If, when you're reflecting on your garden, you begin to remember the hours spent mowing, fertilizing, weeding, and watering your lawn, and wish that was time spent elsewhere, it's time to create more bed space by eliminating parts of the lawn.

This will not only provide a more interesting garden to show off to friends and neighbors, it's also an excellent way to save money and reduce the use of some of the earth's natural resources: water and fuel. Also, by creating a lower maintenance garden space you're reducing the need for herbicides and fertilizers, since most perennials and shrubs don't require either.

So, get out the shovels and sod cutters and start removing that unwanted lawn. Once the sod is removed, backfill the area with soil and compost, then top it off with leaf mulch, which will not only add to the soil's rich composition, but also keep the weeds down until you're ready to plant.