The yard was 1.2 acres on a corner lot in Wheelersburg, just off Galena Pike. The house was a clean 1990s ranch — well-kept, well-loved — but the yard had been on autopilot for almost a decade. Patchy lawn under the maples, leggy boxwoods that had outgrown their bed, a concrete walkway with chipped edges, and bare dirt where mulch had washed away three winters ago. The homeowners had finally decided to do something about it.
The Walk-Through
We met them on a Tuesday in early April. Three things came out of the walk-through:
- They wanted curb appeal that matched the rest of the neighborhood — Wheelersburg subdivisions take their yards seriously.
- They wanted lower maintenance, not no maintenance. They were happy to deadhead and water occasionally; they were done fighting weeds in beds that had no edges.
- They wanted the front walkway replaced. The concrete had heaved and was a real trip hazard for the homeowner’s mother who visits weekly.
We sketched a plan over the next week and quoted three options: full transformation in one season, phased over two seasons, or core work only with a deferred plant phase. They picked the full transformation.
Phase 1: Bed Cuts and Soil Prep
Before any plants went in, we redefined every bed line. The original beds were sloppy — some scalloped curves, some straight, some that had crept outward 3 feet over the years. We cut new edges with a half-moon edger, mostly along straight lines and gentle curves that match the architecture of the ranch. Every bed got a 4-inch deep “spade edge” that holds mulch in and gives the lawn a clean stop-line.
Soil under the maples was poor — compacted Wheelersburg clay with very little organic matter. We worked 3 inches of compost into the top 8 inches of every bed before planting. For a property this size, that’s about 4 cubic yards of compost — one truckload from a Scioto County supplier. Total landscaping bed prep was three full days for our two-person crew.
Phase 2: Stone Borders and Walkway
The chipped concrete front walk came out in pieces — three workers, two days, one dumpster. In its place we built a paver walkway in 6×9 Belgard Cambridge cobble in a soft tan blend. Forty-two feet long, four feet wide, set on a 6-inch compacted base of crushed limestone with polymeric sand between joints. We sloped it 1.5% away from the house for drainage. Hardscaping the walkway was the single biggest line item — about 38% of the total project budget — but it’s the piece the homeowners notice every day.
For bed borders we used Pennsylvania bluestone in irregular pieces, set tight against the spade edge. The stone keeps the mulch contained, defines the bed visually, and ages gracefully — bluestone in southern Ohio gets a soft patina within two seasons that looks like it’s been there forever.
Phase 3: Plant Selection
Plants were chosen for southern Ohio’s climate (USDA zone 6b), the property’s mix of full sun and dappled shade under the maples, and the homeowners’ “occasional deadheading” maintenance level. The list:
- Anchors: Three Limelight hydrangeas in the front island bed (full sun, blooms June through hard frost).
- Mid-layer: Six Knock Out roses along the south-facing front foundation, three Endless Summer hydrangeas in the partial-shade beds, two boxwoods at the entry corners.
- Border: A continuous run of Liriope (lily turf) along the bluestone edge — green nine months of the year and bulletproof in zone 6b.
- Accent perennials: Black-eyed Susan, coneflower, and Russian sage scattered through the sun beds. Hosta and Heuchera in the shade pockets under the maples.
Total plant count was 47 individual plants. Smaller container sizes (1-gallon and 3-gallon) over the temptation of “instant impact” 7-gallon shrubs — they’ll catch up in two seasons and they cost less than half as much.
Phase 4: Mulch and Finish
Final phase was 8 cubic yards of mulch across all beds — dyed dark brown hardwood mulch laid 3 inches deep, kept 2 inches off plant stems and tree trunks. We do not pile mulch volcanoes against trunks; that practice rots the bark and looks bad. Mulch was finished off with low-voltage path lighting along the walkway: two transformer-driven LED stake lights at 12-foot intervals, plus one uplight on the maple in the front yard.
Timeline and Cost
Total project: 9 working days spread across three weeks (we paused two days for a rain delay between paver base and bedding). Budget: $11,400. The walkway was the largest single expense at $4,300. Plant material came in just over $1,800. Mulch and bed prep was about $1,200. Stone borders, $1,800. Lighting, $650. The rest was crew labor and disposal.
The Result
The yard went from “tired” to one of the best-looking corner lots on the street. The homeowners told us six weeks later that two neighbors had asked for our number. That’s the highest compliment a Wheelersburg landscaping project gets.
If your yard needs the same kind of reset — beds, borders, walkway, plants — we’d be glad to walk it with you. Free site visit, written quote, and we can phase the work over one season or two. Call (740) 357-9020.