My Garden Project - Combination of Landscaping, Irrigation and Flower Arrangements

Starting from the year 2020, in three years I transformed the original lawn into a garden. Because the ground was uneven and the original lawn irrigation system wasn't done well, the lawn was very hard to maintain and the sprinkler heads broke frequently. Other reasons I wanted to do the project were because I love flowers/plants, as well as water conservation. I designed the landscape, irrigation system and plant arrangements all by myself. I did every piece of the garden from scratch mostly by myself, and only my daughter helped me when she was free from school work. I am not an anthletic/strong woman and it is a big project, so I took my time and worked bit by bit to get it completed. During the whole process, no big machines were used. All the materials are easy to carry and work with. If I can do it, you can too.

Garden Tour: https://youtu.be/zn45nAyzL7E

• Landsacape rocks
• Pavers
• Paver Base (I used Bagged Decomposed Granite Sand)
• Retaining wall blocks
• Garden Edging
• Landscape Fabric
• Gigging Shovel
• Steel Bow Rake
• Soil Ripper
• Hand Digger and Cultivator Combo
• Garden Glove
• Steel Tamper
• leveling tools
• Japanese Weeding Sickle
• PVC Pipe Cutter
• PVC Pipe Cap
• Sprinkler Riser-Drip Conversation Kit with 25 PSI Pressure Regulator
• 1/2 in. Compression End Cap
• 1/2 In. (700 OD) Poly Drip Irrigation Tubing
• 1/4 In. Distribution Tubing
• 1/4 In. Barbed Couplings
• Different Sorts of Drippers or Micro Sprinkler on Spike
• Landscape Staples
• Concete
• Step Stone Concrete Cement mould
• Vinyl Arbor
• Plants

• I measured the landscape. The outline dimention is 33 feet by 30 feet.
• This landscape is not flat, the house side is higher than the street side. I observed the water flow direction during rain season, and found it follows the Section C area as per the design draft as attached. The water flow way (Section C) can't be blocked.
• I dentified all the spots of the original lawn sprinklers and figured out where the flower beds can possibly be to reach available sprinkles.
• I started researching about all the materials, especially their unit weight, as I can't carry materials that are too heavy.
• I wanted all the ground covers of the garden removable in case the underground pipes or electrical lines require repair or replacement. So I minimized the use of concrete/cement in this project.
• With all the criterias in mind, I drafted the initial garden outline design as attached. The plan is to use pavers to cover Section A and Section C, and rocks to cover Section B. I would build three flower beds, one in the middle and another two on both sides.
• For the three flower beds, I planned to start simultaneously.
• For the paver/rock covered areas, I planned to start from Section A, followed by Section B, and finally Section C.
• I alway cross checked three things during the design process:

1. The materials applied to ground cover: breathable and removable
2. The irrigation system: accessable to all plants and more water saving
3. Plant arrangement: the combination of trees/shrubs, perennial plants and seasonal annual flowers

• After the initial design came out, the original ground covers, including lawn and rocks, were removed and cleared by someone I hired. From there, I started to build my garden from scratch.
• I cleared the remaining lawn roots using shovel and hand digger.
• I levelled the ground using Japanese weeding sinkle. The sinkle is a light weighted and very handy tool. It helped me moving faster than expected.
• I levelled the ground not so precisely, but with only one rule: the landscape is following the water flow direction. The levelling tool helped me check and make sure the water flow will not be blocked geologically.
• I started leveling from Section A as planned, and then Section B and C.

• I planted trees and shrubs first. I also planted some perannual or annual flowers.

