Out of the Weeds

Turning a weed infested yard into a lush paradise is a big task...one we're tackling one step at a time. You'll hear how we're going about it, what we found that works, and what missteps we'll take along the way.
by JasonL

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Reclaiming a Bed That Has Gone to the Weeds

Out of the Weeds

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Many times flower beds will become over grown with weeds and the grass will start creeping into it if they are under maintained for too long. Here's how you can reclaim your bed if this is a problem for you.

One of our flower beds hadn't been touched in a year or so. It was getting pretty weedy and the grass was starting to take it back over. We decided to re-edge it using red "scalloped" bricks and to apply both gardening cloth and mulch to it. These made a dramatic difference in the look of the bed and greatly lowered the energy to maintain it. It's a pretty easy process that I've outlined below.

Equipment

Brick Border
Gardening Cloth
Mulch

Tools

Shovel
Garden Trowel
Scissors

Instructions

	1The first step is to figure out the borders of your garden. I just loosely laid out the border material to be sure it fit as I expected.
	2Now that you know where the edges of the bed are going to be you need to dig out the edges of the bed from the grass. I normally drop the bottom of the bricks about 1-2 inches below the level of the grass but you can go with whatever depth you think looks best.
	3It's time to get all the weeds and grass out of the bed. Try to weed down to a depth of about 10 inches. Be careful when weeding around existing plants, you don't want to rip out their roots!
	4Lay out the border again, but this time make sure the bricks are level and fit properly, adding or removing dirt as needed. Be sure that the dirt under the bricks is packed down firmly to prevent the bricks sinking over time.
	5Lift up the bricks and lay down gardening cloth underneath them moving along the bed a few bricks at a time making sure they are still firmly in place afterwards. This will help to prevent grass from coming up in the cracks between the bricks.
	6Pack the dirt in around the bricks to make sure they're sturdy. You may need to add some dirt to the outside of the wall as well, if this is the case you can sow some grass seed on the outside dirt to help the grass fill back in.
	7Smooth the dirt out, using a piece of scrap wood can help, filling in any holes that appear. It's normally best to create a gentle slope with the back of the garden slightly higher than the front. Fold the gardening cloth down and secure with stakes. Just cut a circle in it to keep from covering your current plants.
	8Lay down gardening cloth over the rest of the bed and attach with stakes. Make sure you overlap any pieces so there's no gaps for weeds to come through.
	9Now is a good time to put in any new plants or seeds you're planning on adding. Just cut holes in the gardening cloth where you want them to go and plant them like normal. We were planting some seeds, so that's what you see here.
	10It's now time to cover the ground with mulch. We used decorative bark mulch but you can use any kind. Some, like leaf or mushroom mulch, will help add nutrients back into the soil as well as prevent weeds. Some gardners prefer to forgo the gardening cloth and only use a thick layer of mulch.