Stuck Between 2 Stones and a Hard Place...
Kyle
4 years ago
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Lynn Heins
4 years agoMark Bischak, Architect
4 years agoRelated Discussions
I'm stuck! #2 With pictures of complete front yard.
Comments (7)First, please take all of my advice with a grain of salt, because I've been a renter my entire adult life. I think you will be much happier in the long run for planning things out the way you are right now. I've lived in a lot of places where the owner didn't think things far enough ahead, or didn't maintain the landscape properly. You definitely need a defined walkway or path. Without a path, you will end up with a muddy rut to your door. Possibly two ruts, one from sidewalk to door and one from driveway to door. You could wait for the grass to wear out along the path of least resistance, and then pave that as your path. But I think you'll be happier with something solid and dry underfoot from the beginning. Your landscape right now looks like a jigsaw puzzle in progress, with only the edges done. That's great, because you get to fill in the middle according to your wishes. A path, even if it's just some stepping stones from the driveway to the front door so visitors know what they're supposed to walk on, is a big chunk of the center of the puzzle. Once that's in place, designing and decorating the rest of the yard will be easier. If you were making a fancy cake, you'd start with the cake part, and put the frosting on last. Flowers are frosting. When you design your decorative beds, start small. Plan on expanding them later, but don't try to do everything at once. Keep in mind that the yard is already going to need maintenance, even if you don't change a thing. The lawn will need mowing and raking. The driveway will need sweeping and shoveling. The inside of the house is going to need cleaning. Add only what you can take care of at any given time. A well-tended grouping of two or three large planted containers is always going to look better than a big, out-of-control garden that hasn't been weeded or groomed in a month, no matter how pretty the flowers in between the weeds are. Have fun, and may you and your garden grow happily together for years to come....See MoreRhodo between rock and hard place
Comments (1)You need to do too things. First, open up the shade by pruning the lower branches nearest the rhododendron so some light can get in. Such a tall magnolia doesn't need all its lowest branches. This will give the rhododendron some light. The fact it bloomed a couple years ago means that the shade had intensified, so the previous owner must have been opening up the shade to keep the rhododendron going. Second, rot prune the magnolia around the rhododendron. Rhododendrons have shallow roots about 3" to 6" deep, so just go around the rhododendron out beyond it's drip line and cut down with a shovel about 5 to 6" to cut any roots coming into the rhododendron from the magnolia. The drip line is where the shadow of the rhododendron would be if you held a light directly overhead. Stay out about a foot or more beyond that....See MoreRock and hard place -what would you do?
Comments (4)Nasus, I'm so sorry to hear about the passing of your cousin. This really is a hard situation but for one you heard about his passing from other relatives, you really never know under what circumstances he might have said that. Sometimes things get misunderstood when passed around. Whatever the case is, I think that as his brother, whether they had a strained relationship or not, he has a right to know. I would put myself in his shoes. You know their relationship better than any of us here do, so ultimately the decision is yours. Have you decided?...See MorePlanting between a rock and a hard place (stump) - potential problems?
Comments (6)The maple (which may not have been a Japanese maple, actually - someone on another forum pointed out that JMs are generally smaller trees and this one was quite large - the stump is about 2.5' in diameter) is the only tree within 20-25 feet, so I can't imagine this root belonging to anything else. Anyway, I did manage to get the root ball of the hydrangea in the hole between the root and the rock. I will just keep an eye on it and watch for signs of stress, as you suggested....See MoreB Carey
4 years agoMark Bischak, Architect
4 years agoKyle
4 years agoLindsey_CA
4 years agocpartist
4 years agoLidia
4 years agoKeepthefaith MIGirl
4 years agoMark Bischak, Architect
4 years agoKyle
4 years agoStorybook Home
4 years agocpartist
4 years agoA Fox
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
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KyleOriginal Author