Name: Jeanie Minnesota (Zone 4a) Replace your lawn with a garden!
I did virtually no gardening until 2007. I had an area along my alley that was nothing but buckthorn and Japanese knotweed. I finally decided to clear it out. With the help of a neighbor who had a chain saw, I cleared the brush - filled my boulevard 6 feet high three times over. Then I realized I had a lovely view of all the neighborhood trash cans, so I decided to plant some perennials there to hopefully block that view. I had no idea what I was taking on - not until later did I realize I was planting under black walnuts, under a huge double- trunked cedar tree, and in everything from full sun to deep shade. With a good measure of sheer luck, most of it worked, and I was hooked. I have revised parts of it over time to deal with changing sun/shade conditions, among other things. This was the first of my three major projects - stay tuned for the other two after this one. Here goes - from the tear out to how it looks today. Please excuse the older photos - my photography has improved over time along with my gardens.
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Old gardeners never die. They are just pruned and repotted.