Help planning backyard landscape
kaj2014
7 years ago
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Yardvaark
7 years agokaj2014
7 years agoRelated Discussions
Planning a backyard patio / landscaping - pics!
Comments (5)I am a confirmed, dyed in the wool DIY'er and with budget limitations that further require this approach. I feel as if I am smart, I know how to research, and so I should be able to learn how to do almost anything well enough to suit me needs. My previous homes landscaping was my first foray into the field and I attacked it- I read, I went on garden tours, I went to plant shows, seminars, and everything else under the sun to learn the basics. As a result I had a yard full of plants that had each been moved ten times in order to try and obtain the look I wanted. It was exhausting and this method continued for nearly six years. We joked about my plants having frequent flyer miles- my husband is a saint because he dug, moved things, and did everything I asked over and over and over in my attempts to capture a look. The money we spent on plants! Only to remove them and give them away when they did not work- it is sickening how much time and money we wasted. When we decided to redo all of our fencing I took the plunge and hired a landscape designer to make me a plan that we could implement as funds allowed. I was on a totally tight budget and did everything I could to make it easy for her to do my job- I had a survey ready for her, I had measurements, I had a list of every plant I owned that I wanted to incorporate and a list of those species I did not want, and I had clear ideas of the function of each space within my yard. She came up with a plan that totally did it for me. This was in 1996 and I think it cost me something like $350. The only items I had her company install were three larger shade trees. Everything else we did on our own over the next few years and it turned out beautifully. I know for a fact that is what sold the house in a very poor real estate market in '07- the house itself had problems but the curb and garden appeal were off the charts and the rear garden was a wonderland. Which is my long winded way of telling you that IMO spending money on a solid design up front is far cheaper in the long run that trying to do it yourself, especially if you don't have a demonstrated knack for it. You can spend that much money on plants at Home Depot in one weekend only to have half of them fail from being repeatedly moved or be inappropriate to your needs once you get them home. It would be FAR cheaper and more efficient, IMO, to work off of a sound design from the beginning. If you like you can substitute various plants within the design but the solid bones of the plan- the balance, the scale, working with textures- some things just go more smoothly and successfully when you bring an expert into the process. Of course you can do what you like- but IMO planting a plant one time and having it be the right plant for the specific spot that serves the intended purpose and renders you a gorgeous, easily maintained, well functioning yard- well that's worth the price of a professional design. I don't have any idea what they are charging nowadays but I do know that this yard will be with you for decades, or at least as long as you remain in the home. It is your daily environment, it influences your life constantly, it is the space our kids grow up in and remember all their lives. Even if I had to skip this years vacation or put off that bigger TV I would try and find a way to insure that my design was sound and the best way to accomplish that, IMO, is to have a pro do it....See MoreStarting from Scratch Backyard Landscaping Help
Comments (10)Ideally, it's great to have an overall plan, healthy budget and do all your hardscaping first. However many of us have to rely on an overall idea of what we want, limited budget and DIY :) If you can afford it, I would recommend fencing in your right side and back, so you can create your own private area. This will minimize damage from dogs and other neighbor issues...and give you some screening for that vegetable garden. If you like shrubs that bloom, it might be nice to have taller ones against the fence and shorter ones closer to the yard. You might even be able to add some bulbs for spring color, that will grow up through the mulch. If you don't want too many, even a corner or two with daffodils that have naturalized can be very pretty. Do you want a more formal layout (rectangular) or more informal, with a few curves and rounded inside corners? Do you plan to have any shrub roses? They are beautiful and often very fragrant...and can even have few or no thorns. Many old-fashioned roses need very minimal care and bloom for four to six weeks. We have many in eastern Washington (cold winters/hot summers) and they do very nicely, even with the cold and snow. The nice thing about shrub roses is that they look so good with butterfly bushes, clumps of lavender, spirea, forsythia, pontillia, catmint, etc. If you do decide to use lavender, munstead is a nice gray/lavender and grows fairly large...Hidcote stays smaller and is more blue/purple. Both do well with our cold winters and don't mind the extra water that Mediterranean lavenders dislike. Have fun with your garden! :) Hidcote lavender... From Lavender's Garden Celsiana shrub rose (wonderful rose that changes from pink to almost white) with (I believe) Excellenz von Schubert rose (smaller pink in background) daisies about to bloom under Celisana, Salvia (dark purple) and Hidcote lavender (lighter purple).... From Lavender's Garden This post was edited by lavender_lass on Fri, Dec 20, 13 at 14:46...See MoreBackyard landscaping and hardscaping help
Comments (2)Thank you for the responses. Patio design - should it be straight lines or curved? Steps - one continuous or two separate? We have suggestions for both and the companies that have come out go back and forth between them. Is there a rule to follow as far as design goes?...See Moreneed help picking trees for backyard landscape. Have pictures
Comments (10)I do LOVE my red push pistache and I recommend them to many clients who want a beautiful shade tree. I do not think they are messy. Of course they go dormant so you need to be ok with no leaves in the winter. But each tree will act different depending on the temp where it is planted. I saw 2 today full of leaves! The pistache requires more water than our desert trees. The difference with the citrus is that you will want to do deep watering often in the summertime. You must be careful though and make a well around the trunk as you do not want the citrus trunk to ever get wet. You also want to fertilize the citrus and be sure to paint the trunks in the spring so they do not get burnt in the summer. I would stay away from the sissoos. Once you have them they will spread roots looking for water. If they reach grass you can bet on little babies popping up everywhere! I am an arborist and I cannot tell you how many we have removed in the past 5 years. Once removed none of the root system can have any water or sunlight or you will be sure to have babies everywhere. You definitely have room for the swan hill olive (fruitless variety) and I agree that they are super clean. They will send suckers up at the base all the time and you will want to cut these back. I really like the tipu tree also. It does get very large, has beautiful leaves and small yellow flowers. it will defoliate late winter and immediately send new leaves out again. Below is a baby and a close up of the leaves. I was really glad to see you have the trees spaced far apart. So many times trees are planted too close and end up competing for sun. I hate removing trees for this reason. Good luck!...See MoreYardvaark
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agokaj2014
7 years agokaj2014
7 years agowhitewatervol (Z 8a/7b Upstate SC)
7 years agoemmarene9
7 years agokaj2014
7 years agokaj2014
7 years agoNHBabs z4b-5a NH
7 years agolast modified: 7 years agoYardvaark
7 years ago
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Anna (6B/7A in MD)