How Can I Landscape My Steep Sloping Front Yard?
Troy
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
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l pinkmountain
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Landscaping steep bowl shaped slope-backyard
Comments (32)taterville, Things are coming along very nicely. I bet when you were in school you were one of those students that always did your homework; I never did mine. lol Most of your measurements worked fine, but something went wrong with the measurement of point A. That's my fault, not yours; my instructions were not adequate for the task. As we go along, there will be times when you need to mark a place on the ground in a semi-permanent way. Any number of things can be used; stakes, tent pegs, or nails with a ribbon attached. Now let me revisit the location of point A. You will need to place a marker at point A that is at the bottom toe of the slope about mid way in the curved transition between the relative straight line of the toe running behind your house and the straight line of the toe running along the side of your house. Begin at point A and measure along a line parallel to the back of your house to a point that aligns with the back of your house, shown in my graphic as point B. Earlier you gave that distance as 4ft 11 inches. That may have been correct, but because we may now be starting from a new location for A, you will need to repeat this measurement. Now go back to point A and measure parallel to the side of your house to a point that aligns with the back corner of your house shown as point C. Think of the box defined by the the three points and the back corner of your house as a rectangle. It is the width and length of this rectangle we seek. You did not give a distance from point E to F and I assume that the slope is just too long and slick to make the measurement. That's OK, there are other ways to find the location of point F. I'll prepare some instructions on how to go about it. You are getting close to providing the data needed to produce a base map defining the terrain you have. It wont have the precision of that of a professional, but is certainly suitable for planning purposes. The precision can be improved as needed. Taking what can be used from your photos, the survey, and the measurements requested by yardvaark and myself, I have made a drawing. Contours shown are at 1 ft intervals. Scale, small squares equal 2ft. I will add to and make corrections as additional data comes in. Below is a thumbnail. The full sized drawing Is in the optional link. I would invite everyone to use any of the graphics I provide to convey your ideas for the site. Here is a link that might be useful:...See MoreSteep Side yard slope + big picture planning
Comments (64)CCP - I am late to respond, but I am not sure what pictures to add. If you look at the ones I put up on 4/15/11 and imagine grass, you pretty much have the layout. The swings are steps from the patio, and running around space is more open behind the garage. General Update - Another season in, we cured the drainage issue in the spring, mostly. The dry creek to nowhere, that my architect and landscaper thought would work, didn't. We were left with rocks on top of mud, instead of mud. We pulled it, and did a DIY (disaster filled install) french drain going across two and a half properties. We used "EZ-Flow" Pipes from NDS, which is basically an alternative to gravel. We are having some problems with the pipes bucking after a heavy rain and needing to be re-worked in my next,next door neighbor's yard, but we are planning to add more fill to weigh it down. Moving the water away to the community retention pond was the only cure though. Kind of wish we had written a check as opposed to DIY though. In terms of the plantings, almost everything has thrived - except the dogwood and sourwood in the rear. We replaced the sourwood once and its replacement is hurting. There is a bit of grade there and we've read that sourwood's like water, so we think that its iffy that we have the right plant there given that the water drains. The dogwood, we may replace this weekend. That particular tree was always kind of weak even before the transplant from the front yard to the back, so we will give it one more shot before looking at another selection. The patio (and deck above) gather mold rather easily. In a few years I'd like to rip the cheap composite deck out and replace it with something (tropical hardwood?, regular wood?), but we'll live with it for a while. The mold/moss (green stuff) on the bluestone is a bit more disconcerting, as we wonder if it is a sign that the area below the patio is on the wetter side. The ground is firm, and there is gravel below, and the gutters are buried/routed away, but we speculate that water may be a factor. In terms of our enjoyment - we had a labor day party last weekend and could put a couple dozen people in the yard no problem. The kids like to hid in the tall grasses by the side stairs, and the curb appeal is nice. So far, so good....See More~what can i plant on a steep hill right in my front yard~
Comments (3)That's a lot of land, you need to consider what portion of your total land that is, what uses you would like for it, and how much time you would want to spend maintaining it. You could terrace it with concrete mortarless retaining wall blocks and get more use out of it for growing shrubs, trees, blueberries, etc. You could make it a rock garden and grow dainty rock garden plants. I have a bank I got tired of weed whacking so I planted a number of aggressive spreaders on it to fight it out. It gives a varied appearance and interest at different times. I used- *Symphytum grandiflorum, groundcover comfrey, tubular pink to blue to white flowers in spring, very tough even for dry shade, sun, spreads fast, WILL overcome all weeds, impossible to remove. *Geranium macrorrhizum, very tough, dry shade, sun, pink flowers in spring *Hypericum calycinum, yellow flowers, spreads, tough, sun-shade Some other possibilities are heather or oregano. I also have thymes on a dry slope but some get woody after a few years. Oreganos come up from the roots, die down in fall leaving brown stuff to remove, but at least don't get woody and require pruning. I've seen slopes with an assortment of heathers, they take poor dry soil and spread out into mats. Different ones bloom at different times. I haven't noticed any drawbacks on mine or pruning requirements. I think some people mow them after bloom. I like to kill weeds over winter with black plastic or newspaper, then the ground is all bare and ready to plant in spring....See MoreHow can I create a slope in my landscaping?
Comments (1)From your description I don't understand the details of what you're trying to do. It would be helpful if you draw a sketch, which you can scan or photograph and upload. Put some dimensions on it. It does not need to be perfect or to scale, but it should be proportionately correct so as not to mislead. Also, you might take a photograph of the area you're talking about. No close-ups; show the surroundings, too. Insofar as leveling out an area. You might want to reconsider "building it up." That sounds like you'll need to import soil. When working with grade, if one can, one usually wants to BALANCE cut and fill so that they have neither the need to import soil, or haul it off. Instead of raising the garden area, you might want to lower half of it and raise half of it....See MoreBeverlyFLADeziner
6 years agoYardvaark
6 years agoTroy
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoDig Doug's Designs
6 years agoMilcasa
6 years agoTroy
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agol pinkmountain
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agolaceyvail 6A, WV
6 years agol pinkmountain
6 years ago
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