Recently  a client of mine complained about his tired front garden beds. They were all full of weeds and difficult to cultivate because of exposed landscape fabric. So I got to work on this easy garden upgrade.

Step one involved the dreaded weeding session. I used a bucket and cultivators: one was a Dutch hoe for up-rooting stubborn weeds and one was a four-pronger for deeper cultivation.

Step two involved soil installation. We brought in 2 yards of lawn and garden mix and it was exactly the right amount! The soil will settle but the plants will be happier, weeding should be easier and the client comes home to nice, dark and clean beds where the eye notices the flowers, not weeds.

All it took was about three hours of labour and the cost of soil plus delivery. Remember, not all garden upgrades need to cost a fortune. You can do a lot with some weeding and fresh soil.

It's been very rainy on the West Coast until last week or so and it looked like we'd miss summer altogether. But now we're finally seeing some color in the landscape and it feels like summer. Enjoy the gallery and share your own photos.

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