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@Pavelow16478 I think you might be really happy with a selection of the newer cultivars of hydrangea for that location. They've come a long way in the last few years, and the old fashioned "snowball bush" has been much improved. The ones we are used to from childhood grew narrow and tall, were skinny and often bare at the bottom and poofed out and hung over at the top. That's changed. Some hydrangea varieties Be sure to check the mature height of the cultivar you are considering. And buy from a reputable nursery so you're getting what you mean to get. At walmart or sometimes even at Lowe's, you'll end up with NOT what the tag says you're getting an awful lot of the time. Also pay attention to the notes on the cultivars and make sure you get one that can take full sun (as that looks like it gets a whole lot of sun up against that wall). There are now varieties that can take the heat as well as ones that do better in light shade. A row of four or five of those along the foundation--choose a variety that tops out at about four feet or so--with something else at the corners would provide long-lasting bloom all through the summer, with the dried heads creating nice interest in autumn and early winter. Lot of folks take a scorched earth policy in the fall, clearing anything dried, but that's a mistake from a landscaper's perspective. The best trees and shrubs for the landscape work hard, providing attractive interest in the landscape for more than one season. Hydrangeas are beautiful in the warm months, but don't underestimate how nice those puffy, dried blooms can make the side of the house look after peak season. There are a couple of interesting opportunities at the corners. One of the dwarf varieties of evergreen that has a "droopy" quality would make a really nice contrast to the upright stems of a deciduous shrub like hydrangea--or another upright deciduous shrub if you don't like those. This slide show highlights some really nice images of evergreens most people don't think of I personally like Oakleaf Hydrangea at the corners of buildings, because it's a broad, spreading bush, with pretty blooms in the summer and nice peely bark in the winter, but I find a lot of folks don't like it because it's not "a neat tight ball of a bush" and in particular in the winter, some folks have trouble seeing those stems and thinking of anything but "I need to cut that down." That's because they think of winter interest as a gumball of evergreen foliage. The BEST winter landscaping includes both--the attractive bare branches of trees and shrubs mixed in with the evergreens. So another idea would be to do a layered effect. You could put two or three red twig dogwoods in sort of a triangle up against that wall, then choose a dwarf hydrangea or two in front/sides of those, with the evergreens at the corners. You could also change it up. The evergreen in the middle (as it's likely to be the most expensive of the shrubs you will purchase) then a red twig to either side of it, and come out in a semi-circle with hydrangea, then another spreading evergreen on the outside edge. If you like any of these ideas, I can draw up a diagram for you pretty easily, taking into account size and shape of the plants you're considering. If you were to use the semicircle, you could do stepping stones around the outer border of it from the driveway in front to the patio in back, so when you're having outdoor gatherings, folks can come around the pretty shrub bed to the back of the house. ETA: Even BETTER than one semicircle, you can do two overlapping since your window is in the middle. One taller shrub on each side of the window, then a couple of semicircles--one surrounding each shrub. I've installed that "double half circle" against walls in some very nice home projects, and it always gets good reviews. View Quote I need to get a few more pics up and see what you think. We are planning on tearing out the gravel sidewalks next year and laying a creek rock sidewalk. |
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https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/146744/Screenshot_20170909-123204-303019.JPG Here's where I'm at with my front lawn feature bed. Just got the tree in today. Going to take the rock out and make a kidney bean bed where the cord is. What's the best/easiest way to go about this? Was thinking weed cloth over the grass, mulch and the plastic edging but I want to do this right so looking for input. View Quote Then I turn the bed with a fork and trench out the "edging" trench, piling that in the bed. Depending on what you want to do with the bed (what you plan to grow) you would then either apply a good landscape fabric or not, and a couple inches of mulch. One thing to consider is the edges of your kidney shaped bed. Will it touch the hardscape on both ends? or not? Probably the best choice for that shape with the hardscape wrapping around the two sides as you have it, is to have a few inches of sod remaining as a "carpet" around both sides. Another option you might consider is making the bean wrap from one side to the other of the hardscape--like from one hard surface to another, and have the "corner turn" also be bed. You could raise the kidney bean slightly with a little topsoil and mulch, then have either annual color plantings in the "corner" or fill it with tufts of ornamental grass like variegated liriope (monkey grass). Okay that's way more opinion than you asked for. That's a nice little tree, btw! ETA: Be sure to give enough depth to your kidney bean shape that you have a nice curve to it. Otherwise you'll lose the effect of it. :0) |
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I like those! Will have to show the wife but I think she'll be sold once she sees there are blue ones . Thanks! I need to get a few more pics up and see what you think. We are planning on tearing out the gravel sidewalks next year and laying a creek rock sidewalk. View Quote Add some acid--you get blue. You can find the exact cultivar you're considering, then type it into a search engine with "Can I make Hydrangea macrophylla "Kitties with sigs" blue using acid?" That's a completely bogus name, by the way. |
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A lot of hydrangeas are such that you can change the color simply by changing the acidity of the soil. Add some acid--you get blue. You can find the exact cultivar you're considering, then type it into a search engine with "Can I make Hydrangea macrophylla "Kitties with sigs" blue using acid?" That's a completely bogus name, by the way. View Quote |
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Fucking tagged. In the process of buying my first home and plans are running wild.
