I need some landscaping ideas!!

Question

I posted this earlier, and got good, but not many results!

We bought our house last year, and it was horrible. Overgrown with weeds, 2 huge pine trees, and NO grass whatsoever. This summer we cut down the overgrown trees, ground down the stumps, and now we are left with just 1 big mess.

We are planning on painting the house the color of the "original" in the top left corner, but with a maroon trim (matching on all windows, for once, lol).

http://www.afrojet.com/images/house_colors.jpg

We need a fence, but really dont have a whole heap of a lot of money. We do not have a backyard, but we do have a dog and a 2 year old and 4 year old. We need something that would give us maximum room for the kids and dog, but still look nice.

My original idea was to build up the front to the point of almost level with landscaping bricks (so we would have the full use of the yard.) The bricks would curve from the sidewalk into the stairs, and curve at the corners.

We had talked about a rock/cement wall, or railway ties instead of landscaping bricks, but I am told those are very "dated".

Get rid of the ugly rock planter thingy, and put up a 3 foot wood fence. I think this may be a bit out of our price range though. Any ideas appreciated!!!

http://i508.photobucket.com/albums/s323/reno701/IMG_3414.jpg

http://i508.photobucket.com/albums/s323/reno701/IMG_3412.jpg

http://i508.photobucket.com/albums/s323/reno701/IMG_3413.jpg

Answer 1

I would suggest visiting a hardware store or wholesale warehouse and buying American elm (as this seems to be the most popular tree in N Dakota according to the website below). Then build the fence yourself to save money. Once the fence is erected paint the fence with a maroon timber stain.

http://homeschooling.about.com/cs/unitss...

Also you could plaster the " ugly " rock planter smooth and paint the plaster the same colour as the house. Then plant suitable flowers/plants in it (possibly some ground cover such as these indigenous vines:

American Bittersweet; Virgin's Bower.

" Native or indigenous plants naturally occur in the region in which they evolved. They are adapted to local soil, rainfall and temperature conditions, and have developed natural defenses to many insects and diseases. Because of these traits, native plants will grow with minimal use of water, fertilizers and pesticides. Wildlife species evolve with plants; therefore, they use native plant communities as their habitat. Using native plants helps preserve the balance and beauty of natural ecosystems."

http://www.northdakotabirds.com/gardenin...

The reason I suggest taking these steps is because a garden should really be designed according to the local surroundings as this creates a sense of harmony.

I am a garden designer and this is a relevent page on my site

http://asplashofheaven.com/Garden_design...

Answer 2

Well, I would either re-use those stones or go for the cheapest thing I could find to build a retaining wall closer to the front sidewalk and level out your front yard.  It looks like your very front steps are going to need to be replaced also.  By leveling out your front yard, you will gain a lot of space.  Then you could plant some decorative things like phlox which will drape down over your new wall, or hosta which grow fast and multiply and get a little bigger to give you come color.  What if you did only one side at a time to save money? Not the prettiest thing, but at least it would be a start.  I don't know how expensive the wood ties would be, but the landscaping bricks will run you into some money and cement looks a little plain and may heave due to frost.. Also if you used the wood, if you didn't like it in the future it would not be that hard to get rid of it.  But I say level up and out your front yard. Would you also consider putting something on the front of your house for "texture".  It is very plain and looks like it needs something  to give it some definition. Even some shutters or planter boxes would help.  You need to consider your winters also when you are doing this, so whatever materials you use need to be winter proof.  Good luck with whatever you do.

Answer 3

I personally like the ugly rock thing. I know it is hard money wise to reach your goals. Using the stacking rock all the way around would be spendy but you could bring the whole thing to one level and fill with good topsoil. And a three foot fence doesnt always keep much in animal or kid wise, but it does look nice and define the perimeters.

You don't say what state you are in so it makes it hard to advise you about any landscaping.Look around at what people have that you like. A lot of gardeners are very happy to share info with new gardeners. Get a bunch of books from the library and pour over them. Copy pictures of what you like. Go an a window shopping excursion to a local garden center and gather info. Take your time. Do one thing at a time.Have fun.

Answer 4

That is one of the toughest things I have ever seen! The property slants left to right and the yard slants front to back! You say you have "no back yard" but it looks as if you have something back there...

It would be easier and cheaper (because you could do it slowly yourself), and its easier to tear something out than to put something in)  to not build up the yard but to remove the soil back to close to the foundation and make a steep sloping rock wall there with Phlox or some other creeping plant covering the wall. Then level out the yard down below the sidewalk and put your "top"soil on top of that and put the grass on that. You can use the extra dirt to level out your "no backyard". You will have all sorts of weed seeds sprouting for a while once the soil is disturbed but you don't care, you can remove them by hand as you recognize what they are and keep any useful plant that comes along. You don't have to have a grass yard, it could be all clover or something else you don't have to cut if you don't want to. The steps coming down from the house could be lowered to form a path or sidewalk that you can patch yourself if you want a solid piece of concrete, or removed and then you can use stepping stones for a few feet to the sidewalk. You seem to have clay soil and your yard is eroding away onto the sidewalk now with nothing to hold it now that the trees are gone so you may as well hasten it a little. A cement/rock wall would be very difficult to plan and do yourself and would be rather expensive to do it right. Railroad ties may be "dated" but the neighborhood is not "recent" so they would be sufficient for the area, and you can do it yourself and make it look good without costing tremendous amounts of money. You could also change it easily enough in a few years when you have a little more money and maybe something else you have come up with. Concrete is essentially permanent compared to railroad ties, which can be taken out in no time by comparison.  

Answer 5

well if you like tropical things then get nice pretty tropical things like if a magnolia flower is tropical then get those or get roses or fruit trees cause i think that those are tropical flowers. but if you dont like my ideas then that is ok. oh also you can get desert ideas like nice things that are from the desert and i bet that they are really cool. but i don't have any landscaping ideas but hopefully you like the gardening ideas