How can we cost-effectively renovate a 30-year, overgrown landscape?
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We moved here in 1989, and without going into details, the small, cute bushes we planted then have morphed into alien beings that are taking over our pathways, driveways, etc. Not to mention we planted English Ivy...and it has run amok. We are on a budget with three kids in college....need help!
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read up on what you planted to find out : how to trim them, when to trim them, IF you can trim them, if they are bloomers you need to trim 2 was after they flower and set next years blooms. Don't be afraid to cut back 1/3....no more. Your gardens will look ravaged at first but then come back.
They are still alive? Dig in girl, call a workout and do a little every day. Cut back bushes trees they will come back or they won't. Unless you have money to burn and call a landscaper
I would get in there with a hardy shovel and cut down and divide big time. Cut the English ivy back big time and thin out or remove entirely if you no longer want it. Then I would get bark mulch chips and cover the area to give it a nice look. You can cut the bushes in half and reuse some place else or not
advertise the bushes you dont want for people to remove for free.
start by killing everything, then aerate and plant new seed, water, water, water and in the spring spread weed and feed.
You can try and find a cost-effective landscape crew.... in our area we have the juvenile justice work crew, the developmentally disabled work crew. and a bunch of church groups that help low-income and seniors.
Hello Cathy; If your yard were mine, I would begin small. Try and get what you can done. If you do not like how something looks, do not be afraid to cut it back.
Also; since it is Summer, older kids are looking to make some $$.
Offer to pay them say five dollars an hour, or such. Have them do the parts that you do not wish to be bothered with.
As a side note, I work in my yard at least two days a week. I enjoy relaxing outside. It is a slow process, but it can be done!!!
I hope that this will help you!!! Good Luck!!
Clean up crews are not that expensive. And since you have college age kids, when home, put them to work to earn their keep. They need to learn how to properly maintain a home - teach them a few lessons. All my kids learned how to cook, clean, sew, change tires, and basic home maintenance, balance a checkbook and live within their means by the time they left for college. They know enough in order not to get ripped off by smarmy contractors or sales personnel.