Help with hardscape/landscaping
We moved into this house almost a year ago and the flagstone patio in the front is overwhelming and needs to be repaired. (All the grouting is flakes and there are low spots). There were two raised rectangular planting beds in the front that didn't work with the rest of the house (and stopped the flow of the water to leave a puddle in the muddle when it rained) that I have already pulled out. I want to pull out more of the flagstone (I will repurpose it in the back) and reintroduce some more natural planting beds and maybe lawn.
I want to still keep usable walkways going from our driveway to our porch and side deck, and not sure what direction to go.
The water from the driveway flows to the patio and drains out the right to the side of the house. Maybe incorporate a dry creek bed?
Also the previous owners put that side fence up just before we bought it, we still need to rip that up and install it correctly.
In the side yard (to the right) I want to raised vegetable garden that will double as a retaining wall for our crushed asphalt parking pad.
I found a picture of our house from 2002 without the patio and I like the curb appeal better then now.
Attached are some from now and
then.
I don't know if what I want to do will look good and I would love suggestions!
Comments (10)
PROYardvaark
8 years ago
laceyvail 6A, WV
8 years agoRelated Discussions
Pictures: HELP - landscaping/hardscaping on a hill
Comments (9)I think your hill is great. I like the rocks where they are. Ok the odd pieces of concrete can be moved. I like the odd star shaped ones and would probably use them for something. a woodland garden would be great in that spot. Are deer a problem? Looks like they might be. Would really like to see daffodils snowdrops and other spring bulbs coming up (no tulips) in that space, you cand add a bit every year in groups. In spring you will have sun because you dont have leaves on the trees, so the bulbs will come up. Then big leaved Hosta , some are fragrant with nice flowers. The newer varieties are slug resistant. Astible, even a rhodie or two nicely placed. The rocks are really nice. Look at some pictures of Rock Gardens it may help you appreciate them more. I'll trade you my nasty eroding slope any day for your lovely woodland spot. ( wink)...See MoreNeed landscape and hardscape plan for mediterranean style home
Comments (0)Remodeling home in RSF and need help with landscape and hardscape. Please contact nicole@nfrank.com...See MoreSad little pond, fantastic yard-- need ideas for hardscape/landscape
Comments (22)What a beautiful property and so much potential! I'm the last person to give landscaping advice (you'd agree if you saw my yard lol, but it's mostly for lack of funds, not necessarily lack of ideas). That being said, as far as the pond, I personally could take it or leave it. However, if I were to keep it, I would like to put a gorgeous stone patio (rounded, curves, not a square or rectangle) in that area from the house to the pond, encompassing the pond to make it part of the patio. Possibly a low wall around the patio, with pots of annuals trailing down, or gardens around the wall or patio. I envision a seating area next to the pond enjoying the water (maybe putting a little water fall or water feature in it) and a water garden. I'd also put a small tree somewhere near the patio to shade it, but then I love the shade and think a sunny patio is nothing but a seat in hell, lol. I know you have that patio on the other side, but to me that looks more like a place to have morning coffee, not entertain or sit in the evening. Not everyone can have two patios, lol, but if you have the space and the funds, it might be nice. And this is where you could put your pergola (instead of or in addition to a small tree) and lights, and sit in the evening next to the pond. As far as the rest, you have so many choices and I think you need to think about what you want out of the yard. A vegetable garden can be created to be visually lovely but honestly it often ends up looking more utilitarian, so perhaps put that farther from the house and focus on perennial beds closer. On the other hand, having your vegetable garden close to the house is very convenient (says the person who has to walk across half an acre to snip some beans for dinner lol) Do you like formal plantings or more cottagey gardens? Do you want to have some kind of historically accurate garden to go with the house? I would incorporate shrubs and evergreens and berried plants for year-round interest (although of course check for toxicity for your dog - sorry, I don't have a dog so I don't know what is dangerous to them). Natives are, IMO, a bit less work. I would prefer some privacy so I might put some shrubs on the fence line, at least near the house, but be careful about light - you don't want to plant anything that will be too tall and might end up blocking the sun unless you are planning a shade garden. Think about watering too. Again, if you have the funds, now is the time to run piping for extra spigots around the yard, or an irrigation system, etc. I also love the idea of a secret little grotto in that back area with the old dairy walls. Something shady and restful and cool, with a place to sit and relax... nice! One thing of course to keep in mind is your view from the bedroom, if that is important to you. You may want to orient that entire side of the yard to look good from there as well as from the ground. If you put a pergola or small tree in the back there it might block some of the view, or it may add to it. Good luck, and please keep us posted as you go along! It's always so much fun to live vicariously through other people's gardens! I can't wait to see what you do with the property! :) Dee P.S. All that being said, I agree with Theresa24 - wait until next year and watch, watch, watch, and think, think, think. Hard to do but it will likely save you either regret or more work down the road!...See MoreHelp me update my hardscape/landscaping for my ranch-styled hom
Comments (5)In my professional opinion as a landscape designer, I think you would be best served by hiring a local professional to help you develop a landscape/hardscape plan that will maximize your garden usage while complimenting your home. As it is now, your request is so open-ended as to be difficult to resolve or even address well by any remote input. And because California has some very specific, ongoing issues that dictate how landscaping should be approached - ongoing drought and fireproof gardening - a local professional is better able to address those issues. The first step would be to eliminate as much water hungry lawn area as possible through a combination of hardscaping and drought tolerant plantings. For that, you need onsite, hands-on attention and help :-) And just a word to the wise - a ranch style home is NOT the same as a mid-century modern style and it would take some serious renovations and a lot of $$ to convert a standard ranch to MCM!!...See MoreKmpcfp
8 years agoWow I was all over the place with that first post.
