Taken today: The 'After' pic, focusing on the area around the meters.

Wow that looks really nice! Your garden is pretty too.
Making your beds how far down did you dig and did you put down any kind of weed block? Also what is your edging? Thanks

I dug it all by hand. The beds were turned over about ten to twelve inches deep. One or two beds were dug about eighteen inches deep. I removed enough dirt in each bed to make room for amendments and mulch. The amendments were mixed in by hand. I didn't do it all at once. I did it a little at a time over the last two and a half years, although the majority of it was done during the first few months.

The edging is that cheap plastic stuff from Walmart. Cost about $15.00 per 40' roll. I don't recommend it, bit it does the job of keeping out weeds and defining the spaces. I also used a lot of construction string, string levels and stakes in laying out the garden. Made sure everything was properly leveled and graded for this design and the property drainage.

The only place I used any landscape cloth was under the pathways and some of the gravel I installed.

What impresses me the most is you didn't throw a bunch of money for this award-winning lay out. Just hard work, a touch of engineering and some basic material and tools.

Altogether, I've got about $1,700.00 in this front garden. About another $1,300.00 to go, I figger - mostly on boxes around the raised beds and buying more bushes and trees. Under $60.00 a month, on average.

If you think that's a lot, get an estimate on a professional installation of the same design. ;)

You've given me some idears! I have a square right out front with wheat growing. I was going to give up on that planter because of bindweed. I might not. Seriously, I'll need some round up for the weed on the fence.

It would be nicer if the plot were round. I'm assuming you cut a twine at the preferred radius, stick it in the center and rotate/mark?

Wouldn't be to hard, me thinks.

I measured everything out, including the property lines, Even drew a 'map' of the property before I started. measured and planned it all out in about two weeks.

Yeah, for the center bed and the tree beds, I used a stake and some construction string. The walkways are three feet wide. The round beds in our garden are six feet across.

I'll definitely round it when the wheat is done. If the radius is no greater than its current footage I'll just clip the corners off. Ha!

But a round patch of wheat would be cool.

Yeah. I think a round patch of wheat would look *very* cool, myself.

I will see if I can send you a deer to go with that wheat. I left Mom's about 20 min's ago and 5 were standing waving goodbye from across the yard fence.

I'd pop a tent outside. MINE, by gollies! lol