need drainage help for my mulch bed/front yard
powie
16 years ago
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stevega
16 years agolawnmasters
16 years agoRelated Discussions
Need help deciding on shrubs for my front yard (Pic)
Comments (6)My only suggestion - before I shut down in anticipation of the lightning in the coming wave of storms from Fay, yahoo for rain!!! - is that you REALLY think about what you plant where at the ends of your driveway - sit in the car and look, and have someone measure, to see what will or won't block your sight-lines. Use cardboard boxes - large ones and medium ones - to mimic shrub sizes to see what will or won't give you a clear sight. It may be better to put any shrubs, bar the really tiny ones, further back, and leave the corners to perennials. The other reason to do so is that the financial cost in replacing perennials is MUCH less, usually, than in replacing a shrub that some blind and demented delivery man didn't see and just ran over!!!...See MoreEnd of my rope with dandelions in my yard, but I need my mulch!
Comments (17)The idea that you would be catching the clippings on 2 acres of lawn seems very silly to me. The wealth of the soil under that lawn is being robbed every time you take away those clippings, and that wealth is needed for the health of the lawn. I even think folks that rake up then haul off leaves from their trees are just ripping off their own yards. I think if I were you, I might take part of the lawn and grow something in particular that you want to use as mulch, buckwheat, clover, etc. You can grow it thick so it shades out weeds like dandelions. You'll be far better off with the lawn by leaving the grass clippings on the lawn. And look around for other possible sources of mulch in your community. There are so many people that just throw out stuff you could use. And if you ask, sometimes they will save it for you, bring it to you, call you when it is ready, etc. Also consider the amount of gasoline you are using to keep that two acres mowed - no amount of mulch is worth that......See MoreZone 9a Lafayette, Louisiana. Need help landscaping my front yard.
Comments (4)Monique, curb appeal doesn't rest primarily on selecting certain plants. It rests more on bed layout, plant forms & sizes, arrangement, organization and adding the right amount of variety. The picture you've provided shows mainly the house. But landscaping -- curb appeal -- has as much more to do with responding to the SETTING as it does with just what's in front of the house. It would be good if you could return to the exact spot* where the first picture was taken and swing the camera leftward in order to show us what's over there. The picture needs to slightly overlap with the existing one. Then swing the camera to the right, slightly overlapping again, and show us what's over there. That way we can see the broad view of the entire front yard. Also, with your truck out of the way, move the camera closer in and take another picture of the front entrance portion of the house (from the garage wall to the fence.) *If you can't return to the exact spot to match the first picture, disregard it and take all new pictures that pan the scene. Any chance on widening the walk that goes to the front door? That would help with curb appeal, too....See MoreI need some design advice for my front yard beds
Comments (24)The "before" picture showing shrubs lining both sides of the walkway should be enough to permanently scare you away from reverting to that scheme. As Bio says, it will make the walk look narrower. It will look less inviting and feel it, too. You definitely need to extend the walk to the curb as it has the look of an abandoned, unfinished project. Try to find the best match to the stone as possible. You'll be forgiven that there will be a "shadow" where the new meets the old. Over time, it will lessen. You could widen the walk a little (8" each side) by bordering it with brick laid sailor course. Or by using a plain concrete band if that's your preference. If you're going to include a bed around a tree, don't make a little bed around a large tree as the proportions will be way off. Tree beds are not good for annuals (which must be changed out periodically. They are better for permanent groundcovers or perennials that serve as groundcovers. When you have a lot of grade change, shrubs below windows do not need to be matched kind. What's important is that they have the same relationship where they meet the window. What everyone said about deepening the bed ... for sure. Instead of 2, 3, or 4,' it should be 6' at the shallowest and flare to meet any deeper bed configuration. The house could use another tree off of it's right corner to balance the picture. Color is always nice by the entrance. Colorful perennials wrapping the corners is another way to interject some seasonal color. It would be good to someday replace the lamp post with a taller one....See Moretoad08
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