The Gardeners Battle Cry..."More Garden, Less Grass"

Turning a grassy area in the fall into a new garden bed for the spring, without breaking your back!

The backyard gets lots of light both in the morning and the afternoon.

Hostas burning up in the sun, on either side of the shed.

First, I moved the Hostas from the backyard, to the  more shaded front yard. 

Cut the grass down as low as possible or...

I opted to remove the grass with a Hula or stirrup hoe.

I divided and transplant some sun loving daisies to the area. 

Next, add about 2" of top soil mixed with manure to the area,

and spread out evenly.

Repeat on the left side.  

Cover with several layers of newspaper to block out light and suppress grass and weeds.    

Cover the newspaper with additional top soil/manure.  Add compost and organic materials you have on hand (chopped leaves, kitchen scraps, grass clippings etc.).  Water well.

I opted to cover the areas with landscape fabric (because of the dogs), but straw, compost, wood chips, or even cardboard will work.

Come spring, I plan to turn this area into a herb garden!