I don't want to post too many pictures of the house (somehow it creeps me out a little). Here is one for you to get an idea of the style of landscaping that we have.

Your beds look pretty full....and you are using that much mulch? How thick are you putting it down?

Replacing the mulched beds with grass may save on the cost of mulch, but you will have more grass to maintain, and a lot of edging to do. It is so nice looking as it is, I would do what I can to maintain it as is. Al

Yes, it's lovely...would be a shame to destroy the beautiful plantings.
I would tend to say that lawn up to the house, would be as much or more effort to maintain. As your beds are established, they shouldn't require too much care.

Your yard is beautiful as it is. As mentioned above, more grass requires even more maintenance.

You can use shredded leaves to mulch your garden instead of store bought mulch. Start making your own compost as well. Visit the Soil, Compost and Mulch forum to get an idea on how to start. You have a huge yard. There is plenty of room for a compost pile.

Good luck and happy mulching & composting.

I appreciate the feedback and the compliments. Perhaps it's not well-evidenced in the picture, but our property is enormous as are our beds.

We spread mulch in sections to avoid having to spread it in all areas every year. We put it down about 1.5-2" thick. In known trouble spots we use a heavier hand in an attempt to smother weeds.

Unfortunately we don't have any leafy trees so we don't have leaves as a 'free' option for mulch. I suppose we could use grass clippings but I don't like the look.

To be clear, we wouldn't just demolish our plants. We would donate them to friends/family/our local extension agency for their plant sale.

Again, the question is how to simplify???

This post was edited by BlueBirdPeony on Thu, Aug 28, 14 at 11:11

Here is another small snapshot that shows the depths of one of the SHALLOWER beds. I would say that most of the beds are three to four times this deep.

This bed in particular is about 6 feet deep from front to back next to the pine tree. It would be nice to make it more shallow but I don't see how with the pine tree being there?

Another issue is that with everything being so densely planted it takes forever to spread the mulch. Have to tread very lightly and really can't take a barrow into any of the beds. Densely planted plants also means more trimming and maintenance.

I don't want to live in the desert, but I would like to reduce the maintenance. Anyone have any thoughts?

This post was edited by BlueBirdPeony on Thu, Aug 28, 14 at 11:16

You may want to go to the landscape design forum. They will help you with overall layout.

The only way I see it is to remove everything except what's right up against the house. That certainly would make it easier for you. Lots of work to do, but nice and simple in the end....with relaxing peace of mind :)

Insufficient data. I'm not sure what the letters in the diagrams signify. Based purely on the photos, the mulched beds don't seem huge...but obviously we aren't seeing everything.

If mulch is the problem, have you considered ground covers? What about putting in trees? There is a theory larger/slower growing plants are less work, and you could use the leaves as mulch.

Keep the bigger/older plants. They would take longer to replace if you change your mind down the road, and are harder to transplant.

The bulbs could come up through lawn.

In my mind, grass is easier to maintain because you can hire mow & blow guys to cut it. Perennials need to be tended by a skilled gardener. Perhaps you could remove many of the perennials (rehome them) and replace them with shrubs. My termite man scolded me years ago about using bark mulch and I'm not allowed to have any around my house. Think about which perennials are your favorites and which you could live without.

I hear you Bluebird.

I am in the same boat, but it is a problem of my own, over-ambitious making. My solutions are:

- remove perennials and replace with shrubs.
- add cardboard or even landscape fabric under the mulch in areas that have no plants (such as under a tree's dripline). I know people tend to hate landscape fabric, but I use it in this context and it is helpful.
- hire out the drudge work to high school kids.
- If you are finding yourself replacing mulch often, consider the larger-sized bark nuggets. Those last longer for sure.

Good luck!

I agree that we are going to need a LOT more information to give any real help. For example, in the last picture are there things that come up later growing behind the 'A'? That's a lot of bare ground that should probably be planted with something. Then what happens to the right of the 'B'? If it just fades away into perennials, it might be removable.

