Ugly backyard - need help

10 years ago

We just moved into a home with a south facing backyard with an old underground pool. The pool needs help and since we have 4 kids we think we will keep it and pour money into it :)
But we need to update this yard. We will replace the fence and hoping to remove tired wooden patio that's at the far end of yard next to garage and put a little grass there and plants around it next to fence. Would love a small tree there maybe a flowering tree. Want to make an area for kids to play - fairy nook, a bench maybe with an arbor over? No play set something low key. And patios! We are thinking concrete or pavers - a big one next to house, right of pool and a skinnier one left of pool where the afternoon sun comes on. We have a neighbors pine tree right of garage that I'd like to leave green or brown maybe? Maybe plant something like hostas there? It's so darn ugly. Please any help with patio size, design suggestions and planting ideas would be great....thank you!!

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Comments (4)

Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b
10 years ago
Does that pool have a cover on it?

We can't see the rest of your yard. But kids do love to swim in pools! Good family time. Money well spent.

Not sure how in ground pools survive in cold Minnesota.
deviant-deziner
10 years ago
If there was ever a project when hiring a local landscape designer would be highly beneficial, this would be the project.
You have a great wish list , a nice slice of property with all kinds of possibilities and like most everybody; budgetary limits. - best to speak with a local professional.

A local landscape designer can walk the site with you, see your viewing corridors, feel the wind direction , take a soil sample and knows your local building costs and building codes.

There is no harm in getting suggestions here , especially if you want something generic that includes a limbed up tree at the corner of the house that looks like a stump of brocolli, but hey , its free.
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Haul it away. No unless you have money to burn. BTW, you could burn some of the bigger twigs to make them take up less space, but wood ash is very alkaline so don't heap it all in one place and expect things to grow there. 2. Pay someone to grind it . . . hmm. It seems like what you have is not enough to make that a cost-effective option but you might investigate. I just saw an ad in my local paper for someone who offers tree trimming and shredding but you don't know if that is just more of the same level as what you have, so investigate. I get very woody debris from the power companies out at the Arb. and we are always picking out sticks from it, but we just throw them into the woods for the most part. Finding someone with a good mulcher might be difficult but you never know. I am toying with buying a small electric one just for twigs around my yard, but have heard they don't last long. 2, OK to leave as is for a year? I would think so. As far as needing more mulch, you can figure that out in a year, see what you've got. If it looks shabby you can pick out the big stuff and then freshen it up with a top dressing of fancier mulch if you like. Stuff that isn't breaking down, the big pieces, aren't robbing the soil of nitrogen. I don't know about the smaller stuff, it depends. If in doubt, test the soil before you plant the grass. I think you're supposed to test the soil anyway. Some people get a load of topsoil to rake around before they seed a lawn, depending on how good or bad the soil is. Seems like your money would be best spent on something like that rather than futzing with your mulch. But test first. I don't think you're ruining your soil leaving mulch on it for a month or so. But if it were me, I'd read up on seeding a lawn and check off all my boxes for that. If you want a lawn, focus on doing the lawn. I think you are wise to just rake the stuff into the area you want to have for shrubs and leaving it. It will be fine in a year and then you can decide what to do with that area and what's left. I find it best to break up a big re-landscaping project into sections and focus on getting one part done at a time. Take some time out to enjoy your yard too!
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Hello Bob, Seems like you have a fun project on your hands. I can't speak much to the plant selection, as I am from all the way up in Canada, but I would recommend considering a rock garden for under the trees with some native shade tolerant plants and a focal element. The rockery would play nicely off of the existing concrete walkway, would be low maintenance for you and would fill in the space where it is hard for things to grown anyways. You could then utilized the pre-existing lawn for the children to play. If you are selling after that 5 years, this would add some curb appeal, would be nice for potential buyers and is easily altered if it is undesirable for them. However, this recommendation does not consider where the house is in relation to the yard and your desired 'flow' or usage for the space. Just food for thought. Cheers, Kyle
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Since it’s a rental I’d get some potted plants that you can take with you. Not sure you can do anything about the ground cover however without permission from the owner.
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trovesoftrilliums
10 years ago
Our previous house had a pool and we have kids. So many birthday parties took place there. :)

Like your situation, our pool did not have much paved space around it. This was sometimes problematic. I would either make sure that strip of grass near the pool is well taken care of (avoid a muddy situation) or pave it somehow.

As you pick out plants, try to avoid ones that drop a lot of debris so as to minimize pool cleaning duties.
PRO
Yardvaark
10 years ago
The pool fairly dominates the yard, which is fine ... lots of potential fun, as has been pointed out. But the decking is seriously inadequate. The vision that's popping into my head is a pool deck/patio that is good size--dominates the yard--with cut-outs in the paving for planting. But we can only see so much, so what your comprehensive needs are is anyone's guess. Pavers would be great, but if you DIY, do it same as pros if you want a satisfactory result. If you cut corners, then it would be better to have professionally installed concrete.

It won't do you any good to have a bunch of loose ideas-- tree, grass, hosta, arbor-- floating around. This is how people design hodge-podges. You need to commit all of the ideas to a pencil and paper plan that is drawn "to scale," in order to make sure that everything fits and works. It would be fairly easy to draw since everything is square and the overall space is not too large. You can work out the organization, shapes, and arrangement of elements yourself, if you have the capability, or you can get help from someone who does. Show your work here and you can get feedback on it, if you like.

But from the start, be realistic about the budget. Don't create a dream plan that can't possibly be implemented. If you are DIYers, then include your skills and capabilities in the budget. If you're reasonable about the plans, you can make something great happen here.

Ugly backyard - need help

Comments (4)

Suzi AKA DesertDance So CA Zone 9b

deviant-deziner

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