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Here is the sidewalk around the front deck now. Only goes 2/3 the way across the front deck and then a short section on the west end. We are wanting to take out the gravel in from and on the end. Then lay a river rock sidewalk in its place. After that we want to expand the mulch bed out past the sidewalk and wrap it all the way around the deck to the side of the house.
Attached File Attached File Wanting a new aidewalk like this surrounded by a mulch bed. Trying to figure out what plants to put in. Will probably round up some large erratic rocks to put in as well. Attached File |
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Here is the sidewalk around the front deck now. Only goes 2/3 the way across the front deck and then a short section on the west end. We are wanting to take out the gravel in from and on the end. Then lay a river rock sidewalk in its place. After that we want to expand the mulch bed out past the sidewalk and wrap it all the way around the deck to the side of the house. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/86377/IMG_7184-304252.JPG https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/86377/IMG_7185-304255.JPG Wanting a new aidewalk like this surrounded by a mulch bed. Trying to figure out what plants to put in. Will probably round up some large erratic rocks to put in as well. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/86377/IMG_7086-304256.JPG View Quote Are you going to be able to do a little curve in the bed? If so, the opportunities for the plantings around it are more open. if it's going to be straight, try to move it a little further out from the house if you can, to give a little more room right in front of the porch. If you CANNOT move it, and need to keep it in same position and straight, you can still ease the edges of it with your plantings. ETA: Lemme see if I can do a little tutorial about walks and landscaping them. Dunno how far I'll get this evening. |
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Unfortunately the best way is to remove the sod. I do this with a spade or shovel, cut down through the edge of the grass roots, then go horizontal and kick the edge of the tool with my boot to cut between the grass layer and the soil level. Then I turn the bed with a fork and trench out the "edging" trench, piling that in the bed. Depending on what you want to do with the bed (what you plan to grow) you would then either apply a good landscape fabric or not, and a couple inches of mulch. One thing to consider is the edges of your kidney shaped bed. Will it touch the hardscape on both ends? or not? Probably the best choice for that shape with the hardscape wrapping around the two sides as you have it, is to have a few inches of sod remaining as a "carpet" around both sides. Another option you might consider is making the bean wrap from one side to the other of the hardscape--like from one hard surface to another, and have the "corner turn" also be bed. You could raise the kidney bean slightly with a little topsoil and mulch, then have either annual color plantings in the "corner" or fill it with tufts of ornamental grass like variegated liriope (monkey grass). Okay that's way more opinion than you asked for. That's a nice little tree, btw! ETA: Be sure to give enough depth to your kidney bean shape that you have a nice curve to it. Otherwise you'll lose the effect of it. :0) View Quote Attached File Attached File Let me know what you think, you won't hurt my feelings. I did pull the sod, layed down some weed fabric, about 3 inch of topsoil, and a couple inches of mulch. Wifey planted a mum, there's a peoni in front of it that she planted in the spring. |
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Thank you for the advice. Unfortunately, I got it all done today before I saw a response. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/146744/Screenshot_20170910-172017-304323.JPG https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/146744/Screenshot_20170910-172254-304326.JPG Let me know what you think, you won't hurt my feelings. I did pull the sod, layed down some weed fabric, about 3 inch of topsoil, and a couple inches of mulch. Wifey planted a mum, there's a peoni in front of it that she planted in the spring. View Quote You may decide to expand it a little as the seasons go by and the tree grows, and if so, you can incorporate bending . What do you plan to put in it? If you and your wife like mums, you can get those that are perennial (they come back season after season). Tuck three or four in there in your favorite colors (cut an x in your landscape fabric for placement of the root ball. If you want something evergreen, try dwarf nandina if it grows in your area. The red ones are small and make nice understory plantings for a smaller bed. |
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For reference, this is what it looked like for quite some time.
