[ARCHIVED THREAD] - XERIscaping (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 2/21/2017 3:20:37 PM EDT
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My HOA gave me until May to cover the bare dirt on the sides and back of my property. I don't think there's any actual fine, they just are concerned about how it looks next to their own homes.
I have no desire to overspend on it. My two main choices are some type of rock /gravel, or shredded cedar/pine. I'm trying to go with cheap, will last more than one season, and not look like ass. Grass is out of the question, it's too damn dry. This isn't really an expensive house, so nothing from you mansion dwellers with supermodel wives. |
| Mulch will dry up and have to be maintained and/or replaced regularly. Usually if I put down stone I put down the landscaping paper or plastic under it to keep weeds from growing through it and to keep the stone from sinking into the ground. If your area is very dry that may not be needed. |
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Krylon  When we lived in our first home, we had some neighbors who moved in a teenage sibling because the parents were having trouble with him. I worked close by and would go home for lunch in the afternoon. One day I saw an empty gas can thrown in their front yard, which was on a hill so it was fully visible from the road. This was unusual because they took good care of their lawn and house, so I figured it might have to do with the younger brothers "friends". Sure enough, after a day or two, you could clearly see f*** spelled out of dying grass. They went the Krylon route, but it was still pretty noticeable. |
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Highly recommend decomposed granite. Cheap, better looking than gravel, and stays in place better than gravel. Should be able to get it in bags at Lowes or Home Depot or cheaper by the yard elsewhere. I would still use weedblock under it. |
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Does your neighbors have grass and it's dead?
Then you need to talk to your board and tell them that the dry situation makes it unfeasable to plant any grass at this time. Or time to break out and buy some sprinklers. And yes, you will get a fine, this is what HOA's live for. |
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Xeriscaping
"zeroscaping" = "15 round clips" Fabric under rock is a very bad idea and fast falling out of favor. You can see pics of my yard here. The tall rock is in front of a bird area with auto-filling "puddle and serves as a perch for sentinel quail and doves to watch for neighborhood cats while they feed and water. Mine is the full rock front yard, 3 pics posted. My July water bill is $60, where some of my 1/4 acre neighbors run $400+ http://flagstonechips.com/ |
| I've always thought about, what if you put down a few inches of mulch, then poured epoxy over it? It would harden clear, and to viewers it would always look like the perfect mulch yard, but it would never decompose. All you'd have to do is use a leaf blower on it every once in a while. |
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Airborne dirt falls on your yard and creates a sprouting bed under the rock and weeds will be able to send roots down through the fabric. When you pull them you pull up the fabric and make a mess of things.
Fabric also superheats the soil during summer months and makes growing plants difficult. Fabric also degrades and has a finite lifespan. Removing it is a major undertaking. My rules for rock yards: - Select "Walkable" rock that doesn't move underfoot - Apply at least 2" thick so that when weeds do show above it only 1" or so of the taproot is actually in soil. These are very easy to pull up. - Apply preen 1x per Spring to prevent germination of most weeds - Later in summer when some super difficult weeds sprout pull them or hit them with roundup. - You will need to redo your sprinkler system to include pressure reducers and drip irrigators. You don't want sprinkler water on the rock or you will see lots of weeds there. |
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Quoted:
Airborne dirt falls on your yard and creates a sprouting bed under the rock and weeds will be able to send roots down through the fabric. When you pull them you pull up the fabric and make a mess of things. Fabric also superheats the soil during summer months and makes growing plants difficult. Fabric also degrades and has a finite lifespan. Removing it is a major undertaking. My rules for rock yards: - Select "Walkable" rock that doesn't move underfoot - Apply at least 2" thick so that when weeds do show above it only 1" or so of the taproot is actually in soil. These are very easy to pull up. - Apply preen 1x per Spring to prevent germination of most weeds - Later in summer when some super difficult weeds sprout pull them or hit them with - You will need to redo your sprinkler system to include pressure reducers and drip irrigators. You don't want sprinkler water on the rock or you will see lots of weeds there. Go big or Go Home 
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Go big or Go Home Quoted:
