Let’s Landscape the Front Yard! Zone 3

If you’ve been following the progress so far, you know that this year is the year of revamping the landscape in the front yard. Zone 1 & Zone 2 detail the project so far. If you have read those, you know that what started out as a simple enlargement of one flower bed, morphed into a full-on Front Yard Refab! It all began when we decided to enlarge the area around the Hosta plants that are planted by the sidewalk in front of our house. Then, when that project was done, well, actually, while I was working on that section….I decided that it was a good idea to address the slope by the front tree.

Before pictures of Zone 1 & Zone 2

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Since I was on a roll and had my supplies out, I knew I’d want to address the East area of the yard where we share a fence line and walnut tree with our neighbors. The tree roots have come to the surface (like the tree on the hill) and the grass does not grow there and it’s on a slope like the front tree, making it difficult to mow. I have added additional sod in the past but it never rooted well. The neighbor must have had the same issue as the had removed the lawn and created a rock garden. That sounded like a good idea for my side of the fence, so I mirrored hers 🙂

The first step in this project was to decide how big to make the rock garden. That was an easy decision, I just looked at Shelba’s and created mine the same length and width. The area would be 20′ x 4 1/2′. The next step was to remove the sod.

There are sod cutters you can rent but I’ve always just pulled the sod up by hand. Since I was working on a slope around a tree, a sod cutter wouldn’t have been the way to go anyway due to their size. Sometimes the sod comes up pretty easy and other times, it’s a bit of a struggle. I’ve found that if the grass and dirt are a bit moist, the job is easier. If there are trees close by and you run into small roots that are intertwined with the soil, it is more difficult. I keep a small garden cutting tool with me to cut those viney roots away from the soil as I’m pulling up the sod. Since I was working right by a tree, I knew I’d need both my small and large cutting tools. I didn’t want to remove or damage any large roots but some were over 1/2″ in diameter and the small cutting tool was too small for those.

For your convenience, I have created a free printable with pics, Supply List & Instructions for you!

Now that I knew what size the area would be, to begin the process of removing the sod, I grabbed my a garden shovel and started cutting through the sod to the soil, making that cut about 2″ deep. Once that was done, I used the shovel to cut the sod into smaller sections; doing so creates pieces that are easy to remove and use in a new location. To remove the sod, I used a garden knee pad, got down on my knees and used a small garden rake to pry the sod from the ground. As each piece was loose, I placed it in my garden wagon and when the wagon was full, I took it to where I was storing the sod which was right in the middle of this section until I had to load it in the truck so I could finish removing the sod.

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After removing the sod and delivering it to a friend’s place, it was time to lay landscape cloth down to prevent weed growth. I used newspaper in the flower bed in Zone 1 but had run out of newspaper so I bought more landscape cloth for this area. I covered most of the ground with the cloth then leveled the last portion of the space so we could add flagstone for a garden bench to sit upon. I added top soil to level the space then covered that with landscape cloth also.

I had found flagstone that I liked at one of the local landscape places to use around the front tree that I talk about in Zone 2, it had grey tones that would look great with the color of the house so I went back and bought 80 lbs of a similar stone. The flagstone by the tree was $0.17 a lb, this was $0.33. I also picked up more of the bullet bricks that I used to edge the front flower beds. Shelba used multicolor landscape rocks but I chose the grey & tan ones for our rock garden. We bought 1/2 yard of 1 1/2″ landscape rock for $16 – can’t beat the price! Luckily, hubby was able to drive up by the rock garden (like when we loaded the sod) which made it easier to unload the rock. I used a garden shovel to load the wagon and then shoveled the rock from the wagon into the new space.

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When I filled the rock garden up to where the bench would go, I measured the area and went to get the flagstone that I talk about above. After the stone was in place, I added small landscape rocks to fill the spaces between the stones.

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After finishing with the flagstone area, I applied the same water-based sealer I had used on the flagstone around the front tree. I was originally going to use lacquer. After doing some research online and reading positive comments on an outdoor lacquer, ordered a gallon – even though it was $69! Before it arrived, I was back at the flagstone place and asked the salesman, Mike, what he thought about using lacquer on flagstone. He said it would work but it could yellow. Hmmm, I didn’t want that. He said they use a water-based sealer that came in mat, shiny, or high gloss finishes and would last about 2 years in a low/no traffic area. The price was $45. Water-based and over $20 less?! SOLD! I grabbed a gallon and returned the lacquer when it arrived.

I had bought an inexpensive garden sprayer for $7 to apply the sealer on the flagstone around the tree which made the process quick and easy. Mike had said two coats would give it a nice glossy finish so that’s what I applied. I waited about an hour and 1/2 between coats, making sure the 1st coat was no longer tacky before adding the 2nd one. He also said that if the stone wasn’t completely dry, the sealer would have a milky finish. We stopped watering for a few days before I planned to apply the sealer to make sure the stone was nice and dry. As I was applying the sealer, I noticed some areas where it pooled up and looked a bit white so I used a small foam brush and roller to sop up any extra sealer. Sopping up the extra little dots of sealer on the landscape rock was more tedious but I wanted to make sure the result was clear.

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To decorate the space, I am using an antique wheel barrow that a friend gifted to me when she moved out of State – I just LOVE it! I bought a planter box for some pretty flowers and set it in the wheelbarrow for color.  I also bought a metal tub from Walmart for $9.98 and filled it with some petunias (on sale at Lowe’s for $5 for a 12″ pot). The total cost of creating this rock garden was approximately $200. You could create one this size without the bench for about $125! We LOVE the result!

Finished rock garden

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Supplies Used

• Garden shovel
• Small garden rake
• Garden cutting tools – small & large
• Garden wagon
• Garden gloves
• Garden sprayer
• Small foam brush & roller
• 1/2 load medium landscape rock @ $29 = $16
• 80 lbs Flagstone @ $0.33 = $26
• 1 bucket of small landscape rock @ $5 = $5
• 33 bullet bricks @ $1.19 = $49
• Landscape cloth
• Soil & sand
• 1/4 gallon of sealer @ $45/gal
• Metal container – Walmart $9.98
• 12″ petunia plant @ $5
• Garden Bench – Lowes $84

Instructions

• Measure the size of the area where you are removing sod
• Mark with a string line or garden hose
• Using a garden shovel, cut through the soil along the line for the new area
• Pull up the sod and set aside
  • You can use the shovel to loosen the sod or a small garden rake
• Lay down Landscape Cloth
• Cover with medium sized landscape rock
• Add soil & sand to create a level area for the Flagstone under the Garden Bench
• Arrange Flagstone
• Fill in spaces with small rock
• Use edging bricks to line the new area
• Apply 2 coats of sealer following Manufacturer instructions

Remember to grab your free Printable with pics, Supply List & Instructions

Next up – Zone 4!

Thanks for reading! If you love this project, please leave a Comment below and share with your peeps on Social Media! Stay tuned for Zone 4!!!

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