From the plan, I can see beds I'd either remove or make smaller, but without pictures, I don't know if they are reasonable to remove. I also don't understand the retaining walls. There is one behind the 'K'? That's a bed I'd remove to allow access to the lawn from the patio, but not if there is a retaining wall blocking the access.

Thanks, guys. I think of grass as being lower maintenance because I can ride and mulch most of it and then push and bag the rest. It's also certainly cheaper.

A lot of this for me will come down to making sure that all of the plants that I remove will find good homes. I don't like to waste anything.

I'm hoping that I can just make some of the beds more narrow (less deep). Given some of the larger tree and shrub placements it may be hard.

The letters in the pictures correspond with the drawing. They are to give you an idea where around the house these beds are. I have no idea if it matters. I just thought it might be helpful.

I think your diagram is very clear, but it would be hard for me to make a specific recommendation without seeing what's planted in each bed.

However, here's how I would approach the matter:

A few years ago, I did something similar - eliminated a lot of beds in my yard. Basically, my entire yard was garden and there were sections I just didn't enjoy taking care of for a variety of reasons, so those were the areas I got rid of.

I don't think there's a right or wrong way to go about this. First I would plan on the elimination process to be a multiple year process. Even with the help of friends, digging out plants and converting beds to yard is a lot of work. Really - it is!

Take a look at your diagram and pick your least favorite sections. Maybe because of what's planted there or maybe some sections are harder to maintain or whatever. Identify those and take 'em out. Then evaluate what you did. Move on to your next least favorite areas. Repeat as needed.

My initial thought was to leave the front yard as is just because I bet it's stunning, but maybe you have other thoughts. Start small and go from there.

Kevin

One thing that might make mulching faster is to do it in really early spring when most perennial plants and the bulbs are dormant. That way you don't have to go around so many plants and it will be faster.

To reduce the garden in a way that would not look awkward (often shallow beds with a large building have the effect of a tutu on an elephant) you really need someone on site or else try the landscape design forum with really complete photos and your plan with woody plants labeled at the very least. I might look in the phone book and check with various friends and neighbors to see if there's a garden coach or designer that you could hire for a few hours to help you plan the garden reduction.

Information to think about:
What is your goal as far as the landscape, besides smaller beds? ("curb appeal", blocking certain views from inside or outside the house, play space, etc)
Do you use the patio or the various walkways? If so, keeping the landscaping there might be a priority.
Are any of the beds difficult to mow around or do any interfere with the way you would like to be able to move around the yard? If so, they might be prime for removal or at least reshaping.
Are there any plants that have grown too large for their spaces and are damaging the house, blocking the walkway or other needed access points?

In general, I would try to keep the shrubs and small trees since they help bring the house into scale with its surroundings and are the easiest plants to maintain.

I am the opposite, constantly expanding my beds. I think the advice to approach one section at a time is good. Any bed that you want to minimize, but there is a tree or something large, that you want to keep, well just create curve from the tree back to the depth you want. That area labeled A above, though, I would not make smaller because it nicely connects the too projecting corners and will just be awkward to get into to seed, weed, and mow. Some of the others can be shortened or narrowed, it will take time and money -- to pull out the mulch, plants, add some lawn soil, seed, water etc. I really don't know if you will be saving all that much effort from your yearly mulching unless you remove a substantial amount of the beds -- and maybe that is what you want to do. Just don't leave the place looking naked, as the "no landscaping" look tends to do!

To reduce mulching for weed control, pull out existing mulch, put down cardboard or a thick layer of newspaper, then re-cover with mulch or stone.

To save money you can make an arrangement with a local tree service to have them bring you a truckload of their chipped wood. It won't be as uniform in size, or dyed black, but for a large area is quite acceptable.

I have Dalmation campanula, plumbago, and Waterperry blue veronica as low mat-forming ground cover in some of my beds under the roses and some flowers so I don't need to replace mulch for looks there.

