Need help with backyard!
Kathleen Stiever
4 years ago
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dchall_san_antonio
4 years agoRelated Discussions
Need help backyard ideas?
Comments (6)Consider Virginia Sweetspire (Itea virginica). It is rated for zones 5-9 and sun to part shade. It will eventually spread into a wide clump. In my garden it thrives in all kinds of light even though it gets better fall color in more sun. Callicarpa americana, Clethra alnifolia, Euonymus americanus, and the Aesculus suggested by Yaardvark would all contribute to a lovely woodland garden, and they are all at least zone 6. Then you could look into adding ferns to tie it all together....See MoreNeed help with backyard and lots of trees
Comments (7)What general area do you live in and what's your planting zone? It appears you live in the woods. Making the woods be something other than woods (such as a suburban lawn) will be difficult without removing the trees, which would be a shame to do (and expensive). Have you had an arborist take a look at what's growing there? Also, what do you want to do with the yard? You mentioned outdoor dining. Any pets, children, interest in gardening, growing veggies, etc., to add to the equation? Photos of the back of your house would be helpful as well. If you have an interest in gardening, my suggestion would be to connect groups of trees together via mulch (not a super thick layer, so the tree roots don't get smothered) and carefully plant the mulched areas out with native understory shrubs & perennials. For example, in the first photo, you could group the three trees in the foreground into a garden bed, and then make a garden bed along the fence that connects those trees, and have a path running between the two groupings. (That area is perfect for string lights, too!) No need to fight the trees on the grass issue that way, and the naturally random placement of the trees will look more intentional and tended. The right is more open and would be a good choice for working in an outdoor dining area. On that side you also have an opportunity to make another garden bed along the fence with more shrubs and flowers, which would help to soften how stark the white fence looks. If I were going to remove any trees, I'd probably remove the one in the center photo, that's straight ahead of the patio in the middle of the yard. You'd still have a shady woodsy yard with one tree removed, but you'd have a larger cleared area without going to the huge expense of tearing everything out. (Obligatory reminder that arborists' expertise is going to be very helpful in your situation)...See MoreNeed help designing backyard patio - location, size, shape
Comments (13)"Problem is finding a good paver "setter" who has a bit of creativity & vision." It's a mistake to think that paver installers are the ones that should be responsible for designing the project. Installers are primarily interested in installing the maximum square footage of patio that you will buy, and could probably care less about the layout, other than that they would prefer you provide a good one so they can walk away with pride and end up with a decent project for their portfolio. While they will design it by default, if you don't provide a design, the quality of their ideas will be on on you. If you don't have the design skills (alone or in conjunction with this forum) to design the patio, then you should be consulting with a LANDSCAPE DESIGNER, not a paver installer. Get the design done first, and then find an installer to place it. If you don't have a design (on paper) then you have nothing to bid on. In that case, every contractor you talk to will recommend different things and the pricing will be all over map. You'll have bids you can't compare with other bids because they'll all be for different things. As far as 12' vs. 14' depth, I would consider 12' the absolute minimum usable dimension. A designer would want to know the exact furniture that you're placing on the patio, and the contingencies for when you want to set up for the occasional larger group for special occasions, if that ever happens. Even if it never happens for you, it would be typical of most households. If resale (ever) is a concern, I wouldn't make the patio the absolute smallest a person can "get by" with. One that is of a size usable for a typical "family" with your size house in your type of neighborhood, would be a better choice. Rarely does anyone make a patio that they think is too large. Usually, they're wishing they had a little more space. I suggest figuring out your furniture and all uses and make the patio comfortably large enough to accommodate everything with a little extra room added. There's little point to building something new that you regret soon after you start using it. The difference in cost between barely-big-enough and comfortable is not that great. Buried utilities rarely limit a patio's placement. Water, sewer, gas, electricity are (should be) deep enough to be well below a patio. They might warrant some caution in excavation, but this is nothing to be fretting over. Irrigation lines might be shallow, but still probably won't be a problem. In the worst case scenario, if they are very shallow, they can easily be rerouted. (Some reconfiguration is likely anyway, since you don't want to be watering your patio.) Cable and telephone (if anyone has that any more) tends to the shallowest. These can both be rerouted to a lower placement or different route. Whether you abut or space it away from the structure, in order to make room for foundation beds, make the patio length (its longest dimension) be parallel to the home, not perpendicular to it. (Something said earlier made me think this was possibly going wrong.)...See MoreNeed help designing backyard
Comments (1)The only space you really have id that 2nd picture so you will need to be aware of how many people . You can have a TV outdoors anywhere you could mount it on that chimney wall I would move the swing for sure and get some nice colorful pool loungers around the pool then find the best convienent spot for the BBQ. The basket ball net needs to be gone if you must keep the game table it needs to be in its own space somewhere. Where is the door to the kitchen that is really where the BBQ belongs. Do you need atable and chairs for eating outside . I think we need more info and also a to scale drawing of the space would be ahuge help.Personally I think the pool is too big for theyard but now it has to be dealt with....See MoreKathleen Stiever
4 years agoYardvaark
4 years agoClaudianne Young
4 years agoKathleen Stiever
4 years agoKathleen Stiever
4 years agosuezbell
4 years agohoussaon
4 years agoKathleen Stiever
4 years agolast modified: 4 years agoLiza Karsai
4 years agojackowskib
4 years agoS R
4 years agoLynn G
4 years agoreginagayle
4 years agoKathleen Stiever
4 years agoYardvaark
4 years agoKathleen Stiever
4 years agoKathleen Stiever
4 years agoKathleen Stiever
4 years agolast modified: 4 years ago
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