Looking for ideas- Sandy slope backyard

2 years ago

Can you please suggest some ideas on what needs to be done? I live in NY area and the soil is very sandy. Any pictures you have would help.

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Comments (6)

Sigrid
2 years ago
Shrubs and a groundcover. Beach plum is pretty and okay with sandy soil, as are beach roses. If it gets very dry, how much are you going to water?
Violeta Borcan
Original Author
2 years ago
I have sprinkles all over.
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If that photo is representative of the area in question, then I'd reconsider using this extremely tight space for "outdoor living". And unless I am missing something, that slope is not very severe. Even if leveled, I doubt this area would be congenial to lounging outdoors or utilizing as a patio, etc. Too exposed and too restrictive and without sufficient space to develop any kind of green privacy screening. I'd consider just a mixed shrub buffer between you and the neighboring property, perhaps with a meandering pathway connecting it to more usable areas of your property. Unless that photo doesn't reveal the true slope of the area, I'd say no terracing or retaining walls are necessary or even practical. Can you post photos of other areas of your garden that may be more conducive to outdoor living/entertaining? I still think this is a situation where engaging a professional for an hour or two can be helpful - it is difficult even from the photo to get a good visual and a true sense of exactly what you are dealing with.
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I put about 8 bags of topsoil down there, 5 inches deep at the most, directly on the existing soil/roots. I had dug a few areas kind of testing out the soil to seed if I wanted to plant directly in the existing soil but decided to to raise it up a bit. For me, ferns, pulmonarias and hellebores do quite well there plus Tiarella and spring ephemerals like bleeding heart and Virginia blue bell. Astilbes dry out way too much. The surrounding trees are all doing fine. I have mostly ash trees there. I think if you do not cover a significant area beneath the tree or do not sever the roots in a large circle around the tree, the tree will adapt. Normally that tree would hAve years of leaf litter accumulating above the roots--it looks as though you remove the leaves. I would not plan on putting down 5 inches of soil across the entire drip area of the tree though. I think either a curved section of raised bed in front of that edger you have or a couple of individual beds would work fine there and give you spaces to add a bit of variety to your back yard.
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From your description, it sounds like an absolutely ideal location for succulent landscaping. The hot dry climate will really help things grow, and the slope is great for helping our winter rains drain off without causing any trouble. The real question is a how much work you want to do and how much you want to spend. Doing some hardscaping, like placing some large rock outcrops, will make it look really nice (as Caudex's photo's attest too), but that will obviously be hard and expensive. However, the rock will provide some structure so that you can plant smaller things without them looking orphaned or getting washed out. It will also reduce the number of plants you need for it to look finished. If you don't want to do go through all that, you could go for more of a desert scrub kind of look. A couple large Agaves will give the garden some structure and interest, and you could fill in the emptier areas with some small cacti and xerix shrubs (go native, they'll do better). Just so you know, mature, landscape sized succulents are pretty darn expensive. You might go visit some local gardens, or just drive around some neighborhoods looking various styles that appeal to you.
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I would definately look at terracing the slope for a lot more useable yard. You can still use the work idea from above. We had a very sloped hill next to our house the water ran straight into the basement of our house before we bought it so the walk out of 1600sq ft had never been developed not even windows. The first thing we did was dig away from the foundation and take all that material wawy to form a hill with a good retaining wall with gravel. big o and move all that water away from the house . In 13 yrs we have never had water in our now nicely finshed walk out basement .The hill that was formed from all the dirt now has a pond and lots of plantings and looks amazing . The retaining wall provided a really nice private space for outdoor dining right next to an outdoor kitchen . Think of what you can do with some terracing.
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kitasei2
2 years ago
There are so many options, so let us know what you are looking to achieve. Screening a view? Preventing erosion? Making the slope accessible or usable? A low groundcover, medium height or tall plant pallet? What is the style of your house and neighbood? What is the sun orientation?
arcy_gw
2 years ago
last modified: 2 years ago
Not sure of your zone but sand says dry and unless you plan to amend the soil, sedum ground cover, succulents...rock garden type look come to my head. No matter what you want it low or no maintenance due to the slope I would think. Look at some Xeriscaping pictures for inspiration.
Violeta Borcan
Original Author
2 years ago
The house is facing south and I am thinking of adding another retaining wall and some plants that would help with erosion.
NHBabs z4b-5a NH
2 years ago
Add the wall if you are going to, weed well, and then add roughly textured mulch that will knit together and help retain soil and moisture while you get a plan in place. You want to avoid getting a good crop of weeds growing, and you want to retain the trees that are there now. Do not use landscape fabric which will lead to a host of issues down the line.

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Looking for ideas- Sandy slope backyard

Comments (6)

Sigrid

Violeta Borcan
Original Author

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kitasei2

arcy_gw

Violeta Borcan
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Looking for ideas- Sandy slope backyard

Comments (6)

Sigrid

Violeta BorcanOriginal Author

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kitasei2

arcy_gw

Violeta BorcanOriginal Author

NHBabs z4b-5a NH

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

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CONNECT WITH US

Violeta Borcan
Original Author

Violeta Borcan
Original Author