Your plants are at that awkward stage of being too sparse to leave unmulched (weed sprout problem) and too dense to work around easily.

I'd plant more in the beds, especially at the front of the beds, to fill in and block weeds. Short, spreading tough perennials and ground covers like creeping thyme.

Simplify: remove all the underperformers and "meh" plants. Select the very best and favorite of your plants, and plant more of those in the spots where you removed the underperformers.

There's a lot of wisdom in these posts....I hope the OP winnows through it and finds some of it to their use.
Hee, in all fairness, if you post on the Perennials forum, we're gonna post for the plants. If you post on the lawn forums, they may well say, remove that sxxx and mow more beautiful grass.

HAHAHA, DBarron that made me laugh.

Wonderful words of wisdom, all. Particularly thank you to Babs, Kevin, Rae and Lazy. Maybe a better approach is to show you small sections and see what you think could be done.

I really agree with Lazy re: plants are at an awkward stage.

I also didn't think about how hard it would be to grass in some of the beds and then reshape them. The shredded tree thing is genius too!

I'll do another post this weekend with some more close ups.

Thank you all and keep the ideas coming!

My next door neighbors got tired of mulching all around the house every year and they replaced some of the mulched area with largish, brown-red stones - NOT lava rock. They even look like chunky pine bark mulch from a distance. Other parts of the beds, they still mulch, but have cut way down a lot in what they have to do every spring.

I was skeptical about using the rocks but I have to admit that they really do look good. I was concerned that the plants would suffer from not having mulch over the root systems and the loss of nutrients from mulch disintegrating constantly, but the plants have not suffered at all and they really seem happy.

Regardless of what you do, it will be easier to do it early in the spring, while the plants are short and just coming up. I know what I say here. We never seem to get all the mulching done before the plants grow tall and fill in the areas and that really makes it a pain to mulch.

Linda

Yes of course it can be done. I think you should start in the front. Most of D C and E can be lawn. Will you recognize all the plants? I think you will have difficulty when deciding what to keep and what to dispose of. I would not delay until spring. This job will take many seasons to do.

Bluebird, I've seen many of your posts over the months and you've made a great effort in identifying plants, giving a shot at caring for them, and asking for advice, but in the end it's your house and if it's not something you want or are happy with, don't feel at all bad about getting rid of it. I wouldn't even feel bad about trashing plants. Offer them, if there are no takers.... toss 'em.

As Kevin already said, if there are areas you don't like eliminate them first. If it's in the back just take a spin over them with the lawnmower to start and if you need to level it for grass, deal with that later. Running over unwanted plants with a riding mower is a very satisfying way to start, in fact I sometimes do that for fall cleanup!

I wouldn't downsize beds, it's more work and you'll have to move plants, re edge, and it may throw off the scale of plants in the bed. Either eliminate or keep.

Don't waste time on the fussy stuff like weeding a million weeds out of a groundcover. By now you should know what is a pain and what's less trouble. Get rid of the pains.... but try to keep the shrubs and trees, even if they look 'lost' after all the plantings around them are mown, they're more money and time to replace and you may want to think that over a little more.

Once you reach a level that you can handle try to go from there with maybe more low maint. shrubs or easy care perennials. You can always put beds back.

It's your house now and although the landscaping was beautiful, do what works for you. Plant grass to your heart's content.

-but on the grass have you ever considered leaving it unmown? Who knows what wildflowers may show up, and you can always mow it in July or so to neaten it up. I cut in a few paths and the kids love to run around in there....

My gardens are much, much larger than what you have shown. As I've aged--almost 70 now--I've replaced many of the perennials with small shrubs small conifers, and small trees. Now, although the gardens are even larger than when I began the replacement, there is much less work to do. Also, I have groundcovers almost everywhere, so there is much, much less mulch to spread. I use various groundcover thymes, Geraniums macrorhizum and 'Biokovo' and 'Karmina', Rubus calycinoides, etc.

