Our front yard has almost no grass except for walking strips along the sides and behind one row of bushes. Everything else is flowers, ground cover, or bushes. We love this — very little grass to mow! The center bed in particular is a riot of color in the spring; a wild tangle of brunnera, tulips, daffodils, and crocus.

It has been neglected for the last couple of years, though, and we just moved in last fall. So while it is full of good things, we are just now getting started on pruning, weeding, and gently pulling some things back into place. It’s so overgrown; who knows what our neighbors think!

We want to preserve that beautifully lush look, though.