Oh man, we were busy little yard bunnies this Sunday. We spent roughly four hours in the backyard—starting while Clara napped (which turned into a glorious three-hour nap) and then swapping watching duties so each of us could finish up tasks. The mission: reclaim more usable grassy space. A huge, weedy-looking planting bed had been stealing a big chunk of the yard, blocking room for running around and backyard activities. That bed is at least fifteen feet wide, and the butterfly bush growing in it had become a giant stick-like specimen nearly eight or nine feet tall.
You might not believe how big it was, so picture a 5’2″ person standing inside the center of that butterfly bush—I’m standing upright in the middle of it, not kneeling.
Viewed from the other side of the yard, the planting bed still dominates the space. As much as we love the butterflies that visit what we jokingly call The Biggest Butterfly Bush in the World, we decided transplanting the plants to the far end of the property would be the best way to reclaim the lawn area.
The first step was to prune everything way back. Cutting the top growth down makes digging much more manageable and safer—you can actually see the roots without wrestling with a tangle of branches. It won’t hurt the plants; many shrubs die back naturally in fall and winter anyway.
Once we trimmed it back, we discovered it wasn’t one single bush but a cluster of smaller bushes that had grown together over time—like a shrub “team.” That made digging and transplanting straightforward: we dug out each root ball and moved the pieces to the back edge of the property, which is a wild, woodsy area we’d like to turn into a butterfly haven.
Next came removing all the weeds, roots, and debris so the soil would be level with the surrounding grass. Having a flush surface is important before we seed grass so the new lawn won’t be bumpy or raised. While digging, we uncovered a large tree root, which suggests a big tree might once have stood in that oversized bed—this explains the bed’s original scale.
We also found a tiny snake on a shovel blade—about as thick as a worm—so nothing to worry about, but a little wildlife surprise nonetheless.
All along the bed were border stones. I hauled them from the backyard to the carport one by one. We’ve had some luck selling a few to neighbors for a dollar apiece (they’re grateful since similar stones cost more at garden centers), so selling them helps offset the cost of grass seed and supplies. We’re hopeful that the border-stone proceeds will at least help break even.
Leveling the soil took flat shovels and some time, but after clipping, digging, transplanting, hauling, and raking for about four hours, we ended up with a clean, much larger open area ready for grass seed. The difference was dramatic—the yard instantly felt more spacious and usable.
There’s still more work ahead: another large butterfly bush on the opposite side of a liriope-lined path needs the same treatment. That’s why this is “Part 1.” We’re also planning to remove the path-encroaching liriope in sections, which will be a lot of digging but should create an even more dramatic transformation—similar to the changes we made in our front yard renovation. For now, we’re keeping morale high by comparing before-and-after shots and appreciating the progress from removing just this one oversized planting bed.
We worked on the yard across the spring and plan to continue in the fall to overhaul the backyard and complete the grass seeding and additional transplants. It will take some time for the lawn to fully establish and for the space to look as polished as the front yard, but the improvement so far has been encouraging.
What did you do this weekend? Get dirty, find any snakes, or make progress on a backyard makeover project?
Psst—John’s gearing up for his annual health challenge, Aquatober. Details are shared on our site.