Removing the old plantings was a long, tiring and dirty process. It was also a little scary because it meant committing to a new plan which I had neither fully defined nor had the materials to immediately implement. Once the plants were pulled there would be no going back.
Before: A dense 6 foot wide, 30 foot long hedge dominated the West side of our property and stiff thorny plant were jammed against the house. While not a completely unattractive front yard it was neither remarkable or useful.
I started by trimming the shrubs against the front of the house from behind, thinning them and leaving barely a screen of shrubbery facing the street until the final cut. This was a do-it-myself project which took place over months, quickly filling the green waste container each week. Given the long stretch of time this process took, trimming from behind kept the front of the house looking relatively unchanged until that final cut.
Cutting the hedge took a long time even with good equipment. The cuttings quickly became a very high and unsightly pile in the front yard. A benefit of doing such a big project in the front yard, and one which was taking months, was that the neighbors kept dropping by to see the progress. This has given us a chance to meet and become better acquainted with our neighbors and affirm that our front yard patio idea, where people can come and hang out with us is exactly what we want to promote.
Given the massive amount of cut material piled in the front yard I rented a chipper/shredder to make quick work of the mess. Neighbors Lindsay, Libby and Matt generously offered time, equipment, and muscle to help pull out the roots and shred everything. There was an unbelievable amount of shredded material that our next door neighbor was happy to take for their planters…and I was more than happy to provide because I would not need to pay to haul it away or spend weeks filling the green waste containers.
We took the chipper/shredder to Libby’s and Lindsay’s house and shredded trimmings from their front yard. Their shredded material was bagged and collected by a farmer friend who wanted compost material.
By the end of our shredding extravaganza we were very tired and extremely dirty – but happy for having worked together and accomplished so much. Thank Goodness for friends and good neighbors!
The result: When everything was removed our yard became an open canvas. Views of and from the house immediately changed, fueling ideas for the hardscape and new plantings. I wouldn’t say the new condition was beautiful; it certainly looked bare and revealed the paint and stucco work that really needs to be done. But there was no going back now! I just had to figure out what going forward looked like.
Inspiring Others
Neighbor Jim is inspired to make changes to his landscape and is ripping out his hedge.
