maintenance gardening

There is a long flower bed that runs along the front walkway to our home.



It has full sun in the middle of the bed and shade on each end.  I decided to get the middle planted with sun loving perennials.  Here at Silverhill Ranch, we believe in no maintenance  garden beds.  I spend NO time pulling weeds and very little time watering.  Doing a little extra work when you are putting in your garden beds saves you lots of time and money in the long run.
Weed control fabric and pins, drip system

Drip system put on top of soil first



Buy a good, thick weed control fabric.  This came from Sam's Club and is very thick but water and fertilizer can still get through.  Thick layers of newspapers work well, too and also cardboard boxes cut to lie flat.  You can put it on top of the soil or if your bed is empty and you are going to have to add soil the fabric can go under the soil.  This bed already had soil so I put it on top.
Fabric and drip system held down with fabric pins from Lowe's


The irrigation system we use, we order on line from Berry Hill.  It is not expense and has never failed us.  We buy timers from Lowe's and have everything set to turn on automatically.  If we want to pick up and go out of town-no problem.
The plants I bought to go in were reduced at a local Houston garden center.  (yay)  Yellow,  Dallas red, silver and purple lantanas, Purple and white Mexican Heathers.  There are all sun lovers and will hopefully fill in this bed with time.
Elton helped me decide on placement of the plants
Just cut a hole big enough to dig a hole and pop the plant in-be sure to not cut the drip system.  It can be felt through the fabric.

After planting, I like to add a thick layer of Cypress mulch.  The ends of the drip system will be hooked into the rest of the system, probably after I get this whole bed planted.
I see someone got out of line.  Will have to fix her in the morning.
So there you have it.  No maintenance flower beds!  Makes gardening a pleasure!

Linked in with these Linky Parties:

Met Monday 
Amaze Me Monday 
Outdoor Wednesday 
Tutorial, Tips, and Tid-Bits 
Fertilizer Friday







10 comments:

  1. So smart to do all the "no weed" prep work in advance! Love your walkway, bet it will look amazing is a few weeks once everything has taken off and all those blooms pop! Thanks for the link to Berry Hill, will check them out!
    Thank you sooo much for sharing at Amaze Me Monday!
    Blessings,
    Cindy

    ReplyDelete
  2. That is a great idea, cause pulling weeds is no fun at all............and wilted flowers don't look too great either. Bet your flowers are gonna look wonderful here in a few weeks. Hoping I get to see some pictures then.
    Blessings, Nellie

    ReplyDelete
  3. Love it. We do that with several beds and it definitely keeps the weeds out and so nice that it waters evenly too. Great tutorial.

    I would love for you to link up to my Inspire Me party that is ongoing.
    http://www.astrollthrulife.net/2013/04/162nd-inspire-me-tuesday.html

    Hugs, Marty

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wonderful post and how to and so ecologicalyl sound ~ Creative too!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I love gardens that run alongside a walkway. I'm sure you'll enjoy having them.

    ReplyDelete
  6. That is a wonderful way to implement things, i guess those gadgets will still be very expensive here, and our capacity to pay is still low. How lovely it is to be privileged.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Your bed is going to look lovely as the plants mature, very pretty! I use soaker hoses as an inexpensive alternative to drip systems, I find them on sale and grab a few to put under our mulch. Great tips!
    Saw you sharing at StoneGable TTT
    Debbie :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. Carol, Looks good. I have tried landscape fabric in the past and it didn't preclude weeds for me. Maybe I need a better quality fabric, cuz I weed ALOT! We have a pasture behind our house that is FULL of dandelions and other weeds, so many weed seeds come our way. I see you live near Houston. I was recently in the area visiting and got to see some of the famous bluebonnets of Texas.
    Hugs, Beth

    ReplyDelete
  9. Carol, thanks for stopping by my corner of Katy! Glad your bluebonnets did well this year. You must have gotten more winter rain. That new bed looks quite spiffy!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love that landscape fabric, it's great when you're starting new beds. Your new bed looks great. Good plant choices too :-)

    ReplyDelete

Leave me a note if you visit me, please. Thanks for stopping by!