Need your serious advice please
Pawprint
7 years ago
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Need serious landscaping advice...blank slate...
Comments (20)Tibs has the most poignant advice : Green Giant Thuga will get taller than 8 - 10'. Check with your community's zoning, you might be limited on how close you can plant to the road and how high for driver's visability. Even if it is within code to plant that high on a busy street corner I would advice not to. It is very dangerous for your community. Drivers need to be able to see around the corner. I don't understand the rational for removing the short stone retaining wall. It provides you with a low barrier set off the street which is great in regards to winter plowing / snow removal , provides an off street walking or car pull off area and allows the upper grade some flatness. I think that a walk around the Arnold Arboretum will give you some ideas about how to pull together a vignette/ composition of shrubs as well as inform you ( most all the plants are labeled ) of the various plant names. - - If the Arnold Arboretum is not within close distance then try one of the local well maintained museum properties like DeCordova in Lincoln or the old Case Estates in Weston. Another option is Allen Haskells old nursery or Weston nursery - - Otherwise a consultation with a landscape designer would greatly benefit you and would most likely save you $$$ in the long run and you will receive a good base plan to work off of ....See MoreSerious Newbie Needing Some Advice!
Comments (10)The more composted-type materials you can get into your soil, the better. Also, I agree that a couple hours of sun might not be enough for those sun loving plants. You might be able to grow some greens in some of the shadier areas, but those fruiting veggies need some sun to do well. You might want to put a couple of them in containers where they can get full sun. You can do any of those in pots, but the tomatoes are going to need at least a 5 gal bucket (preferably more). When I lived in AZ, my peppers did well in 5 gal. buckets (they dried out fast though). I have never tried a topsy turvy. Maybe you can do an experiment...one in the ground in your sunniest spot, one in a tub or bucket and one in the topsy turvy. See which one works best for you. Here is a link that might be useful: my zone 5 gardening blog...See MoreNeeded: Serious advice...
Comments (16)I have used frontline for years and have fairly good, consistent results, but I do see the occasional flea. Keep in mind that frontline doesn't kill the fleas immediately that get on your dog, but if you see one on there, they are well on their way to dead. My vet told me that I have to spray my yard to really completely control them, but I am just not willing to do that. So far I have no more trouble than seeing the occasional that I am hoping is indeed on its way out. Frontline is not without issues, but I am not willing to have my dogs suffer form the fleas nor have them set up housekeeping in my house, so I live with that risk. I don't spray anything else around here for anything. I was shocked with all the wildlife that showed up when 'installed' the backyard, which was previously one big asphalt pad. Apparently if you plant, they'll come. I would love to have guineas, but that won't work in the city. Not sure I could live with all the noise and such anyway. Angela...See More1st time homeowner needs serious advice!!
Comments (5)My dad swears by the book, "Lawn Care for Dummies." You might want to get a copy of that or some similar book. My caveat would be, and I'm not 100% sure, but it is my educated guess, that the tree in your front yard is a Norway maple. They are notorious for excluding and impeding the growth of anything in their vicinity. Their roots are so aggressive that they suck away all the nutrients and water so that anything that tries to grow under them just can't compete. Add more water and nutrients or soil under them and they will just suck away more! Plus the dense shade will limit your choice of plants for by your foundation. Edited to add that it could be a silver maple, but again, can't tell from the photo. Many of the caveats still apply for that tree as well, notoriously "rooty." Still lots of options but chose ones that can tolerate shade. Your two choices are just accept a sparse lawn (it could probably get somewhat better but with that Norway maple it will never be lush) or cut down the tree. But first show a photo of the tree's leaves and close up of the trunk and branches to confirm my suspicions. If it were me, I'd do the best I could, not try to have the perfect lawn around that tree, put edging on the beds around the perimeter like you mentioned, and add some good black dirt and replant with some nicer things in those areas. Bear in mind that shade tolerance is a must for your yard. You could mulch or put a little patio or gazebo out there somewhere if you wanted a play area with less stuff on the ground for bugs to hide in. But outside = bugs pretty much. Do not mulch under your tree. It won't do any good. The trees will just send out more roots to grow on top of the mulch. Most trees can do with an inch or two of mulch but no more. Those volcanoes of mulch under trees just kill them slowly by suffocation. In fact, keep mulch away from the trunks of trees. In the case of Norway maple, just try and overmulch them, they will just respond with, "Bring It!" There are many schools of thought on seeding a lawn. If you have more money than time, I just used to shoot out seed with my spreader before I knew there was going to be a big rain event. Some grass sprouted. Over time, it filled in. My strategy was a "survival of the fittest" strategy but it worked as well as any other strategy and was a whole lot less work than all the patching and watering I did before. Sometimes I would just sprinkle seed on bare areas. I use occasional weed killer applications and hand weeding to keep down the weeds. That's how I got my lawn into shape, a combination of weeding and reseeding over time. You'll need to do both. Grass seed has certain temperature conditions for seeding so check the package and don't seed until you're well into that zone. But then grass stops growing when it gets too hot also, so seed in spring and fall. Your biggest challenge is going to be the tree, so like I said, lower your expectations....See MorePawprint
7 years agoSuzieque
7 years agoPawprint
7 years agojoyfulguy
7 years ago
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