Ugly parts of our yard
So I was talking about fishing line earlier and said I would post some pictures to show what I was talking about but I can’t remember which thread plus some get so long it’s hard to find certain concersations within them.
Figured it would be easier to start a new thread plus other people could show their less than desirable areas
So this area has definitely stopped deer. My neighbor has seen the deer stop, turn around and head back to her yard to snack. Yikes. Sorry Bonnie😬
This is the area where I have chains up to hopefully deter the elk. This part is always up whereas the chains going across the driveway are taken down and put back up every day.
I realize this will not be enough to stop a determined herd but I’m hoping for the most part they look for easier to find food as it is available since homes in our neighborhood are rarely fully fenced
The chainlink fence is only three feet so it needed some help. Until last year it was enough to keep the deer out but with no one living there it became too easy for the deer to come hang out over there and then hop into our yard for a snack.
Now that Titus is there (a Doberman) I don’t think it will be the cool hang out location anymore
Comments (18)
Starry PNW Zone 8b
2 months agoRelated Discussions
Ugly yard. Where do I start?
Comments (28)Katie, One of the things you need to start, and it's practically free, is a compost pile and begin to compost your yard as you go along. As you cut your lawn, set your lawnmower on its highest setting and let the grass clipping remain on the lawn. This is the first step to amending your soil, feeding the worms and building up your soil. As your begin weeding your lawn you have a few choices. I chose the more difficult route, weeding by hand, it's time consuming but in the long run easier on the soil and the health of the critters that grow there and work on your behalf. Using chemicals is a fast and easy way to kill a lot of stuff (weeds) quickly, but it's expensive and the drawbacks are sometimes significant. Instead I took each weed and threw it back onto the lawn and let it get 'mulched' by the lawn mower. The same thing for produce, fruits and vegetables from your kitchen. I built a compost pile in my backyard and put most of my kitchen waste into this pile. I avoid any meats, bones and dairy, it gets rancid quickly and stinks - don't put any in your compost pile. I water the pile lightly once or twice a week and I feel the heat, well over 120 degrees, generating from the pile. In a few weeks, sometimes months, I get good rich compost which smells like rich soil, and put it back on the lawn. Another thing I like to do is to feed the worms. 'Them thar critters' are the real saviors of my lawn, so I feed them. A few times a week I get some kitchen produce, say a banana peel and a few leaves of lettuce which aren't edible and I throw it in a blender, fill it halfway with water and throw the contents onto the lawn. Same thing for potatoes and most fruit. I blend it for at least 30 seconds and the worms love it. Now and then I throw on some corn meal, just as a treat. I've managed to tick off my wife and I take about two cups of rabbit food and run it through a coffee grinder a few times a week, making a nice powder which I throw on my lawn. My worms love it. I picked up a 25 lb bag at WalMart for $7 and it's lasted me a few months. During the fall, when my neighbors rake up their leaves, I collect a bunch of those bags and store them over the winter, taking care to pull out any branches. I spray a little water in there and this makes a heckuva leaf mulch to mow a bag or two into my lawn in late fall. By the time spring rolls around the soil is nicely amended and is overseed ready! If you've saved a few bags and made the leaf mulch, you can sprinkle it over the overseeded parts of the lawn and it will help germinate the seeds, giving a richer, thicker lawn. This approach is relatively inexpensive, the greatest cost to me was the black garbage bags I store the leaves in and then the space to store them. I got some old pallets to build the compost pile, free at my supermarket. Just don't forget to turn the pile about once a week to make a uniform compost pile. If you keep at it, this isn't as much work as it sounds. In my lawn I've also used some more exotic stuff, all organic, avoiding the N-P-K approach as too commercialized (promoted by the seed and fertilizer companies). Take your time, let the worms do most of the work......See MoreThe Good, Bad and Ugly, Part II
Comments (9)Thanks so much for the info. After reading, as you suspected, it seems unlikely that CMV is the culprit since the first several aphid treatments were simply blasting off with water and no other plants exhibit the ailment. While it certainly doesn't look as bad as the worst pic, it does very much resemble the others but the condition does seem to be improving if very slowly. Hmmm. I'll take more detailed pics to measure advancement or retreat of the condition, consider potting up and or rooting a cutting from another plant. Do you know, should it be a virus, could it be contained to the symptomatic parts? You'd think it would be mentioned as a treatment if pruning would be helpful but it is odd that only the top of the plant is affected ... I've never seen anything like it before. Thanks for the help!...See MoreHelp with ugly front yard, needs landscaping
Comments (28)Sarah, it is actually a very very simple landscape. Pink coneflowers and base foundation plantings. Nothing fancy. I love playing with frontal elevations/curb appeal - more than my day job. LOL. If you want something more elaborate just let me know. I can also give you a list of the plants. It would help if I knew your planting zone and your level of expertise with landscape. Not a pro - just 40 years of garden experience and a master gardener....See MoreHow to hide ugly pole in front yard?