Attached File Before that, it was a Bradford Pear until I chopped that awful bitch down. I convinced wifey to bail on the fairy ring using this thread, so thank you for that! I'm sure we will make it a bit bigger once the tree grows up, I didn't want to make it too big now, thought it would look funny. Not sure what all we will be planting at this point, going to give it some thought. |
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For reference, this is what it looked like for quite some time. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/146744/Screenshot_20170910-174108-304345.JPG Before that, it was a Bradford Pear until I chopped that awful bitch down. I convinced wifey to bail on the fairy ring using this thread, so thank you for that! I'm sure we will make it a bit bigger once the tree grows up, I didn't want to make it too big now, thought it would look funny. Not sure what all we will be planting at this point, going to give it some thought. View Quote |
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That will be beautiful with the colors of your house! Are you going to be able to do a little curve in the bed? If so, the opportunities for the plantings around it are more open. if it's going to be straight, try to move it a little further out from the house if you can, to give a little more room right in front of the porch. If you CANNOT move it, and need to keep it in same position and straight, you can still ease the edges of it with your plantings. ETA: Lemme see if I can do a little tutorial about walks and landscaping them. Dunno how far I'll get this evening. View Quote |
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Well, I think we need to know a little more. Are you going strictly for utility? Or are you after attractive design as well? Is that the future driveway where they came in with the house? Or will that be all yard/plantings? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Kind of destroyed the front yard moving in the new house. Grapes destroyed, strawberries destroyed, raspberries didn't like the transplant so they may be mostly dead. So it's kind of going to be a blank slate. In this pic, the line of tall Siberian elms will be cut down yet this fall, and some more of the ash will be leaving. I'd like to get grapes, be strawberries, blueberries, black berries going again. The issue is that the grapes, be strawberries, blueberries never grew worth a shit anyway. I be will be trenching in irrigation lines. I'm wondering if raised beds are the key, or what is the best way to start this again from scratch?https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/165887/KIMG0217-302992.JPG Are you going strictly for utility? Or are you after attractive design as well? Is that the future driveway where they came in with the house? Or will that be all yard/plantings? I am interested in ease of maintenance and food production. The part where the house was brought up will be turned back to plantings. Hoping to plow it all up this fall yet for spring seeding of grass. The hill is worthless except for terraced garden beds or things like raspberries it grapes. I'm wanting to have automatic irrigation on everything, and I'm thinking some kind of boarder and mulch maybe? I also need 2 lines of privacy. One by the road, one by the house where the Siberian elms are now. |
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I need a low maintenance plant for along a fence line. Heavily wooded / shaded, and constantly fighting back vines and blackberries. Looking for something that will spread, stay low in height, and choke out the weeds if possible. Zone 7.
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I need a low maintenance plant for along a fence line. Heavily wooded / shaded, and constantly fighting back vines and blackberries. Looking for something that will spread, stay low in height, and choke out the weeds if possible. Zone 7. View Quote What is the location with regard to anything else? What is the purpose of this plant? Is it strictly to choke out other plants? Is it to provide privacy? Is it to look nice? Will the surrounding area be mowed? Will this "fenceline border" be maintained at all? What? |
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Well, the Mrs is more and more interested with making things nicer looking, especially with the new house. I am interested in ease of maintenance and food production. The part where the house was brought up will be turned back to plantings. Hoping to plow it all up this fall yet for spring seeding of grass. The hill is worthless except for terraced garden beds or things like raspberries it grapes. I'm wanting to have automatic irrigation on everything, and I'm thinking some kind of boarder and mulch maybe? I also need 2 lines of privacy. One by the road, one by the house where the Siberian elms are now. View Quote If you don't want to post it, I get that. maybe IM it to me, or if you need to email, I'll give you and address. It's really hard to give advice with no overall sense of your property. |
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Can you give me an overhead view? If you don't want to post it, I get that. maybe IM it to me, or if you need to email, I'll give you and address. It's really hard to give advice with no overall sense of your property. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Well, the Mrs is more and more interested with making things nicer looking, especially with the new house. I am interested in ease of maintenance and food production. The part where the house was brought up will be turned back to plantings. Hoping to plow it all up this fall yet for spring seeding of grass. The hill is worthless except for terraced garden beds or things like raspberries it grapes. I'm wanting to have automatic irrigation on everything, and I'm thinking some kind of boarder and mulch maybe? I also need 2 lines of privacy. One by the road, one by the house where the Siberian elms are now. If you don't want to post it, I get that. maybe IM it to me, or if you need to email, I'll give you and address. It's really hard to give advice with no overall sense of your property. The first pic was a view basically from the camper sitting there, looking up toward the little bubble of "trees gone" Attached File |
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Okay so the new house sits right on top of the "trees gone" bubble, basically, and faces the road down in front?
