Well you remove the stuff you don’t want and carefully lift the stuff you want to keep then till the soil add some new soild with what ever additional materials are needed after you have the soil tested. Then plant whatever works in your area, easy to find out at the garden center.. You can leave the small trees in place , make sure you get all the roots from the plants you don’t want . It is a big job but will be worth it. If you really want to go crazy you can do what is called double digging and there are directions on google.

You can test the soil any time you want, plants or no plants. But get a professional soil test done if you think you need one - home test kits are highly inaccurate and just a waste of money.

Tilling is not a great idea. It alters soil structure and messes up soil biology. It will also rip up the roots of any trees in the vicinity. It is completely typical to add amendments, usually compost or some other organic matter, as a mulch or topdressing to improve soil quality and fertility. No digging or tilling required and existing plants do not even need to be removed unless they are no longer desired.

why do you need new soil ... is it sunken?

and its a common misconception .. in the garden.. compared to a farm production field ... that the soil need nutrients replaced ....

a little fert ... now and then never hurt anything ... but it is rare that most soil lack fertility.. to the point of needing major fert'ing ...

they are plants.. not children.. they dont need to be fed ... build the soil.. and they will follow ....

a soil test will tell you what AMENDMENTS might help balance your soil ... where deficiencies are affecting nutrient uptake ...

i await the pix.. to get a better flavor of whats going on ...

think of it this way.. if the soil was severely lacking.. you probably wouldnt have that jungle you now need to remove ... lol ...

the best way to do it.. is to build the soil thru compost and mulches .... and create a good friable [fluffy] soil ... over the years .. its not an instant gratification thing ... but it could be.. if you have the checkbook ...

pix plz

ken

ps: the fast answer ... before pix.. get out all the stuff you dont want... and then half the stuff you are on the fence about.. fill the holes with a good soil that is close to what is there ... and then put down a good cover of mulch ... and then start planting ... buy whatever pleases you ... and when it grows better than you expect.. move them ... gardening is not like interior design.. where you make it and live with it for 5 or 10 years.. a garden evolves ... its part of what turns your thumbs green ..

PPS: IF YOU ARE NEW TO THE PROPERTY.. HAVE ALL THE UTILITIES MARKED.. AND TAKE PIX.. AND DONT MAKE BIGGER PROBLEMS FOR YOURSELF ...

No need to dig up existing plants, you can top dress with compost. If you are planning a full overhaul, a landscape designer is probably the best way to go. We completely redid our plantings, but there was, and is a lot of trial and error. Imo, most perennials dont offer year round color.

If you just moved in, give it some time to see what the plants do, maybe some pruning in the interim will help? If you post pictures, you may get some more specific feedback.

Hi Ruchi, the Chicago Botanic Garden recommends that your soil composition should be 45% soil aggregates like clay, silt, or sand + 5% humus/organic matter + 25% water + 25% air.

Here is a link to our helpful blog article on good garden practices, soil amendments and bed preparation: Make your bed! What is your soil made of?.

Continually monitor the elements of the soil structure you are building and make sure that you are not just adding chemicals to the beds expecting results, but giving the soil the air, water and life it needs to allow the plants to grow in the most important place of all, below the surface. Good luck with your project!

What kind and how old are the overgrown shrubs and other big plants? If they are junipers planted in the 1950's and mostly ignored since then, then you may want to machine-dig then amend the bed considerably once the shrubs have been removed and the roots ground up or dug out.

Sharing pictures now.
Thanks everyone for your advice. Please take a look at my entrance area.
Some overgrown, not so healthy bushes, not much color or interesting plants.
I might be able to uproot some of these like lavender, bird of paradise, Mexican sage to different parts of the yard.

It looks as if most of the plants have been clipped into blobs rather than being appropriately maintained. Consequently things have got gangly. Several of your plants could be rejuvenated simply by cutting them down to the ground.

floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK

You are so right, what to do about the soil? I can cut them back
, but the reason I feel these do t flower as much because the soil
Is no good.

Why do you think the soil is no good? The plants shown are a hodgepodge of things that are growing well, some of which bloom all summer if watered. If you want them to bloom just as they are (without rearranging them), add a vast amount of compost (4 to 6 inches deep) and a balanced fertilizer with no heavy metals such as GroPower Plus. Water well, keep watering, and wait six weeks. Fall is the time to transplant, once it has cooled off and started raining again.

Soil tests are offered by various labs. Check yelp for your area.

A few tips that have not been mentioned....in California it's more useful to indicate your Sunset growing zone. The Sunset zones are more accurate than the USDA zones in the western US. If you don't already have it, I recommend purchasing the Sunset Western Garden Book.

Regarding your soil, as others have indicated a professional soil test is useful. Your local cooperative extension office can direct you on how to do this. Finally, you might want to check out this useful resource on California soil.

Mostly it looks like you've got too many plants for the space, which have been badly pruned. The lavender and sage could be moved this winter; if you leave them and do rejuvenation pruning something else will need to come out. I'd also check your watering schedule. In my garden consulting I find that overwatering is a common mistake.

What do you think is wrong with the soil? All your plants appear to be growing fine. They've just not been maintained. Personally I don't like seeing any soil visible in a bed so to me it doesn't look crowded, just unkempt. Nor does it look overwatered.

Is your front door just to the left of this bed?

One problem I see is a hidden window.

Do you know the name of the other plants? I can see the Lavender and Mexican Sage and

Bird of Paradise.

I would relocate most of them. I don't think the built on brick planter is meant for tall shrubs or anything tall. I like shorter plants and trailing plants in them.

I also think shorter plants would be best close to the pavement.

I would look for a low water ground cover plant for most of that bed.

I don't know why you think you need to add soil. There does not seem to be enough room for more.

I am in zone 9 California but my soil may be different from yours.

Almost any soil can be fixed, if there is actually anything wrong with it in the first place. Much easier than remove/replace. Work with what you have. Get a soil test for major nutrients (P,K, Ca, Mg etc.), micros if you want, pH, organic carbon. That will tell you a lot.

Second the advice to amend soil using mulches, which the soil food web will incorporate. Compost first, then mulch on top, hopefully degradable mulch like wood chips and not bark chunks, cedar, gravel etc. You'll have to replace it every year or two but it will feed the soil.

Hi emmarene9
Thanks for your reply, pictures.
Love your ideas! Your planters are beautiful. I was thinking of moving bird of paradise, lavender, Mexican sage to other parts of the garden. Getting rid of the hedge looking 2 plants in the front.
Thinking of purple, lavender plants in this section. Live in Northern California Zone 9 B.
Might post another close picture from a different angel.
Thanks again

Hi toxcrusadr

Good tips for amending the soil. Where should I take it for testing? Can I do it myself?

Home test kits are not very reliable. No idea where you are, but if in the US and you have a County Ag Extension service, ask them whether they do testing or if not, where to find a lab. Ours uses the lab at our large public university, which has an Ag school. I just take samples directly to the university lab and skip the middleman.