Quite frankly, the biggest work of the year is edging the beds in spring, something I do only then. I do hire help for what mulch there is to spread and for other heavy work, but I also maintain myself a good sized vegetable garden, which supplies almost 100 percent of all the vegetables I eat.

While your beds are large, they could be very easily managed with some careful changes.

I've been going through the same process as the OP wants to do. Gardening was no longer fun but work. It killed me to think of giving up any of my flower beds but trust me when gardening becomes work you need to cut back. I agree with Kevin that it takes much longer to remove beds than I would ever have thought. I went out this spring all set to get it done and take my plants to the annual plant sale. I dug and potted up plants for weeks and barely made a dent in one flower bed.
I've gardened here for more than thirty years. At the beginning I was in love with daylilies and when it was time to dig and divide I'd just make another flower bed. You can't do that forever and it gets harder and harder to give them away, meaning finding someone to give them to.
I believe one medium size bed of any planting is just as pretty as ten. And throwing away a plant is not a sin. It is hard but not a sin. Working yourself to death over plantings you don't enjoy is worse. Trust me. And if you still enjoy your lush plantings then go for it. I certainly did for many years.

"I believe one medium size bed of any planting is just as pretty as ten."

I couldn't agree with this statement more.

One of my favorite parts of gardening is tweaking and puttering - you know, trying to get things as "just right" as possible. Now with fewer beds to eat up the majority of my time with basic maintenance, I can focus my attention on the aspects of gardening I really love.

I don't mind the hard work. In fact I do actually kind of love it, but I don't want to do it all the time. I have to have time for the tweaking and puttering part and not feel rushed.

I admit, with a smaller garden I also can't indulge my "collector of plants" side as much which I use to think was really important. You know: "Oh my, another beautiful plant! Must have, must have." My choices have to be more thought out. I have to constantly be evaluating what I grow and how much I really love any particular plant. But that's fine now. I've been working at decluttering my life in general, so why not apply that to my gardening life too. So far, so good.

Kevin

wow, you are one lucky girl. A) for having such a beautiful place with diverse beautifully designed plantings and b) so many very smart and helpful GW posters to help you see things in some different ways (conceptual blockbusting, I call it, after a book I read long ago.)

I found kevin and nhbabs and Cecily and karin and laceyvail's comments particularly on point. I really do think
they and others have already said all the important things.
I have just a couple of general ideas to offer:

I do think it's possible that some beds could effectively be narrowed or shortened/accordioned, eliminating some perennial stretches and moving shrubs into their places.
A bed doesn't have to be the same depth all along it; it is fine for beds to bulge out in spots to accommodate certain trees, conifers, etc. Irregularity makes for movement and flow, and keeps things from looking artificial.

If there are certain chores that are the biggest headaches, can you see your way to hiring people to do those things, be it mulch or whatever?

p.s. you mention mulching many times as a problem. would you let yourself see what a few beds look like w/ NO mulch, and a few w/ mulch just along the front of them? (I am assuming here that the mulch blends in w/ your dirt color.)
to repeat another poster: are there beds by entrances or spaces that you rarely use or see? those are the ones that are expendable of course. how long have you lived in your new place?

are you near some urban center? so often non-profit organizations look for plant donations for their properties. here in boston there is even a group of garden designers who gather donated plants to install for free for some of them. maybe you could enlist a local older scout troop or wrestling team to dig or divide some grasses and perennials for you to donate.....

BBP, many have already offered suggestions. I have one more to add. Does your city or county do green recycling? In my county, they pick up green waste and make compost and mulch. They sell this for very little. We got 10 cu yds. Total cost, including delivery was under $200, most of that the cost of the truck and delivery.

The mulch isn't fancy but we don't need fancy, just something that worked. If you lay down cardboard in areas needing mulch, topped with a few inches of mulch it would last 2 years, perhaps more if you have a few layers of cardboard.

Cheryl