After I completed the paver installation in 2013, it was time to finish the rest of the front landscaping.

As always, I am not a contractor; there may be better ways to do this. Also very important, call your local utilities and have them visit to do locates on the electrical, gas, communication and water lines running into the house! In Ontario, it’s free to do – you can even do it online!

Lets begin. Here is the front of our house – quite drab and plain:

Next step was to plan out the shape of the garden. I did a dry-fit with the edging pavers to make sure they would fit nicely:

I excavated the sod and began laying the edging. I used limestone screening under the pavers to provide a solid base. Everything was glued with landscaping adhesive to minimize shifting and heaving in the winter months:

Once the edging was complete, I began planting. I decided to use cedar mulch for moisture control, aesthetics, and to stop weed growth. Unfortunately, the squirrels and chipmunks love to dig into the cedar mulch, creating a big mess. Just a warning if you have them in your neighbourhood:

Finished project. I decided against the long edging near the driveway pavers – instead, I went with large river rocks:

The cost to landscape the front garden was roughly $500. The money I saved on labour was used to buy better edging pavers and more expensive trees/shrubs. It took about two weekends to complete: one weekend was spent planning, acquiring materials, and excavating, and the other was spent buying the trees/shrubs/soil/mulch and planting everything.

I am delighted with how it turned out.