More Lazy Garden Bed Extensions - Front Porch, Patio Corner and Boardwalk Landing - October 2024

A couple weeks ago, I posted a Fall project that I called "Lazy Garden Bed Extensions" where I first used my mower to scalp some turf followed by laying down cardboard to extend the front border of the front porch bed out a little bit.  On top of that cardboard went biosolids and compost followed by some wood mulch (from a big box store) that I had on hand.  I didn't do the full front porch bed border (then), but recently....I was able to get around and finish the entire border.

I ended up extending the front porch border out by 18-inches or so out from where the French Marigolds were planted this season.  You can see the in the photo below the new edge of the bed is now stretching out a bit into the grass.  If you look closely, you can see the Marigolds (in decline) and the lone Dusty Miller (this is year 3 for that "annual"), so that gives you a sense of the new extension.

I also found a couple of other spots where the bed was 'too small' for the planting - which lead to the grass creeping into the bed.  The first of which is at the landing of the sideyard boardwalk.  I have three Muhly Grasses planted right where the Boardwalk ends, but that bed wasn't cut-out properly.  To fix that, I first tried to remove some of the turf that was creeping up near the base of the grasses.  Then, I laid down cardboard, biosolids, compost and finally....that brown wood mulch on top.  These grasses now have some room to breath from the turf:

The last bed that I extended in this 'lazy' fashion was around the north corner of the patio - where I have three Karl Foerster Grasses - planted right on the corner.  This bed started as a curved bed, but the turf took it over.  Now, I've extended it out about 16" in each direction.  And used the same layering process:  scalping the grass with my mower --> cardboard --> biosolids + compost --> mulch.  In this case, I brought home a bucket-full of wood chips from the municipal mulch pit/biosolids pickup - that's what brightening up this bed a little bit.  

I've been collecting more cardboard as we get it and have a few more places in mind to create new beds this Fall.   Doing them now allows for the necessary time to allow them to 'cook' during the Winter - leaving me perfect planting conditions come Spring.  

My (current, running) list includes:

• Extending the cut flower beds on the southside
• Extending the 'ring' around the Saucer Magnolia in front
• Extending the curved bed around the Saratoga Ginkgo and Little Henry Sweetspire
• Extending the 'ring' around the Austrian Pine 'Oregon Green' tree in front
• Creating a small bed in the parkway to plant *something* there besides turf
• Extending the front yard island bed down to the sidewalk