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Wow. Google earth makes it look like I have a flat property
To the right of my long garden to the field is about a 25-30 foot drop, from the end of the driveway to the top of the hill where the houses are is about a 20 foot difference... |
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Wow. Google earth makes it look like I have a flat property To the right of my long garden to the field is about a 25-30 foot drop, from the end of the driveway to the top of the hill where the houses are is about a 20 foot difference... View Quote Are you going to continue using that ingress where they brought in the house, as an ingress to the property? Or is it okay to close that off? ETA: Also...the "trees to be removed this fall"-- Are you removing those because they're shading an area where you want to grow things? |
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Thanks! After fighting the stupid bermuda-grass for 4 years, I'll take the spray-it-all-fall approach. I hate bermuda-grass. It manages to get into gardens that aren't connected to any other landscaping and are completely surrounded by concrete. (sorry, ranting.) Our average first frost date is November 14, so we'd have 2+ months, but the grass is already slowing way down. I'm fine killing everything, since there is no St. Augustine there. As long as it will "wear off" before planting the sod in the spring, we should be good. I'll have to time it with the weather to make sure it doesn't rain right after and wash down the driveway and kill the front yard and gardens. Some pictures to attempt to show the slope of the backyard, and the step of dirt left after pulling the brick wall. We're having a debate about pulling the rest of the stones that are shown in the pictures. The "driveway" is under that section of weeds, essentially right behind the Miata in the picture. I'm of the opinion that it would be easier to mow and care for the yard without the stones, and that the stones work to block water from draining. My husband wants to leave them (which is why they're still there) because there's a badly destroyed concrete pad *somewhere* in there. We do not have the budget right now to tear out the driveway and have it appropriately engineered to drain around the house. He just drives over that patch of yard twice a day. Now that I think about it, killing everything should reveal the actual state of the concrete. Dirt step, can also be (kind of) seen in the other pictures: https://i.imgur.com/OaekQT4.jpg The yard slopes in 2 directions, and I tried to draw arrows to show it. The fence line and shed foundation height also show the slope. It isn't much, but we do need the yard to drain down the driveway instead of puddling against the back of the house or in the yard. https://i.imgur.com/fxVgJ6J.jpg https://i.imgur.com/skemCKe.jpg View Quote Attached File Fuck that invasive bullshit. I'm pretty sure I just started a fight I'm not going to win, but goddamnit if I'm not going to try. |
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Sounds like your Bermuda fight any my zoysa fight are similar. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/146744/Screenshot_20170911-225412-305350.JPG Fuck that invasive bullshit. I'm pretty sure I just started a fight I'm not going to win, but goddamnit if I'm not going to try. View Quote |
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Okay. Are you going to continue using that ingress where they brought in the house, as an ingress to the property? Or is it okay to close that off? ETA: Also...the "trees to be removed this fall"-- Are you removing those because they're shading an area where you want to grow things? View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Wow. Google earth makes it look like I have a flat property To the right of my long garden to the field is about a 25-30 foot drop, from the end of the driveway to the top of the hill where the houses are is about a 20 foot difference... Are you going to continue using that ingress where they brought in the house, as an ingress to the property? Or is it okay to close that off? ETA: Also...the "trees to be removed this fall"-- Are you removing those because they're shading an area where you want to grow things? Removing the rest of the trees for multiple reasons: They shade my apple trees at certain parts of the day. They are Siberian Elm, and fully mature. Starting to abandon and drop large branches. They are getting dangerous. They are HUGE and right next to the old house. One WILL crush the old house in a storm one day. Since I have the yard tore up anyway right now, even though they don't *need* to come down right now, hate to destroy the yard again soon. May as well get it done this fall. |
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I"m very slowly winning the battle. It's mostly gone from the yard, mainly because St. Augustine (when treated well) is hardier and stronger than the bermuda. It's just the areas that don't have grass that I'm still fighting. You will eventually win! View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Sounds like your Bermuda fight any my zoysa fight are similar. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/146744/Screenshot_20170911-225412-305350.JPG Fuck that invasive bullshit. I'm pretty sure I just started a fight I'm not going to win, but goddamnit if I'm not going to try. My plan is to spray (completed as you can see), pull the grass after it's good and dead. Then I'm going to water it real good and see if any comes back up, repeat as necessary until its good and gone. Unfortunately, I think this means I'm going to be staring at an ugly corner for a long time. I don't want to go through all this effort only to have it slowly come back. I will win, it's just going to suck for a while. |
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Where the yard was destroyed and house brought up will NOT be used as any ingress or driveway. Of course, I need to drive where I need to drive with my 316 and the bobcat when needed. OK to close off. Removing the rest of the trees for multiple reasons: They shade my apple trees at certain parts of the day. They are Siberian Elm, and fully mature. Starting to abandon and drop large branches. They are getting dangerous. They are HUGE and right next to the old house. One WILL crush the old house in a storm one day. Since I have the yard tore up anyway right now, even though they don't *need* to come down right now, hate to destroy the yard again soon. May as well get it done this fall. View Quote I have not gotten back to this, for reasons you will see in the thread I've just started, but I don't mean to ignore it. It sounds like you have a lot going on, and nothing will begin until you're settled and getting on with tree removal. Bump me an IM if you need anything immediate as far as design, will you? I'll hopefully have a little more time in a week or three. |
