Eight-Step Garden Makeover: Inventory, Cleanup, Wish List, Planning, Hardscape, Shopping, Planting, and Finishing Touches

Eight-Step Garden Makeover: Inventory, Cleanup, Wish List, Planning, Hardscape, Shopping, Planting, and Finishing Touches

1. TAKE INVENTORY: Note thriving/struggling plants, sun/shade patterns, soil type (squeeze test: clay/sand needs organic amendments). Identify reusable materials (e.g., concrete path chunks for retaining wall).
2. CLEAN UP AND PRUNE: Remove/replant wrong-exposure plants. Cut back overgrown shrubs. Thin crowded plantings. Consider removing large trees leaning on fences. Pull weeds. Start compost pile; compost prunings (except seeded weeds/diseased plants).
3. MAKE A WISH LIST: Patio? Pond? Raised beds? Gazebo? Annual beds? Lawn? English border? Consider climate, surrounding land (views to borrow/block), house style (Spanish→Mediterranean; cedar shingle→Northwest; adobe→desert).
4. DEVISE A PLAN OF ACTION: Estimate work (paths, pavers, sprinklers, edging, lawn). DIY or hire help? Consider landscape architect for plan. Measure garden.
5. INSTALL HARDSCAPING, IRRIGATION, OUTDOOR LIGHTING: Paths, patios, decks, gazebos are bones; irrigation is lifeblood in West. Outline structures/plantings in soil (gypsum or stakes).
6. SHOP AT NURSERIES: Keep favorite colors (soft: pink/lavender/apricot; strong: purple/orange). List plants for fragrance (roses, jasmine), motion (ornamental grasses), seasonal interest (spring bloom, fall color).
7. PREPARE SOIL, THEN PLANT: For non-natives, work compost/organic amendment 2–3 ft deep. Rent rotary tiller. Plant trees/shrubs/groundcovers/vines/perennials in fall. Tender tropicals/citrus in frost-free months.
8. ADD FINISHING TOUCHES: Containers, bench, sculpture, water features, birdhouses make garden look lived in and loved.

MAKEOVER TIPS

Cost-savers: DIY in small jobs over weeks/months. Cover ugly fence with vines (bougainvillea, Lady Banks' rose, Japanese honeysuckle) instead of replacing. Use recycled materials (free pavers from disposal yard/neighbors).

Best ideas: Drought-tolerant plants (lush, beautiful, easy). Tough groundcovers between pavers (chamomile, creeping thyme—no mow, bloom summer). Deep-water pipes for trees on hills (perforated PVC in planting hole, vertical, gravel-filled—healthy, robust trees).