From Bare Yard to Flowery Garden

Flushed with that success, Susan decided to surround the patio with a flower bed 3 feet wide. "Oh, my gosh!" she recalls thinking as she watched the blooming coneflowers grow. Gardening was so satisfying that she decided to convert another patch of lawn into a flower bed. Then another patch, and another, adding decorative flea-market finds as she collected them.

Shown: Sun-loving perennials surround the flagstone patio; a remaining patch of lawn in back is ringed with shrubs and trees. Creating different garden areas makes the 1-acre yard seem even larger than it is.