Comments (11)As others have said, check with your local utility and municipality to find out what is allowed. I know around here one isn't allowed to put anything on the poles themselves or use the poles or guy wires for support of plants. My solution was to plant a large shrub at the base that is one that can be cut to the ground if needed. At eye level one just sees the shrub since it totally surrounds the yellow part of the wire, and the upper gray metal part isn't especially visible. No one can walk into the wire, we don't need to mow or trim around the obstacle, and there are spring flowers and fall color....See More
Flowerescent NJ Zone 6
2 months agojc_7a_MiddleTN
2 months agooursteelers 8B PNW
2 months agojc_7a_MiddleTN
2 months agooursteelers 8B PNW
2 months agooursteelers 8B PNW
2 months agojc_7a_MiddleTN
last monthThis is my toothpick garden full of what used to be azaleas, roses, and limelight hydrangea
roses and limelight are probably fine but the azaleas look like they wont be
Diane Brakefield
last monthOursteelers, you still have GREEN. How can that be ugly? Here it is brown, and I have an ugly drip system that shows myriad little sprinklers existed the winding drip hose in the flower beds all winter. And I don't remove the dead tops of perennials. And the leaves were still on the trees til after Christmas, and now they're all on the ground, mixed with a little ice. There they will stay until March, probably. Your wire deer fencing is not very ugly--it really doesn't show much, but it would not keep out mule deer. I don't have dogs, but I do a good imitation of an angry dog barking as I chase deer out of the yard and down the hill. I'm surprised I don't get charged, and my family thinks I'm nutz.
JC, you have green leaves on the tree. How is that ugly? Diane
dead four o'clocks
dead violets
dead hills
Sheila z8a Rogue Valley OR
last monthjc_7a_MiddleTN
last monthDiane Brakefield
last monthjc_7a_MiddleTN
last monthlast modified: last month
seasiderooftop
last monthThe ugly end of my roof, where Autumn Damask grows.
I really need to get a replacement for that hideous, dilapidated old water pump box. Such an eyesore.
oursteelers 8B PNW
last month
Katie Zone 6b/7a NC Mountains
last monthThis is our in progress ugliness. We purchased our house in summer 2021 and have been making extensive improvements to the interior and and are now finally tackling the yard including this hot mess right at the front. The previous owner was elderly and it had been neglected for a long time. Over the winter we’ve been working on clearing this area out of brush, invasive plants and poison ivy. Since it is partially shaded I am going to focus on planting some native flowers and shrubs for the wildlife which will also serve as a privacy hedge.
Its hard to see but there is a trellis built down there but it may be too shady for any roses although I will wait and see how it looks over the summer now that we’ve been clearing it out. I would of course love an excuse to buy another rose like Zephirine Drouhin which seems to be more tolerant of shade.
oursteelers 8B PNW
last month
oursteelers 8B PNWOriginal Author