1. Flower Bed #1: 1 Magnolia tree, 1 Wax-leaf Privet shrub, 2 Bird of Paradise shrubs, 3 Blue point juniper trees.
2. Flower Bed #2: 1 Butterfly bush, 2 Rock Rose bushes, a few Bearded Iris baby plants, 1 Lion's Ear bush, 2 Levendar bushes, 1 Sea Lavendar bush, 1 annual flower.
3. Flower Bed #3: 1 Fruitless Olive tree, 2 African Iris bushes, 2 Bush Daisy plants,1 Sea Lavendar bush, a few yellow Canna Lily bulbs.
4. 2 Palm trees at the Design spots.
5. Extra: I found it boring in Section B, so I planted 1 Golden Sea Juniper, 6 Foxtail Fern plants and 3 Cactus plants. They are evergreen and require low/non maintainance when growing among rocks.

• I put on landscape edgings around the flower beds #2 and #3. I left flower bed #1 open as I planned to use retaining wall blocks later to form the edge.
• Meanwhile, I started set up the irrigation system for the three flower beds and the extra plants in Section B:

1. I put PVC pipe caps on those original lawn sprinklers which would not be used in the future.
2. The RED DOTS in the design draft indicate the original lawn sprinkler spots I would keep for new plants. I extended their related PVC pipes from underground to ground, and connect them with Sprinkler Riser-Drip Conversation Kit with 25 PSI Pressure Regulator.
3. Further connecting with 1/2 In. (700 OD) Poly Drip Irrigation Tubing, 1/4 In. Distribution Tubing1/4 In, Barbed Couplings and Different Sorts of Drippers or Micro Sprinkler on Spike, then the water is available to all the plants.
4. For the poly tubings in the flower beds, I didn't cover them with soil or mulch, so it is easy to add more drippers or mirco sprinklers later on. For the poly tubing in section B, I planned to cover it under the rock later.

• I ordered part of the heavy/big materials online as picture attached:

1. bagged landscape rocks,
2. bagged decompost granite sand,
3. retaining wall blocks,
4. bagged fast-setting concrete mix,
5. white vinyl arbor,
6. 20 ft. teak brown bend-a-board edger.

• I bought the irregular slate concrete patio stone from the store myself. The unit weight is only 10 lb, so I prefered to go and check the quality of each piece before purchasing.
• I was not be able to calculate the material consumptions accurately. For those materials which were not enough, I went to store multiple times and carried home by myself or with my daughter's help.
• During the whole process, I didn't overstock the materials, and only went to carry them home when needed.

• Build 3-layered retaining wall to form Flower Bed #1.
• Put on irregular slate concrete patio stone on Section A. I used decomposted granite as the base.
• Put on white vinyl arbor to fix the width of Section C. I followed the product instructions: dig four deep holes, insert separatly bought wood stakes into the bottom of the arbor legs, put arbor legs (connected with stakes) into the holes, level the arbor, pour concrete into the holes and water the concrete multiple times until they become compacted.
• Planted climing roses on both sides of the arbor: the Red and Pink Eden Climber.
• We changed some plants in Flower Bed #2 by removing rock roses and replaced them with real tree roses to create more vertical height differences.

• I used bend-a-board edgers to separate the Section B. The edger was very easy to set up. I only used a couple of stakes to get its position fixed.
• Cover the ground of Section B with landscape fabric. Leave openings to the plants and underground control stations.
• Cover the landscape rocks all over the landscape fabric. Use the bow rake to level the rocks.

• I bought a set of concrete stepping stone moulds online. My daughter helped me to pour the concrete mix into moulds. We also dyed some of them to bring more color accent to this little path.
• The same as Section A, I used granite sand as the base and covered with the same paver stone. There are a lot of curved/irregular shapes in Section C, I simply dissembled the slated paver stone and reorganized them to fit into the shapes. No stone cutting machine required.

It took me three years to complete this garden project. I worked very hard during the process. I'm happy with the final result, so are my neighbors. I've received a lot of complement from them. As it is so easy to access the irrigation system, I can't help planting more and more flowers in both grounds and pots. With the pavers on, it is weed-proof and also easy to clear up. With the breathable garden ground, it absorbs most water during the rain season. The drip irrigation system saves more water than the previous lawn sprinkler system. I'm enjoying both the cost saving benefit and beauty my garden brings to me.