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Airborne dirt falls on your yard and creates a sprouting bed under the rock and weeds will be able to send roots down through the fabric. When you pull them you pull up the fabric and make a mess of things. Fabric also superheats the soil during summer months and makes growing plants difficult. Fabric also degrades and has a finite lifespan. Removing it is a major undertaking. My rules for rock yards: - Select "Walkable" rock that doesn't move underfoot - Apply at least 2" thick so that when weeds do show above it only 1" or so of the taproot is actually in soil. These are very easy to pull up. - Apply preen 1x per Spring to prevent germination of most weeds - Later in summer when some super difficult weeds sprout pull them or hit them with - You will need to redo your sprinkler system to include pressure reducers and drip irrigators. You don't want sprinkler water on the rock or you will see lots of weeds there. Go big or Go Home Yup. $20K to do my front yard. Love it though. I often have 40+ doves and quail at my watering hole. Very relaxing place to be. My Mormon neighbors don't even hate it anymore. |
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Thank you. Unless OP is talking about literally (haha) ZERO LANDSCAPING. Where I come from they call that dirt. (well, actually sand since I live at the beach) Quoted:
Thank you. Unless OP is talking about literally (haha) ZERO LANDSCAPING. Where I come from they call that dirt. (well, actually sand since I live at the beach) So does OP. ...to cover the bare dirt ... A.W.D. |
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I've always thought about, what if you put down a few inches of mulch, then poured epoxy over it? It would harden clear, and to viewers it would always look like the perfect mulch yard, but it would never decompose. All you'd have to do is use a leaf blower on it every once in a while. if at all feasible that sounds awesome but im not aware of any epoxy that doesn't rival illegal drugs in cost per ounce doing any amount of landscaping would be $$$ that and Epoxy loves finding the lowest point and wouldn't coat the mulch more than just run right through and underneath it |
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My HOA gave me until May to cover the bare dirt on the sides and back of my property. I don't think there's any actual fine, they just are concerned about how it looks next to their own homes. I have no desire to overspend on it. My two main choices are some type of rock /gravel, or shredded cedar/pine. I'm trying to go with cheap, will last more than one season, and not look like ass. Grass is out of the question, it's too damn dry. This isn't really an expensive house, so nothing from you mansion dwellers with supermodel wives. Pretty soon, Home Depot will be having its blowout $2/bag good mulch sale. Mulch, and add some xeric plants. The display garden up at CSU is very nice to see what things look like. |
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OP is a Boulder-area guy, I want to recall from past comments?
I have some plants I can give you, if interested. We have a section of orphan plants and bulbs in the backyard that we keep around for such occasions. Things like daylilies do pretty well in sunny dry conditions, and they proliferate. |
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OP is a Boulder-area guy, I want to recall from past comments? I have some plants I can give you, if interested. We have a section of orphan plants and bulbs in the backyard that we keep around for such occasions. Things like daylilies do pretty well in sunny dry conditions, and they proliferate. Thanks, I can PM you once I get closer to the landscaping date. |
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I'm actually in Monument, at about 8200 feet. Thanks, I can PM you once I get closer to the landscaping date. Quoted:
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OP is a Boulder-area guy, I want to recall from past comments? I have some plants I can give you, if interested. We have a section of orphan plants and bulbs in the backyard that we keep around for such occasions. Things like daylilies do pretty well in sunny dry conditions, and they proliferate. Thanks, I can PM you once I get closer to the landscaping date. I had a friend who lived on Spaatz. Depending on whether you're in town or someplace like that, animals browsing your plants may be a factor in what you want to put in. For catalog porn, High Country Gardens specializes in xeric plants for this area. We have mail-ordered and and we have gone down to Albuquerque to pick things by hand, and their plants have good vigor. You may not want to buy, but you can get a sense of what you like and what you don't based on what might actually grow. One more personal preference: I like perennials, reseeding annuals, berries, stuff like that. Little bit of effort each year, and the garden slowly becomes something. I am definitely not a "write a check and receive a finished garden with little landscapers" guy. |