When Micole Van Walbeek moved in, this large colonial-style house sat emptily atop an expansive, sloping front lawn. She hurried to install a curving concrete patio that spans the length of the home to create a welcoming space to greet guests. And shortly after that, the Garden Gate crew arrived on the scene with shovels and plants in hand to add a flower-filled, texture-heavy garden that nestles her home into the property and freshens up the curb appeal. To our benefit, the Garden Gate team uses this space as a test garden, where we shoot photos and videos, trial projects, test out maintenance tips and play with garden design. Barely three years from conception, and we can already tell: We’re well on our way to acing this test.
But not without plenty of preparation, that is. The first step for this zone 5 Iowa garden was to outline the shape of the roughly 48-by-13-foot bed and then call in some manpower. We hired a crew to cut the edging and churn in 3 cubic yards of fresh compost. Loose, humusy,
