my brother's front yard makeover - take 2

I helped my brother and his family re-do their very small front lawn a few years ago.  I lost sleep planning a beautiful  little garden filled with low maintenance, high impact plants.  It looked awesome.  Then they moved.

So they asked me to do it again.  Well, at least this means they liked what I did last time!  But this time their front yard is huge.  Quite a different challenge.  They had planned to start a year or so ago but decided to redo the concrete first.  Now that's done and this is what things look like to start with:

View from the street:

View from the house:

They want to remove all the grass right away, but they're OK with planting in stages to distribute the cost over a period of time.  So, here's what to do first:

• Remove the rest of the grass.  For that much grass I'd say it's best to rent a sod cutter.
• Have compost delivered.  Figure out how much it will take to spread about 2 inches of compost over the entire yard (need help with the math, dear brother?).  Have it delivered, spread it, and turn it in with a fork.
• Fill in the hole in the hedge with a few more cotoneaster bushes.  *Sunnyside has some for a discount if you buy more than one.

We'll also have bark mulch delivered but we must have a plan first because we might re-contour the yard a little.  Stay tuned...

Related posts:

Why should I get rid of my lawn?

How do I get rid of my lawn?

Design for winter interest

How to re-design a perennial bed.

Comments

[Paula H]

Can't wait to see the new garden!

[Allison]

I'll be curious to see what you do! I see my SIL was already here!

[Gretta]

Hi,

Your patio looks great. Quick question though--our neighbor is considering doing something along the same lines (the patio part) but she's a hoarder so I'm worried that she'll just use this space as a spot for more storage. Did you have to get any permits from the city or your neighbors for this?
Thanks for any info you could provide.

[Janice Miller-Young]

Hi Allison and Paula!  This will be a long work-in-progress as they are doing it all themselves but it will be fun to watch the transition!

I love the idea of a patio in the front.  I have no idea what the regulations are about storing stuff on such a patio but I would guess nothing specific. 

Cheers,
Janice