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Good thread Kitties! Got a "little" project going myself that I may ask your expertise on in the future. I need to get the remaining 12 or so blocks placed, backfill and get some grass growing this month, but, it's shaping up. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/395027/20170825_121711-291680.jpg https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/395027/20170825_174434_-_Copy-291681.jpg View Quote Those stones are amazing. I love big rocks. What are they, and if I might ask, where did you get them? They are actual stone, right? I've considered using old busted-out concrete for steps in terracing like that before. Wouldn't look as nice as yours, but once it's set, it makes a nice effect. |
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Thanks! After fighting the stupid bermuda-grass for 4 years, I'll take the spray-it-all-fall approach. I hate bermuda-grass. It manages to get into gardens that aren't connected to any other landscaping and are completely surrounded by concrete. (sorry, ranting.) Our average first frost date is November 14, so we'd have 2+ months, but the grass is already slowing way down. I'm fine killing everything, since there is no St. Augustine there. As long as it will "wear off" before planting the sod in the spring, we should be good. I'll have to time it with the weather to make sure it doesn't rain right after and wash down the driveway and kill the front yard and gardens. Some pictures to attempt to show the slope of the backyard, and the step of dirt left after pulling the brick wall. We're having a debate about pulling the rest of the stones that are shown in the pictures. The "driveway" is under that section of weeds, essentially right behind the Miata in the picture. I'm of the opinion that it would be easier to mow and care for the yard without the stones, and that the stones work to block water from draining. My husband wants to leave them (which is why they're still there) because there's a badly destroyed concrete pad *somewhere* in there. We do not have the budget right now to tear out the driveway and have it appropriately engineered to drain around the house. He just drives over that patch of yard twice a day. Now that I think about it, killing everything should reveal the actual state of the concrete. Dirt step, can also be (kind of) seen in the other pictures: https://i.imgur.com/OaekQT4.jpg The yard slopes in 2 directions, and I tried to draw arrows to show it. The fence line and shed foundation height also show the slope. It isn't much, but we do need the yard to drain down the driveway instead of puddling against the back of the house or in the yard. https://i.imgur.com/fxVgJ6J.jpg https://i.imgur.com/skemCKe.jpg View Quote So...the "step" of brick wall keeps confusing me. Are you talking about the one little step where there are sometimes bricks/edging right next to the grass you've removed? I mean the edging running from the side of the open garage door, down to the strip of bright sunlight? Are you saying that the little step has been doing something to the drainage? And do you have a current drainage ISSUE? Or are you worried about creating one with the work you do? |
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@ejeviking Those stones are amazing. I love big rocks. What are they, and if I might ask, where did you get them? They are actual stone, right? I've considered using old busted-out concrete for steps in terracing like that before. Wouldn't look as nice as yours, but once it's set, it makes a nice effect. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Good thread Kitties! Got a "little" project going myself that I may ask your expertise on in the future. I need to get the remaining 12 or so blocks placed, backfill and get some grass growing this month, but, it's shaping up. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/395027/20170825_121711-291680.jpg https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/395027/20170825_174434_-_Copy-291681.jpg Those stones are amazing. I love big rocks. What are they, and if I might ask, where did you get them? They are actual stone, right? I've considered using old busted-out concrete for steps in terracing like that before. Wouldn't look as nice as yours, but once it's set, it makes a nice effect. |
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They are Kansas limestone from Higgins Stone in Wamego, KS. I only found them because they are next door to two of my customers. They have a quarry near Topeka and another somewhere else. Right now I'm on hold waiting for the trucking company to get down there and bring me back 12 more of the 14" blocks. If the wife didn't own the trucking company, I'd be pissed. @kitties-with-sigs View Quote And I bet you save a bunch on shipping!!!! Incredible resource, to be able to get those and to move them. There is nothing like big stone to make a project classic and grand. |
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@Rat_Patrol I have not gotten back to this, for reasons you will see in the thread I've just started, but I don't mean to ignore it. It sounds like you have a lot going on, and nothing will begin until you're settled and getting on with tree removal. Bump me an IM if you need anything immediate as far as design, will you? I'll hopefully have a little more time in a week or three. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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Where the yard was destroyed and house brought up will NOT be used as any ingress or driveway. Of course, I need to drive where I need to drive with my 316 and the bobcat when needed. OK to close off. Removing the rest of the trees for multiple reasons: They shade my apple trees at certain parts of the day. They are Siberian Elm, and fully mature. Starting to abandon and drop large branches. They are getting dangerous. They are HUGE and right next to the old house. One WILL crush the old house in a storm one day. Since I have the yard tore up anyway right now, even though they don't *need* to come down right now, hate to destroy the yard again soon. May as well get it done this fall. I have not gotten back to this, for reasons you will see in the thread I've just started, but I don't mean to ignore it. It sounds like you have a lot going on, and nothing will begin until you're settled and getting on with tree removal. Bump me an IM if you need anything immediate as far as design, will you? I'll hopefully have a little more time in a week or three. |
