Weddingbee boards

Hi ladies, anyone here got any experience with landscaping and gardening? I have questions for you!

Mr. Mary Jane's and my new house came with a rather neglected yard. Someone had good intentions... but it was let go and has obviously been that way for several seasons. Obv. we want to spruce it up!

What we have to work with:

--several little areas that have black tarp, covered by some dirt (pretty shallow; i can see the tarp poking through in some places). On top of the dirt is pebbles, and in some places there is coarse wooden mulching on top of the pebbles.  There are several dead and dried out bushes in these beds, as well as some overgrown greenery (and a crumbling birdbath in one). 

What I'd like to restore it to:

--Well, we're dumping the bird bath and we'd like the pebbles and mulch gone too. Mulch blows away like crazy here (and gets stuck in the mower) and pebbles... I just don't like them.  We'll probably rip up the plastic and till under/plant grass in some of the beds, which are in just plain odd locations.

--But for the rest of the beds (mostly surrounding the house, but there's one fair-sized roundy one in the front yard too) I'd like to plant some attractive annuals and perennials. 

A pro landscaper isn't in our budget at all. So my biggest question is: HOW? Do i need that black plastic tarping stuff? What's it for? Seems like it'd hinder the roots. 

Also, there is a window box which right now is full of dirt and dead plants from last year.  I'd take it down, but it's affixed to the house pretty solidly. How would you deal with that? I'd love to put flowers in it. But what about drainage and all that?

And lastly... I'd like to have a garden for veggies, herbs etc. Do I just tear up a bunch of ground for that? Or do I need the black plastic/etc? I'm such a N00b! Any advice or links you may have is much appreciated. ;)

Hi Miss Mary Jane! Well, I'm in Florida, so totally different weather than you, but I'll help you with what I can.

Some of the best ways to learn what you want to plant is to talk to your master gardener. Just about every city/county has one, and they can really help out. Another way is to establish a relationship with a local nursery. They can absolutely steer you in the right direction. I like to drive around and find houses with landscaping I like and then figure out what they planted. This has really helped me in the past. For example; I've been loving this plant at a dentist's office near our house for the past 2 years, and just found out what it was. Needless to say, I had my very own about a week later (it was an oak leaf hydrangea, btw).  

Even just visiting nurseries can give you ideas of what you like and what you don't.

Once you find out what to plant, make up a plan for the beds. Professionals will go into full detail on this plan, but I basically just doodle one up. You can use graph paper to help you out if you care enough (I never do!). Just remember to take into account how tall each bush or plant can get before you plant it! The tallest go in the back, and the shortest up front. It doesn't have to be perfect! Most professionals use stakes and twine to get perfect lines, but I like to wing it. I like a little chaos in my planting :).

Once you have a plan, it is time to plant. Don't underestimate how long it can take to get stuff in the ground. You might be suprised!

Basically, to start your landscaping, you should clean everything out of the bed, tarp included, and give it a nice tilling. You can just use a hoe if you want and when you're done it should be good clean dirt. This is when you can decide whether or not to put down that black fabric. I'm not sure about how weeds are up North, but down here they are crazy...I really wish we had put it down before we did our planting. Just lay it down over the soil. You then just cut an X through it with a knife to dig the hole and put your plant in. Again, you don't have to use the fabric, it can just help with weeds. It is really up to you. If you do put it down, though, you will need mulch to keep it down, and because it is pretty ugly.

After you get your plants in, make sure to pretty much soak them every day for the next week. They have been shocked from the move and need the water! You said that mulch pretty much blows away there, but have you tried pine bark mulch? Its rather large and heavy, but still helps keep weeds at bay, as well as keeps the soil much more moist; as do all mulches.

On to the next question...The flower box on the house just needs to be cleaned out. Load it up with new soil (you can put a layer of rock on the bottom for drainage if you want), and throw in some flowers. Super easy!

For a garden, the easiest thing to do is to build a box (pioneer woman has a great tutorial http://thepioneerwoman.com/homeandgarden/2009/02/build-your-own-raised-flowervegetable-bed/ ).

This usually means less weeds, and better drainage. It is the best idea for just a small simple garden. Just fill it up with some dirt from your yard if you can spare it, or buy some from Lowes. It doesn't need to be too fancy. From there, you just start throwing plants in, making sure they all have enough space and sunlight. Keep them watered and throw some cow poop in for best results. Are there even cows where you are? Steal it from your neighbors..they won't mind!

About the garden and the black plastic...my grandmother SWEARS that you should not use the plastic in the garden. I can't even remember her reasoning, but I'm not going against her mad gardening skills!

Hope that helps some!!

Ladies, thanks a ton for your advice!!!  I love those raised beds too :) Regarding weeds... hummmm, this is a tough one. Nope, our weeds aren't as bad as FL's... but we do have 'em. I bet our tarp is decades old and not doing its job anymore though!

The issue with Mulch is that it blows away. A typical day here has wind 15-25 mph, and frequently we have days with wind 20-35 mph. Several days/year, our winds are in the 30-55 mph range for gusts. Perhaps that's why one of the previous owners used pebbles!

 But seriously thanks a bunch for your tips! I can't wait to get started!

(And yeah, we have cows around here! Mr. MJ's family even has some. I dunno how much i want to take their poop home with me... but it's available to us i'm sure! )