How to approach a large yard grading project?
onthebrinck
5 years ago
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Yardvaark
5 years agoRevolutionary Gardens
5 years agoRelated Discussions
Need advice on front yard landscaping project
Comments (8)Colli - grass-less front yards in Seattle are common and with our increasingly dry summers and ongoing water limitations, they make a good deal of sense. Perhaps one in 4 of my design clients are asking for the same approach as you - they no longer want to water or tend ridiculously small patches of unused lawn when something more aesthetically pleasing, drought tolerant and low maintenance can be had just as easily. Reconsider the raised bed approach. This is not always the best idea for a high visibility entry garden, looking a bit like a leftover vegetable garden regardless of what was planted. And seldom does the very precise geometry of a raised bed garden successfully accent the residence unless you are going with a very formal house and a very formal parterre garden with bricks or stone forming the beds and paving the walkways. And this is just not the character or attitude of most Seattle neighborhoods and certainly not your home. Try for something a little looser and more organic in its approach. Go ahead and remove the sod, add some organic amendments and till, forming gradually raised planting beds (mini berms) with a slightly recessed, softly sweeping pathways moving you around to the side yards or wherever access is required. You have your choice of path materials - just allow sufficient width and/or durability to make walking and transporting equipment and supplies easy. For your situation, I'd consider two paths, one staring about 1/3 of the way along the drive, the second starting just past the 2/3 mark, and have them meet up towards the side of the house with the organically shaped mini-berms flanking them and in the center. Add some rock, some low growing and drought tolerant plant material with perhaps a midsized tree for a focal point (place off center in one of the beds) and you're good to go!...See MoreGrading Yard to Get Rid of Grass/Weeds?
Comments (3)This may sound crazy, but if you have a shop vac, you could try using it to gather as many of those dried seeds as possible. Otherwise, you'll probably end up with lots of them in your newly graded yard and have more weeds after than before. Or, you could use the grader to peel off a shallow top layer of soil and pile it all in one place where you could solarize it with sheets of black plastic. You'll thank yourself for every weed and Bermuda seed you get out of there before starting to landscape....See MoreWe need someone to re grade our yard
Comments (10)Dallasblooms, Yes, we're in a 10 year old subdivision. Thanks for your insight. I called the city engineers out last week. I wanted to be sure we were doing things by the book or better. I didn't want any surprises so I insisted they send someone out to look at what was going on and advise us. The guy brought the grading plan for our subdivision which he left it with us. He looked it over and said all we need to do is re create the original swale. He told us we don't need a permit but might need some kind of permit to allow equipment to cross the sidewalk unless they use the driveway to access. He is checking on that and will let us know. He mentioned the silt fence, hubby already knew about this part. He didn't use the term re grading, which tipped me off on how to write the proposal to the HOA. :) /WINK. What we can't figure out is if previous owners filled in the original swale or if Mother Nature did it slowly over time..doesn't matter we have to fix it either way, and do it better than what was originally done. Landscapers are not going to be doing this work. We started with them to get an over all plan and connect with the proper contractors to do the earth moving part. The landscapers will lay out and prep the new beds since I am no longer physically able to do that kind of work. The project is moving a lot more slowly than I had hoped but we're getting there. :) My goal is for the work to be completed and new sod in place before the spring rains arrive. So, for now we're on schedule. Once the plan is written down, I will submit to the HOA and the city if need be. Since part of the plan involves new fencing we'll at least need a permit for that. This week, the gutters are being re placed with larger ones and more down spouts, to dump the water along the sides and towards the front of the house instead of out into the back yard. Everyone who has taken a look tells us that will make a tremendous difference with the amount of water needing to be directed out of the back yard towards the street, and be a good place to start. The neighbor's along both sides are aware and very agreeable to the plans to improve drainage, which will help with their drainage issues as well. I'm seeing light at the end of the tunnel. I can start my winter sowing, since I'll have all the beds I want finished in time to plant this spring! :) Thank you for bringing up the original drainage plan, if I hadn't called the city engineer's office I wouldn't have known one existed or that I could have a copy of it. Hubby and the city engineer guy didn't think we needed any surveying done. They both seemed to think it was pretty cut and dried where and how much swale is needed as did the dirt mover guys who came out to give us estimates. I still can't picture what this is going to look like....See MoreScience Fair Project? (3rd Grade)
Comments (14)Ah, yes, . . . the SCIENCE FAIR PROJECT !!!!! Actually, they weren't TOO awful !! One that DS did that was fairly easy to do . . . and I'm thinking that he was about in third grade . . . had to do with plants . . . I think the title was something like What Makes Plants Grow Good?? . . The idea being to feed plants different things and see which thing made them grow the best. I guess the control group was feeding them nothing . . . just watering them. There was Miracle Grow, milk, Coke, Coffee, Orange juice . . . Can't quite remember if there was anything else. Six test plants per item . . . that is, six plants per milk, six plants per coffee, etc. He watered/fed them every other day??? (not sure) Measured them every day. Took pictures with a ruler showing the height of the plants . . . also took notes on how the plants looked . . more green?? thick ??? dead ??????? etc. I think he did this for a month . . . His hypothesis was something like milk would make the plants grow better because milk makes people grow better . . . or something like that. Like I said, it's been a LONG time !!! Anyway, it was very do-able, fairly simple, lots of results, lots of pictures to post on the display board, plus, the plants themselves ! He used snapdragons, basically because the nursery had a bunch of snaps that were in good shape to begin with, and lots that were the same size. Marigolds could be another one. This project was a good one in that it was obviously something he could do HIMSELF !! So many projects are obviously projects done by Mom and Dad . . . Anyway, it all came out fine, and as I recall, he got an A on it . . . He put the six plants for each one, in a small rectangular planter, by the way . . . so I had LOTS of planters for the patio when he was done !! I think he came up with the idea after watching me dump my old coffee on plants, and they seemed to really like that caffeine !! So, he figured he'd try stuff like milk !! Well, best of luck with it all !!!!! Really, they're not bad at all . . and it's really fun going to the science fair to see all the stuff the kids have come up with . . ....See Moreonthebrinck
5 years agoonthebrinck
5 years agoRevolutionary Gardens
5 years agoYardvaark
5 years agoSigrid
5 years agoonthebrinck
5 years agoYardvaark
5 years agoYardvaark
5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoonthebrinck
5 years agoYardvaark
5 years ago
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