Can you help me?
I paid someone to put in a flower bed. He did a horrific job, because he planted the flowers to close and never put anything over the soil to suppress the weeds. Unfortunately, I am no longer able to contact him.
I don't have a green thumb and don't know what to do. Can you help?
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This is easy but not simple. first, you'll likely need to use glyphosate/Roundup to kill all the "wiregrass". DO NOT pull the weeds I see in the photo as each rootlet of this grass will form a new plant!)
Then, once the area is clear (it might take two rounds of application and waiting), add compost and then cover the area with 6mil black plastic. Cut an X or + in each location you would like to put a plant and tuck the cut ends under the plastic. Insert a 3" or larger pot into the soil, pressing down to create a cavity, then unpot the plant and insert, pressing the soil around the plant. If you are planting seedlings from a cell pack, use a cut-off shovel handle or similar sized object to create a hole that the seedling can be placed delicately within. Water in well immediately, preferably with warm water. Cover with mulch to conceal the plastic.
The plastic will help to suppress weeds until the desired plants get established and funnel the water that falls to the holes. As desired, add additional plants as ground covers in new holes. Eventually you will be able to remove the plastic by cutting it up and pulling it free, with the mulch being clean and usable. You can choose smaller plants or just plant a ground cover like thyme to block future weeds and allow year-round color and cover.
Do not use "landscape fabric" or weed barrier fabric as all roots will grow through it and make it impossible to remove later without also taking all plants and lots of soil.
Good luck! You can do this.
I would just use a pitch fork to sift thru this mess. Remove the weeds and turn the soil. Really no "easy" way to garden. I have been gardening for close to 50 years. Turn the soil well. Mix this mulch in - it will help to feed the plants. Add a few bags of good top soil. Mix well. Go to Lowes and get perennials that will grow in your area. Add a couple of Knock Out Roses - they sell these at Lowes as well. Plant the items. (look at some pictures as to the arrangements. Add hard wood cedar mulch on top.
First off do not use Roundup. It causes cancer and there are lawsuits against the maker. If you do you won't be able to plant anything for a few years. Secondly, do not use plastic. Do use landscape fabric over the soil. Plastic sheeting will build up heat and burn the plant roots. Go with Lisa S suggestion. That is such a small area, dig it up with a pitch fork or shovel. Then rake out the weeds. Add some compost and peat moss and dig that in. Cover with landscape fabric. Plant your plants. Then cover with a few inches of mulch.
First look online for
60L, 70L, or 90L of compost
20L, 30L of top soil
and buy 1 of each and I would buy the large bags
i would also buy grow more pellets, this is used to mix in to ground soil to give the soil a healthy boost/feed. The compost and top soil should already have the feed in them
then when they both arrive mix them together. Then you need to loosen all the soil in your flowerbeds by using a garden fork and a garden spade to about 5cm to 8cm deep. Now transfer the mixed compost and topsoil in to a bucket and put a layer of that on top of the loosened garden soil and mix all of them together. Don’t forget to do this in half meter stages, I would do a thin layer to begin with to make sure you have enough of the mixture to cover all your flower bed areas. If you have any mixture left over then do the same step again and again until all the mixture is used.
at this stage you could lay waterproof ground sheet down and peg it all around so it don’t fly off in the wind.
Now for planting
first look online at all the different plants and the time of year you need to plant them and pick you the plants you like and you think you can look after.(all that information is online with saying how to plant and care for (then put the plant name) read results.
the plants that you buy, I would look up the information and save to your device to read just before buying and planting the ones you want.
also look at the height and width info on the plants too, for taller plant will need to go at the back of the flowerbeds and the medium height and width plants in the middle and smaller plants in the front.
after buying your plants it is best to lay them on top of the flowerbeds (don’t forget do this in the same stages as the soil)
once you are happy with the layout then you go round with a scissors and cut the hole in the ground sheet allowing for the garden tool that you need to scoop out a hole underneath and big enough for all the roots of the plants to fit in.
once you put the rooted plant in the hole, you need to use the dug out soil to press around the plant and underneath the ground sheet making sure that the plant is firmly in the ground with NO air pockets underneath the plant roots itself. (Air pockets can hold water for to long which will rot your roots and plant won’t grow.
NOW REPEAT OVER AND OVER AND OVER.
WHAT I WOULD DO IF I WAS YOU, I WOULD CHOOSE YOUR PLANTS AND DECIDE ON HOW MANY OF EACH NAMED PLANTS YOU WANT TO BUY. LETS SAY 6 OF EACH PLANT BUT YOU MAY NEED 30 DIFFERENT PLANTS, THATS 180 plants which will take you a few days to plant them all and that’s after you finish laying the soil mixture.
SO after picking the plant you want in your garden, just buy 20 or 30 and plant them straight away and time yourself on that process. You will then be able to work out how long the other 140-160 plants will take.
you will need to leave 5cm to 8cm gaps each side of your plants so when the grow they won’t overpower the plant next to them
good luck