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@Kitties-with-Sigs There are two "steps" going down the slope of the yard, that we used to create a flat area for the garden. Here's an old picture, from 2 years ago, but the garden bed in question hasn't changed (disregard the shed - the pictures I posted previously in the thread show the improved shed situation). It shows what the bed looked like before my husband took out the "back" row of stones, the big blocks. He left the "front" row of thin scalloped-top stones. The dirt level on the driveway side of the "front" scalloped stones is about 2 inches from the top of the stones, and behind the stones in the garden the dirt is almost to the top of the scallops. The dirt level on the grassy side behind the "back" stones came up about 2/3 of the stone, maybe 4-5 inches, and there was a second layer of stones under the first that left a pit or moat when he removed them. Part of the issue we had with that particular garden bed is that rain run-off comes out of the yard onto the driveway, and because of the stones creating the retaining walls, the water backed up behind the stones turning the garden into a slushy mess that took too long to dry out. We lost a bunch of plants to root-rot in the above-average rains we had last spring, and have struggled with keeping it drained every year. Even watering the plants with soaker hoses would cause puddles. That's part of the reason we're giving up on that particular garden - we want to eliminate the "swamp" issue so the yard drains out into the driveway without puddling. I want to make the "new" grass slope correctly and not have lumps or valleys in it. Hopefully a proper slope with grass and no retaining walls will allow the yard to drain nicely into the driveway. https://i.imgur.com/inPUP5h.jpg View Quote I had to look back to see your original questions. I'd kind of gotten lost since it's been a bit since you first asked them (I've slept since then. ) I have more questions (I know, shocker.) You have your shed up on blocks, which suggests to me that your back yard is soggy, overall, and maybe not because of the little steps that were put in for your garden. Now maybe I've misread that, but your concerns about water management make me need to ask some of these questions before making suggestions so I don't offer a solution that will not be the best for you overall. So... 1-Is your backyard wet a lot? Does it squish when you walk on the grass after a rain? 2-Is your shed on blocks because water stood back there? (Not sayin your shed should be absent a foundation. I'm just trying to get a view of how bad this was to make you put it up on blocks.) 3-What is around you outside that fence? What is the lay of the land? Are there other people's houses back there? Are their yards higher than yours? Has the situation changed recently? I mean...was it dry before, then somebody built something (or YOU built something), and now it's wet? 4-Once the water hits the driveway, where does it go? Looks like it goes both toward that other building, and downward toward the street. What's down there, and what's keeping it out of that building on the other side of the driveway? 5-ETA another question (or two)- The shed at the head of the driveway (the one with the sniper perch beside it). It looks to me, from what you have drawn and described (the "slope" arrows really, really help) that water comes down your yard and must hit that shed--at least the front portion of it. Do you have any rot there? 6-You obviously want (or wanted at one time) a garden. Do you still? Do you have a spot for it if this one goes away? I know this seems like a lot to ask for a simple "how do I fix my yard" but the fix depends on the root of the problem, and how extensive the problem is. Drainage is not hard to manage, but you have to go at it correctly. If you do it right, you can fix everything in one go. If you don't, you'll create a different issue for yourself, trying to fix the first one. |
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@Kitties-with-Sigs I understand - you've been busy! I've been following your thread in DIY. I answered in red in the quoted post. Thanks for helping! Left of the shed (see the gap under the wall?) Ugh. https://i.imgur.com/5PGkfDc.jpg Right of the shed. This picture is from 2 years ago, when we re-sodded that area to get rid of landscaping that had fallen into disrepair under the previous owners. The area is now nice, healthy, St. Augustine, but it's dark outside. https://i.imgur.com/slfzPVv.jpg View Quote And in the lower photo, the dumpster is up against the "right" side of the driveway shed? (right being if I was standing at the bottom of your driveway) Trying to get a layout of your property. BTW, that's a lovely rose trellis. ETA: In front of that gate... Is there a known reason why the grass grows in those lines? Is it just planted and hasn't gotten established? Or is something else going on? |
