A Lot of Bang for the Buck!

A recycled, sustainable garden with a zen feel was requested by Tia and Thai of Long Beach, Ca.

They needed a tranquil back garden to entertain, meditate and grow some veggies.The young couple’s budget was tight and the garden needed help! (see before picture below)

They have a old beautiful avocado, that they really like and prduces alot of fruit. But it is messy and hard to grow any grass under!

The fence was over run with Morning Glory– but underneath the mess there was some nice creeping fig that will eventually cover the ugly fence.

They had no area for entertaining and sitting– there was no garden —and they were worried that they might not have the budget to have a back yard garden!

Take a look at what Alford’s Engligh Gardens did for some nice people on a tight budget.

LIVING PATIO

First we broke up a old sidewalk that went nowhere at the side of the house and used the broken cement to create a living patio with irrigation and ground cover. This cuts the cost of purchasing flagstone– it really is quite attractive.

DECOMPOSED GRANITE PATIO

We used Decomposed Granite (DG) with a stablizer under the avocado – this makes a nice patio area while not harming the tree, plus easy to clean! Did I also say inexpensive to use!

VEGGIES TO GO

We bult two new raised beds for veggies and added DG to make a path for easy access. Year round veggies can be grown- Tia even invested in a seed starter to keep the garden growing.

FOCAL POINT FOR THE GARDEN!

We added a natural looking fountain in the corner With a soothing sound for a place to meditate or read.

SIMPLE GARDEN PLAN

We added some good perennial plants as base plants, that after established, will be great ‘bones’ for the garden

Both Tia and Thai are quite happy (see angies list for comments!) and in a short while the garden will fill in and give them both a place to enjoy with out crunching their pocket book—check back and see what we did to their mid century home’s front garden.

SOME PLANTS IN TIA AND THAI’S GARDEN