QuestionI am helping a friend with a 5 ft x 10 ft space that has the following problems:
1. My friend is lazy and doesn't want to work in the yard
2. The soil is not soil, but sand
3. She has no money to invest in the sand
4. The area is full of "nut grass" weed
5. The area is located in the sun, so it bakes all day long
6. She doesn't want to spend the money to water the sand
What do I tell her to plant? Besides concrete
Thanks for your help
AnswerPhil,
No big deal on the weeds.You just need a weed block fabric or plastic,always use black.You need some huge bags of potting soil and mulch from a garden center or nursery.Lowes carries huge bags of both.You also need metal garden staples to hold down your weed blocker material.I use black plastic,which comes in rolls and is very CHEAP.$4 per roll will be all you will need for your 5 X 10 bed.
Don't rush into anything.Preparing the bed is THE most important thing.
Get a soaker hose so you will not ever have to water by hand,you just hook the soaker up to a regular garden hose.Wind it through the plants and cover with mulch.This is a HUGE time and money saver.You just barely turn on your faucet and let it soak all day. This is the last step though.
It is crucial when making a low maintenance flower bed that you choose the right plants.But I don't know your area so you can email that info before I can give you a list of the best plants for your area.
There will always be SOME cost to any endeavor,but I know the cost of supplies and I can tell you right now it will probably cost around $100 counting plants.Low maintenance perennials are not cheap but in the long run they are well worth it because they multiply and make more plants.That is as cheap as you are going get probably.Just email me back with your climate info if you want.