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All of your assumptions are correct regarding placement. Here's a topographic map, with our house marked with an arrow. https://i.imgur.com/Deu26Xx.jpg And here's the survey from when we bought the house. The left/west shed and fenceline have changed, but not significantly. The concrete indicating the north end of the driveway extends eastward up to the eastern neighbor's fence and westward to the western edge of the small 8x8 shed (unlike what is indicated on the survey). I marked the 2 current vegetable gardens in red. The L-shaped one is the one we're removing and turning into grass. https://i.imgur.com/eG2MmzF.jpg Finally, here's a picture of the current grass situation on the north edge of the property, behind the sniper's tower and shed. It was dark last night when I was responding, and I didn't have a current picture. In the picture I posted last night, the grass was in lines because it was new sod that hadn't filled in. It is now nice and thick. https://i.imgur.com/XhgfhyF.jpg View Quote I could be dead wrong here, since I have not seen the situation in person, but I don't feel like the blocks you were using for steps actually held back significant water. it takes a solid wall to do that, mostly. This is what's making me squint at it and wonder whether just removing those is going to fix the issue. On the one hand, my advice would be that you need to get a qualified person in your area to look at the yard, because the best I'm going to do is a guess for you, and to fix this, you may need to invest some money and move some dirt. Somebody qualified in there with a transit to tell exactly where the low spots are, and determine exactly how water will move, might be the best choice. However....since I'm here and you're here... My gut is telling me that you need a drain tile or three in that back yard. I say this because a-I am really concerned about the slope downward toward your house. There may BE a drain tile along that side of the garage already, and if so, good. Whatever you do, you do not want to funnel water at your foundation, and the slope of your yard is doing exactly that. If there is a drain tile, though, you ought to be able to see the exit point somewhere. (I would think so, anyhow) b-drain tiles allow you to (partially) direct the water where you want it to go. Without regrading the entire back yard, there's not much other way to do that. I wish I could see your property in a heavy rain. I'd like to get a sense of how the water moves across it--where it runs, where it pools, where it hits an obstacle and runs around said obstacle. The negative, of course, is that the tiles require digging, and usually, installation of some gravel (depending on the situation) then recovering with soil and sod. It's a mess and a lot of work. Could I landscape that back yard to create terraces and direct the water where I wanted it to go? Yes. But in doing so, I would install tile that spilled out the bottom of the terraces where I wanted it to exit. I would create the egress points and use those to my advantage. AND on top of that, that includes no plan for wee ones and their play sets (which you referenced earlier, so I assume this is a goal). All that said, I'm NOT a landscape architect, nor am I an engineer, and my use of tiling and water flow manipulation is, while somewhat educated, absolutely not extensive. So...here are the options I see for you. 1-It will cost you very little to smooth off the tiny terraces you have there, and create an even slope down to your driveway. You will need to sod it, not sow it with seed, because of the flow issues you're addressing. The seed will wash, it sounds like, even from being watered. I am concerned that after a season of getting the sod established, when you have a rainy spell, the issue is not going to change significantly. I would like to be wrong about that, and maybe I am. Maybe the "leveling" of the ground in those two little terraces slowed it enough to make it squishy. I have a small concern that the DRIVEWAY itself could be creating part of the problem (assuming it's a nice thick concrete driveway) by creating sort of a "pool" out of your backyard. It may be that the water runs OVER the driveway only when it's "filled the pool" created by the driveway edge, and the foundation of your garage. This also may be completely off base. I've seen this happen before, but the circumstance was really odd. 2-It will cost you more and be a lot more work to bring in a load of soil and slope away from your garage foundation properly (best I can tell it is not sloped away from the garage at this point. that might be a trick of the camera, though) and then create a gentle, easy swoop down to the driveway from the back fence. it would also raise the level of your back yard slightly, which would probably help with the movement of the water. If it were me, I'd probably use a tiller and a rake, bust that corner up, smooth it out and downward, and the result will likely be removal of some soil from there (a few buckets anyway) which you can add to your garden or use to build a slope away from the garage foundation. then I would sod it or get some type of soil retention matting with embedded, quick-growing seeds to establish a ground cover there, until I could get the sod I want in there. Basically take the level of that corner of the yard down a bit. Then go through a season and see what happens. Maybe that'll fix it. I think I've gone way beyond what you asked, (I know, shocker, right?) and I'm not sure I've actually answered what you want to know. If you're going to go the down and dirty "try the easy, cheap way first" borrow or rent a tiller, get in there with tools and some buckets, and smooth off that corner. It also may help you to get that sniper perch shed out of there. That roof is a water collector, and I'm guessing at least one side of it dumps into the squishy part of the back yard. Tell me if this doesn't help, or if I've come at it from the wrong direction. Kitties |
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Wow, that's great! And I bet you save a bunch on shipping!!!! Incredible resource, to be able to get those and to move them. There is nothing like big stone to make a project classic and grand. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted:
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They are Kansas limestone from Higgins Stone in Wamego, KS. I only found them because they are next door to two of my customers. They have a quarry near Topeka and another somewhere else. Right now I'm on hold waiting for the trucking company to get down there and bring me back 12 more of the 14" blocks. If the wife didn't own the trucking company, I'd be pissed. @kitties-with-sigs And I bet you save a bunch on shipping!!!! Incredible resource, to be able to get those and to move them. There is nothing like big stone to make a project classic and grand. |
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Ok crew, I need some help here. I'm looking for some lights for both sides of the top step. Not too bright, although they will be switched. Wife likes some of these but I'm always looking at options. I have 110v there and they will be switched but I'm willing to look at solar also.
