Hi, folks. Apologize for taking so long to post the pics of my drainage problem, but would appreciate further feedback, now that I have uploaded my photos. Really would prefer to forego the idea of a rain garden. Feel that it would really ruin the appearance of my lawn layout as it is now. Been thinking about my issue further and wondering if circling my mulch island with retaining bricks to make it like a raised bed would help out at all. It might keep the water run-off out, but the water would still flow across and down my lawn, I suppose. Been also contemplating if I might somehow create a dry creek for the section of lawn that has much of the water run-off, but I think it would just look horrendous stretching across my front lawn. I feel like I'm screwed with this issue, unless I spend big bucks to regrade and reseed the lawn; money which I certainly don't have. This first pic is looking at the water flowing into the back side of the island: This next pic is looking at the water flowing over the front side of the island. Note that the neighbor's yard slopes down towards mine, and the water run-off begins in the area just right of the front corner of my house, straight down into the island: This next pic is looking at the water run-off across the lawn. The front of the island is seen in the background. So, the water exits the front edge of the island and then comes down a few more feet and then flows all across the bottom of the lawn before crossing over the sidewalk and into the grassy strip along the curb, which is badly washed out and contains just weedy growth and rocks. This last pic shows a similar problem at a smaller mulch island around my lamp post at the front corner of the driveway. No problem with noticeable water run-off in this lawn area per se, but water does collect in the edge of the island just due to the slope of the lawn here.

