We’ve been digging in the yard, and my arms are sore. It’s not a dramatic before-and-after reveal — this is one of those “it’ll take years” projects — but focusing on one small area at a time helps keep the whole thing from feeling overwhelming. Last year we limbed up the magnolia, transplanted and removed a lot of bushes, and painted the front door, so it feels good to chip away at another spot. This time we tackled the sad little garden bed to the right of the front porch.

If you look closely, the right half of the bed looked like it had a rectangular brick patio embedded in it, which prevented us from planting anything there. For balance, function, and curb appeal, it had to go.

So we grabbed shovels and started digging.

The bricks weren’t mortared, so we were able to pry them up one by one. It wasn’t fast or easy — I probably carried a hundred bricks to make a neat pile next to the carport — but it felt good to start clearing space. We’ll either reuse the bricks elsewhere or give them away down the line.

While I was hauling bricks, John dug up a swath of liriope along the porch. Clara, who loves playing outside, supervised nearby with her newfound fascination: worms. She crouched down, watched them wiggle, and happily talked to them. Whenever we found one while digging we gently set it in front of her so she could study it. (Yes, we wore gloves.)

The liriope was a beast of tangled roots — a sod-like strip that came up in a clump. At one point we even uncovered what we thought was a giant worm and realized it was a tiny garden snake. It was small and harmless, but John’s surprised expression was pretty comical.

After about four hours of work, our 13-by-7-foot zone was stripped down and ready for actual plant life. The area always seems less wide in photos — likely because I’m only 5’2″ and can’t take aerial shots — but in person it felt roomy enough for a thoughtful planting plan.

We visited a few nurseries and big-box stores to find plants suited to the part-shade location, near the Otto Luykens we had planted earlier. Instead of repeating a single plant type, we fell for a feathery laceleaf maple and a compact white-flowering shrub that we’ve loved before, so we decided to mix them into this bed.

We considered red maples but worried they’d blend into the brick and some varieties would grow too large. The virdis laceleaf we chose is a dwarf, feathery green maple that will only reach about six feet tall — a size that works well for a seven-foot-deep bed and can be pruned if it gets too close to the house. We planted it nearly four feet from the house, so it has room to grow despite appearing a bit tight in pictures.

The small white shrub in the middle is a dwarf Pieris japonica variegata. It matures at roughly two feet tall and two feet wide, producing clusters of white flowers in spring and attractive foliage the rest of the year. It tolerates part shade like the maple, so they pair nicely. Both plants had a one-year nursery warranty, which gave us confidence in their initial health.

Garden rules are useful — for example, designers often suggest repeating plants in odd numbers — but our guiding principles were simple: 1) pick plants we truly love, and 2) make sure they’re right for the spot and planted with the proper spacing and sun exposure. Early in our gardening experience we bought cheap, quick-fix plants that either died or left us wishing we had invested in species we preferred. Learning from that, we now hold out for plants we’re excited about and follow the planting instructions on the tags for hole size, root handling, soil amendments, and watering.

We originally planned to add annuals in front while waiting for things to fill in, but at the nursery we found inexpensive perennials called variegated dead nettle. They stay small — about six to eight inches tall and wide — so they won’t overwhelm the bed and can be moved later if needed. Unlike annuals, these bloom each spring and summer, and they tolerate part shade, which makes them an excellent fit for the space.

Once the maple, Pieris, and dead nettle were planted and the bed was mulched to retain moisture and suppress weeds, the area already looked much better. We took a few detail photos and enjoyed the tidy, planted result.

All told, the project took roughly seven hours, done in bits while Clara played or napped. We went from a raw, brick-filled strip to a planted bed that’s not grown in yet but already far more attractive. With proper spacing and a little patience, we hope these plants will settle in and thrive for decades, rewarding the upfront effort.

The bed often looks smaller in photos than it does in real life. In reality, the plants in the back are nearly four feet from the house and the whole bed measures about 13 feet wide by seven feet deep. A tip we learned from a master gardener: place plants a bit farther from the roofline so roots don’t interfere with the foundation, runoff won’t drown the new plants, and they get some sun instead of being shaded by an overhang.

Next up is the planting bed on the other side of the porch while Clara continues to investigate the worm population. We’re also planning a deck project — we’ve called the utility service to check for underground lines and will be applying for a permit soon — plus finishing a bathroom and tackling other lingering to-dos. Spring always sparks a chain of projects, and we’re excited to keep moving. How was your weekend? We spent time with family, including Clara’s youngest cousin, and enjoyed some much-needed quality time. Plenty to be thankful for, and more updates to come.