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Ok crew, I need some help here. I'm looking for some lights for both sides of the top step. Not too bright, although they will be switched. Wife likes some of these but I'm always looking at options. I have 110v there and they will be switched but I'm willing to look at solar also. https://www.AR15.Com/media/mediaFiles/395027/20171014_145935-333277.jpg View Quote Low voltage lighting casts a lovely, natural-looking light for uplighting into trees, downlighting like moonlight, and pathway lights or marking steps, without making your eyes stop down to f 2 million like a camera lens (yes, that's quite the exaggeration with regard to f stops by the way, for anybody who actually does photography) Low voltage lighting shows off the landscape without destroying your night vision, but can still be quite bright, depending on the fixture you choose. It's the way to make your lighting look like God put it there instead of people. What is that going to be? Is it your driveway, with steps coming up to the house? I was going to suggest some small low-voltage fixtures set at the base of the wall, washing up onto it, with a couple of them here and there illuminating the steps. With low voltage, you can still do this safely, and I *think* you can bury the transformer there by the 110 outlet, in a waterproof casing. May be some of the guys/gals here who know more about the new offerings for those purposes (transformers in wet spaces). I'm sure they've come a ways since I did my last installation. Low voltage is safe. You can cut into it or accidentally destroy it, and nobody gets shocked. |
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I know you've got 110, but if you're willing to transform to low voltage, the best landscape lighting is low voltage, because that keeps it from becoming what I call "glare bombs." Low voltage lighting casts a lovely, natural-looking light for uplighting into trees, downlighting like moonlight, and pathway lights or marking steps, without making your eyes stop down to f 2 million like a camera lens (yes, that's quite the exaggeration with regard to f stops by the way, for anybody who actually does photography) Low voltage lighting shows off the landscape without destroying your night vision, but can still be quite bright, depending on the fixture you choose. It's the way to make your lighting look like God put it there instead of people. What is that going to be? Is it your driveway, with steps coming up to the house? I was going to suggest some small low-voltage fixtures set at the base of the wall, washing up onto it, with a couple of them here and there illuminating the steps. With low voltage, you can still do this safely, and I *think* you can bury the transformer there by the 110 outlet, in a waterproof casing. May be some of the guys/gals here who know more about the new offerings for those purposes (transformers in wet spaces). I'm sure they've come a ways since I did my last installation. Low voltage is safe. You can cut into it or accidentally destroy it, and nobody gets shocked. View Quote I like your suggestions a lot, so does the wife. I'll have to look more into those. I appreciate the input. |
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I understand with the low voltage. I wanted 110 down there for various reasons. I'm open to all suggestions here. That area is for a future fire pit/relax area. Another reason for the 110v is so I can bring a TV down there and watch football or have outside movie time. I like your suggestions a lot, so does the wife. I'll have to look more into those. I appreciate the input. View Quote The low voltage wiring can be tucked into cracks and generally "hidden" very easily in an established installation. The fact that you are not finished, and could still trench for a tile and/or sink the "uplights" into the ground so they are flush with that bottom layer is a real plus. Nothing would be sticking up down there. Just a small piece of tile installed vertically with the fixture sunk into it. If it's done in sod down there, it won't quite "disappear" though and you do have to pay attention to the fact that there will be a HOLE there of a sort. That wall does not look like the sort you would sit on, at least from what I can tell It looks too tall, so people mostly won't be four inches from it with their feet, but do consider the activities you want down there, and how the installation might affect them. Just because it would look stunning from down in the yard, doesn't make it the right thing for your purpose. ETA: Those stones that protrude (I took a second, longer look) must be for seating. so you could use the back corners of those, mount the fixtures so they go at an angle, and still wash across the face of the wall with (very) soft light. You don't want that to be the main light, just barely there. Like moonlight. |
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You're welcome, and ask more if you hit snags and can't see how it would work. The uplighting set in the ground along the base of your wall will wash across that wall and accentuate the roughness and texture of the stone, the cracks between them...all that. (side-lighting does that to everything. It's why old actresses don't want to be lit from the side. Only from directly in front, with the camera up high for closeups.) The low voltage wiring can be tucked into cracks and generally "hidden" very easily in an established installation. The fact that you are not finished, and could still trench for a tile and/or sink the "uplights" into the ground so they are flush with that bottom layer is a real plus. Nothing would be sticking up down there. Just a small piece of tile installed vertically with the fixture sunk into it. If it's done in sod down there, it won't quite "disappear" though and you do have to pay attention to the fact that there will be a HOLE there of a sort. That wall does not look like the sort you would sit on, at least from what I can tell It looks too tall, so people mostly won't be four inches from it with their feet, but do consider the activities you want down there, and how the installation might affect them. Just because it would look stunning from down in the yard, doesn't make it the right thing for your purpose. ETA: Those stones that protrude (I took a second, longer look) must be for seating. so you could use the back corners of those, mount the fixtures so they go at an angle, and still wash across the face of the wall with (very) soft light. You don't want that to be the main light, just barely there. Like moonlight. View Quote |
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@watercat
I saw some other photos of the shed area, and the slope in your back yard (in a thread in DIY). It's not nearly as sloped as I though it might be. I think I would still consider checking whether there is adequate drainage by that side of the house, carrying the water AWAY from the foundation. But I would not imagine that you would need more tiles (even if you need that) unless the area is incredibly poorly drained, and you would know that by now. Take pics if you can, when you cut that corner down and get some of that dirt out of there. And let us know how it works when you get some good rains. I bet the removal of the sniper perch shed, and the removal of any "hump" that's by the driveway, will do what you need. |
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