Here is another question with regards to the flower beds right in
front of my house. Each is about 15 feet long and 5 feet wide. You
could tell the previous ower didn't take care of it very well for the
past years.
1. There are some short evergreen bush stuff. But they don't look
very healthy and grow out of shape. I was thinking about trimming
them. But sine I don't like the looks anyway so I want to replace them
with some modern plants. So shall I simply dig them out and replace
with new plants? I want the new plants easy to be taken care of and
stay green in the winter time, hopefully some stuff I could buy from
homedepot or lowes, any suggestion?
2. There are some vines crawling on the ground of the flower beds.
They look very messy I definitely will get rid of them. I would assume
I could this simply pulling them out, right?
3. Do you think it's a good idea to mulch the flower beds? If so what
should I do?
Gosh, you could tell i'm a nervous first time home owner. Any
suggestion appreciated. Thanks!

NetComm888 wrote:
...1. There are some short evergreen bush stuff. But they don't look
very healthy and grow out of shape. I was thinking about trimming
them. But sine I don't like the looks anyway so I want to replace them
with some modern plants. So shall I simply dig them out and replace
with new plants?..


If you replace the shrubs with other shrubs be sure to leave enough room
between the shrub (as it will be when fully grown) and the house
foundation. This will allow you to get behind the shrubs to keep them
trimmed and to get at the house for repair, painting, etc.



2. There are some vines crawling on the ground of the flower beds.
They look very messy I definitely will get rid of them. I would assume
I could this simply pulling them out, right?...


If the vines are on the surface it's probably OK to pull them out.
Poison ivy vines grow underground. In any case, gloves help. If you
suspect poison ivy is present, invest in some prevention before getting
into it. TecNu is a PI treatment which is used by foresters and linemen
who come in contact with PI regularly. I use yellow soap (e.g. Fels
Naptha). Lather the soap up on your arms and let it dry there. Then pull
the vines. Then wash it all off.

If you use gloves on poison ivy, paint the backs red so you can tell
which gloves you used and you can take care handling them in the future.
The paint will wear off the palms.


3. Do you think it's a good idea to mulch the flower beds? If so what
should I do?...

Mulch has advantages for flower beds, but it's not necessary. Mulch will
reduce weeding requirements and will hold moisture. It will eventually
decompose (since it's organic material) and will need to be replenished.
If you want to know how useful it is, mulch one and not the other.