The distance from the sidewalk by the house to the row of spruce trees is about 27’. We removed the two Callery Pear trees. They made it hard to mow, they were messy, and worse, they are a non-native invasive species. You can’t really see the second tree as they are lined up in this photo. Challenges in this area included the grade, moisture, and shade from spruce trees yet hot mid-day sun.

After clearing the area, we added three serviceberry trees you can see here.

We covered entire area with cardboard and mulch. No more plastic for smothering. Cardboard does the initial smothering and then biodegrades. Randy graded and we used stone to create a dry bed which solved the moisture issue, then we put down woodchips for paths. Finally, we planted…

This garden now includes…
Pink Turtlehead, Sweet Shrub, Shrubby Cinquefoil, Serviceberry, Great Blue Lobelia, Meadow Sweet and other species. We add non-native annuals for color and for the pollinators, including Mexican Bush Sage and Hummingbird Sage, which, with a heavy layer of mulch, typically returns each year. The hummingbird sage, also known as black and blue salvia, got large enough to divide, AND later the bloom stalks were 5’ tall.