Advice from the Owner

It's all about the soil. Waterwise typically can thrive in our very clay/sandy soil, but I found that augmentation with a mix of potting soil and top soil is key - about 1/3 of that with the clay soil you have. I also fertilize with Dr. Earth organic all purpose fertilizer (you mix it as a tea and let it sit for a day or two, then apply) about every three months. Always fertilize at the base of the plant, don't spray the blooms, as it will harm the pollinators.

Advice from the Owner

Typically new plants do not really take off until the third year. A gardener friend told me this when I put in my garden in a box. That seemed to be true.

The soil here is definitely clay like. Before I planted in my little plot, I amended the soil with sand, perlite or vermiculite, peat or sphagnum moss. This help to break up the existing soil and makes for better drainage.

Advice from the Owner

We love the 2nd year leap our native plants! They provide so much beauty for everyone who walks by our house. We combined 2 different garden in the boxes and had a different shaped area than their design and it still turned out great! We tilled the areas, laid down craft paper and a lot of mulch and it’s kept the weeds back pretty well with a weekly plucking!

Advice from the Owner

I'm thrilled to not have any grass! Not only will it save water, but so much of my time fertilizing, weeding, aerating, mowing, and fretting. The conversion has been a big project, but I know that in the future it will be so much easier to maintain and with less water usage. I'm so glad I did it!

Advice from the Owner

I can't wait to see what this garden looks like in a couple of years. It's already a great improvement over this stubborn water-hungry section of lawn I battled to keep alive each year.

The lawn removal folks were super efficient and professional, the plants were healthy and bigger than I expected.

I chose to till the area before planting, that was a big job but made the planting much easier.

Advice from the Owner

Three years ago we purchased two Garden In A Box varieties. The first photo is when we were laying out the plan, based on suggestions from Garden In A Box. The second photo shows the same garden 3 years later! We couldn't be happier.

Advice from the Owner

I love how many birds, bees, butterflies, and bugs we see on a daily basis. It feels alive!

Watch the interview with Theresa

Advice from the Owner

I love that my new landscape is diverse and colorful. Bees, butterflies and birds come to visit, collect nectar and pollinate. I have plants that flower at different times in the season offering a changing landscape. Converting my sprinkler system to a drip system was easy enough. I enjoy not having to mow or weed too much now. I really just like how organic and natural it all looks and am so glad I did the work to get rid of my turf.

Watch the interview with Emily