When we finished the patio last year it looked adorable — at least if you ignored the neglected garden beyond it. Lately, though, that back area had slipped into a pretty rough state: overgrown, messy, and generally unkempt.
The patio itself still looks great, and it’s stayed weed-free thanks to our crack-sand method. But the planting bed behind it suffered from years of neglect: diseased trees, a dead rhododendron, and a tangle of unruly groundcover made the space feel crowded and tired.
We brought in Katherine, a certified landscape designer, to help diagnose the mess. She helped us decide what to prune, what to save, and which plants needed to be removed so the remaining shrubs and trees would have a better chance of thriving. Her advice was invaluable: removing a few failing trees and one dead rhododendron immediately opened up the area and improved the flow from patio to garden.
Once we removed the worst offenders, we raked away years of leaves and debris so we could actually see the ground again. The difference was immediate—the space felt lighter and less claustrophobic. Before, shrubs and groundcover crowded right up to the patio, making it feel like you could get poked by a stray branch when you stepped out the door. Clearing those plants back created breathing room and a much more inviting transition from hardscape to planting bed.
Next up was tidying the liriope clumps and filling in the many bare spots. We also planned to repaint our rain barrel to help it blend in with the garden, but that’s still on the to-do list.
One of Katherine’s smart suggestions was to transplant some of the existing shrubs to create more intentional groupings. We had several nandina plants that were crowded together in one spot, so we dug them up and moved three of them to a corner near our big hydrangeas, where one healthy nandina was already growing. Grouping like plants creates a cohesive look, and a trio plus the existing shrub now reads as a deliberate, attractive cluster. Ideally we would have made an odd-numbered grouping of five, but we worked with what we had and the result already looks balanced.
We also purchased three new hydrangeas from a local nursery to match the variety that’s thriving in the corner. Because the original hydrangeas have done so well, we hope the new ones will follow suit and produce abundant blooms. We planted everything and prepared the bed for mulch, which makes a huge visual difference and helps retain moisture and suppress weeds.
Between recent rains and our handy rain barrel, the new transplants have been getting a steady supply of water. My daughter Clara loved helping and was fascinated by the worms we discovered while digging — she even dreamed about them the next night. Gardening moments like that make the hard work worthwhile.
We still have a corner by the rain barrel to address and a strip near the house that could use smaller-scale plants, but the overall transformation is striking. The cleared beds, new plantings, and fresh mulch make the area feel tidy, purposeful, and much more welcoming than the jungle it was a week earlier.
It’s amazing how quickly a space can change: buds on the trees that were photographed just days earlier have since burst into bloom, and the whole area looks cheerier for it. Photos from different angles show a clear before-and-after: where there was an unruly mass of foliage and dead material, there is now organized planting, mulch, and open sightlines to the yard.
Mulch has turned out to be one of the best finishing touches — it keeps weeds down, holds moisture in the soil, and visually unifies the bed. We’ll share more photos of the mulched beds soon, but even without perfect shots the improvement is obvious.
Planting and landscaping are rewarding because the results are so tangible. Getting dirty and sweaty is part of the process, but seeing new life where there was only leaves and weeds yesterday is energizing. For now, we’re happy with the hydrangeas and nandinas, and with the confidence that thoughtful pruning, transplanting, and mulching will keep the area healthy and attractive for seasons to come.
What are you planting this season? Do you have favorite low-maintenance shrubs or go-to blooms for patio beds? We’d love to hear your suggestions and experiences.