I am working on a scale sketch of what I am hoping to accomplish.
Another thing to note is our septic tank is located on the far left of the patio/mulched area and our drain fields run from there toward shed/parking pad to the right.
Driveway looks huge because it is. I think it has to be paved that much because of the drain fields and also for space to turn around instead of backing out of the driveway. The driveway is next to a ravine and can be precarious in the winter.
I am working on a sketch, but in the mean time here are some more pictures and topography maps.
As you can tell by the pictures we have a TON of work to do outside :-/
The septic tank runs from the first large corner flagstone on the top step to the "V" shaped area between asphalt and patio.
A lot of the water drains down here to the left.
This gives some prospective to the slope. The lamp posts will be replaced with something better. (And driveway needs to be repaired as well).
Each line is 2 feet.
Kmpcfp
8 years agoWe are still not sure if this will be our "forever" house, so right now just a big bandaid fix to address curb appeal.
I sketched up a design thought. My ultimate goal is to create something that flows more naturally with the surrounding, but still brings attention to our entryway. There is a large creek/marsh that flows behind our house, and everything else is basically woods.
My thought scale may be off though.
I am completely overwhelmed going from a flat 22x100' townhouse lot to 3 acres of slopes/wetlands.
red outline is existing flagstone.
Love those above
More existing angles below:
- PRO
Yardvaark
8 years agoI'm amending my earlier statement where I meant to say we COULDN'T know how much water was going to come off of the drive, instead "we could." It was a typo.
As yourself, Kmpcfp, if you WANT a dry stream bed, or if you're incorporating it because you think it is the solution. If undersized, they can be "cute" in a mini-golf sort of way. If you expect it to look natural, it should be in scale with the surroundings. Keep in mind that those in the example pictures are on relatively flat ground. If the dry stream bed is expected to carry a lot of water and it's on a slope, it's going to require bigger and beefier rocks if they're going to stay in place. Many times these are built undersized by someone who doesn't have experience with arranging things to look natural and they end up looking like a truck dumped some gravel and it hasn't been cleaned up yet. I don't know what you can do, but be careful not to create that type of arrangement. If you don't necessarily want a dry stream bed (or a pile of rocks in the yard) consider that a tough groundcover is capable of keeping the soil from eroding, once it is established.
These comments are predicated on my thinking that I understand your sketch. You can let me know If I've got anything wrong. First, I would consider that the drainage path (orange arrow) should be pushed closer to the drive and further from the house ... in the vicinity of the orange arrow. The high point (H.P. ... which is the high point of the drainage swale) would be in line with access to the door, as it would be the flattest part of the drainage path. (The blue arrows are the general direction of water flow at the front of the house.)
I would expand the paved access to the house to be the full width of the first section of the porch (near the door ... from the door to the first post). Or it's going to look skimpy for your house. Alternatively, it could be the full width of the porch, more or less like it is now.
Where you are reducing paving, I would get rid of the funky, slanted angles that you are proposing for paving edges and connections, and replace them with straight lines and radius curves. Otherwise, the finished project is going to look like it is designed by someone without experience.
Kmpcfp
8 years agoThank you for the input. I drew it to scale, the dry creek bed definitely wouldn't look right, there is not enough space for what I was picturing in my head.
When I was putting in the curve and the "funky slanted angles" I didn't even think about how the curve would affect the stairs. Reason I wanted to fill in at least the first step was to bring the side of the septic tank to grade. Right now the 4 corner flagstones are just sitting on the septic lid and are loose/trip hazard. And they can't be grouted. What if I just raise up a section of the first step (see drawing)? Should I split the difference and move up a smaller section in the 2nd step?Each square is 2'
Is the planting bed in front of the window sufficient size? If I have the bed come out 3' it leaves a minimum of 5' for that walkway. I could make it a bit bigger and pull the curve by the septic farther out to compensate.
- PRO
Yardvaark
8 years agoI don't understand the issues and what you're asking about "raising up first step". Maybe you could show the issues in a picture ...?
Artistically and functionally, I liked it better when you had the edges of the steps to deck with uniform offsets. Why did you change to 2 wide and 1 narrow? In terms of using the steps, I think it works better if you pull the edge of upper step toward septic cover in order to add more space to the upper landing and allow for deeper planting cutout.
I don't think there's a need for the planter cutout to be symmetrically oriented with the wall face. It works better for the steps (to deck) if it's offset and you allow more space between planting cutout and edge of upper landing. (Everything is a balancing act.)
I also like it better when the right edge of the paved approach to the house lines up with the right edge of house, instead of with porch edge. There seems to be plenty of paving. A little more landscape space at the front would be nice. Also, I would consider closing off that last section of porch between the two posts (as per picture) with deck rail.
Kmpcfp
8 years ago- PRO
Yardvaark
8 years agolast modified: 8 years ago
Yardvaark