I started my emphasis on natives and naturalizing vegetation when I moved into my current house with its woodlands yard. Then, as friends moved into houses and wanted yards that looked landscaped but took little or no maintance, natives and naturalizing plants fit the bill. However, in the past ten years or so, native plants are now preimer in our area and often less than affordable. What we've found is that there is quite a bit of vegetation available FOR FREE at construction sites! To discover what will grow well in your location, drive around your neighborhood and extended area looking for healthy looking vegetation living in the same general conditions. - In our area, there can be many different conditions just within a small yard. - It will help to grab a field guide to native vegetation so you know what it is you are looking at. Don't forget to consider native and naturalizing vegetation from the next environment, state, or area beyond yours; sometimes, your specific location may have adequate conditions for not so native vegetation to survive. Sometimes, a location does best with "same old boring" vegetation or, vegetation that shares many of the same characteristics. In that case, plan for a predominace of that type of vegetation trying to create a canvas of texture differences for visual flow and interest; often you'll find that many of your natives/naturalizing for a given ecosystem all flower at the same general time. Then, sparingly use bits of stand-out color whether it be a 6" flower, 6' shrub, or 60' tree just as the books talk about specimen plantings to draw they eye through the space during the various seasons. Use "garden decor" whether it be a permenant hardscape type item or a smaller moveable object to provide visual interest while your plantings are growning or to fill in a boring space in the off season. Baskets, or even dug-in pots, of annuals or perennials can be used to provide some color and interest during those first couple of years; or even for that off-season color as needed in the permenant plan. If an area is sunny, I've found that vegetables such tomatoes are a great way to fill in an under construction garden space; the goal being to fill the space and provide some color as opposed to actually growing a crop. Oddly enough, rubarb is an hardy, inexpensive temporary space filler with interesting folliage contrast; it even seems to grow in reasonable shade in a woodlands garden when top dressed with a little bit of bagged, composted, steer manuer every spring. I've found that there are three keys to the surviablility of construction site recoveries whether they be natives/naturalizing or old landscaping plants. The first is to try to get as big a root ball as possible. The second is to try to match the soil conditions/ideal soil conditions for that plant as much as possible in the destination location. (i.e. I always try to plant a piece of rotting wood 4"-6" below any woodland ferns I transplant and duplicate forest litter type soil in the actual hole.) The third is that I water often and well/deep that first year. Depending upon what and where I'm planting recovered or nursery purchaced plants, I try to soften the eventual "natural" conditions with temporary vegetation. In our area, we were originally primarily forested with forest-edge or forest-recovery vegetation. Or, we had grass plains/meadows surrounded by forest-edge/forest-recovery vegetation. Or, we had wet-lands - also predominately surrounded by forests. Our hardy conifer trees. larger decidous trees, and native shrubs typically grew up and out of other cover vegetation from grasses to full sized trees whose life-span was in the 50 year range. The temporary vegetation is used to serve two purposes: 1) shade the plantings thus reducing moisture loss through through the foliage and protecting delicate new foliage growth. 2) temper the soil conditions for both tempurature and water loss. In a landscaped, neighborhood type yard I tend to use tomatoes plants and/or bulbs (including bulbs, tubers, and corms). In a more natural-setting type yard, I've been know to use the same, naturally ocurring weeds, "native grasses" whether naturally occurring or dug up and planted (while the seed heads can add interest, one has to assess the spring weeding versus deadheading chores), and native or naturalizing annuals and bi-annuals with an actual flower which are more often than not planted with visual interest in mind (just look at your roadsides and vacant lots for ideas but again, consider deadheading any seeds versus weeding any seedlings). If you are planting with actual, native vegetation you absolutely need to temper any tendancies towards fertilizing. Natives are used to certain types of soil conditions and water conditions as opposed to regular feedings. You may find however, that you need to "soil condition" or ammend the soil that is in your particular spot. In nature, nitrogen is provided by the natural breakdown of organic matter whether it be leaf litter, dead annuals such as grasses and weeds, and a proportionally small amount of animal waste. Most ecosystems also have nitrogen formulating vegetation and/or nemotodes that live on particular vegeation's roots as well as naturally ocurring worm casings. It does not come in the form of gigantic pumpkin forming in-organic fertilizer. Like wize, all of the other required nutrients are formed as a result of naturally occuring events from wild fires to soil microbes doing their decomposition thing; not exactly conditions you would welcome into your living space. Do pay attention to the new growth on your natives with an eye towards missing soil components. In our area, we often need to maintain or generate a forest floor leaf-litter (or conifer needle) soil type. It is not uncommon to have to add some calcium or iron periodically. On the other hand, if an area is planted in grasses the soil may need to be sweetened with some lime. If you do feed your natives with a fertilizer do try to use a well balanced organic fertilizer. Organics break down and become available to the plant as the soil conditions are equally correct for accepting the nutrients. Typically, this means that your vegetation is also at its best conditions for acceptance of the fertilizer. More importantly, it is the "soil critters" from insects to worms to microbes that make a soil ideal for all plants and especially natives that you can ultimately do little or no maintainance of. Organic fertilizers also tend to promote the growth of "soil critter" populations. In nature, most vegetation goes through a spring growth spurt followed by sun generated, energy and growth spurt and ending in a slow down of new growth towards July-September in preparation for winter. Do take care to reduce all fertilization and even your watering as fall approaches; you want your plants to drift into their winter dormancy. You mentioned looking at the ODNR site. Do search out the DNR sites of surrounding states, the extention sites of your own and neighboring land-grant or AG schools too. And, since the Mississippi floods (was that the late '80's or early '90's?) there has been a Federal emphasis on farmers protecting water-sheds including soil errosion miles away from a water source, wet-lands, and water-ways. I can't remember if it is the US AG Department of the USDNR but, one of them has a program through which farmers can can get variances to the regulations, with the appropriate paperwork, based upon how they are able to document that their plan will work for them. Typically two projects per state per year are featured and they involve native or naturalizing vegetation to solve a particular concern. Not all are stream sides. The Federal site had project demonstrations/descriptions up and running before many of the States' sites had much.

So far, the Tall Fescue has appeared to do very well. It could obviously be better, but I honestly just did not do anything with it the first summer I was here. I am going to add some seed to it this year as well as add some fertilizer. The Tall Fescue is under two pretty large trees so I never had an issue during the hottest days of the year. I really like the grass as well as it stays green all year long. Even after we had 3 inches of snow fall, when the snow melted, the grass was still green. As I mentioned, I am going to be actually working on taking care of the lawn this year, so I expect to see great results!

I am unclear as to your question. Are you looking for general ways to turn it into garden space? Is water an issue? This is an entryway designed by Michele Derviss, a San Francisco area designer. The house is just visible in the upper right side of the photo, and the main entry is the middle of the left side opposite the stairs. If water is an issue, you could make the path that parallels the front of the house permeable with a drain under it that diverts water away from the front of the house by channeling it over toward the side. Here are couple of other ones from the same designer: Notice on this next one the center drain in the patio and how the patio slopes toward the drain: