Landscaping Projects

[Jar11591]

It’s that time in the Northeast again to get the yard ready for the nice weather. I really have my work cut out for me this year. My girlfriend and I moved into our new home last July, and we spent the next several months doing a lot of work to the inside like new floors, painting, etc. We saved all the outdoor work for this year, and the previous owners had neglected the backyard so it’s not in the best shape. Late last fall we took down the above-ground pool because the plan is to transform that spot into a garden and picnic area. 
Spent a couple hours pulling up buried pavers, scattered river rock, old weed fabric, and grading the dirt. Whoever the previous landscaper was, they had some interesting methods. I just got a delivery of 5 yards of fill to level it out.

The plan is once the ground is leveled, we’re making the spot into a picnic area and an area with raised garden beds. The picnic area will have a table, grill, awning, and white marble stone as the ground, while the area with the raised garden beds will have natural mulch. Should look like a whole new yard when I’m done in a couple weeks. I’ll be sure to post progress pics and a finished picture. 
 

What landscaping projects do y’all have going this year? 

[casts_by_fly]

We are days away from finishing our outdoor kitchen.  We didn't do that work ourselves of course, but it makes a lot of work for me on the grass.  Last spring my lawn was ~80% weed, most of it japanese stiltweed which dies and leaves dirt patches.  Its hard to kill properly, so I spent all of last summer with intensive spraying to get it gone.  I did some first pass leveling in the front which was severely rutted.  This spring the grass has come up well and grown in pretty thick, so I just need to nurture it, kill some broadleaf weeks and overseed in the fall.

 

the bigger project now is the 4k sqft that I just leveled and seeded which was bare dirt from construction.  Last Thursday I leveled, seeded, fed, and put peat moss over it.  Its all over but the crying now until it grows.  today I did about 500 sqft of shade blend that died last year due to lack of water (broken sprinkler head).  I've got another 150 sqft of yard that was bare dirt falling into a retaining wall that I fill the wall 3 weeks ago and have topsoiled and seeded over now.  I've still got 1000 sqft of dug up yard that I might seed this afternoon now that the sprinkler is fixed.  AND THEN after all of that I've got 500 sqft of a dirt patch right now that I couldn't see because we were using it as temporary dog enclosure during construction.  I've got 4 different seed blends (5 if you could the clover on the dirt path) that I'm working with and a 20 line by 20 column excel file of a yard plan i built.  Oh, and I have to redo mulch in the front beds and maybe recut the edges a little.

[Jar11591]

@casts_by_fly sounds like you have a lot of work as well. Maintaining a lawn requires a lot of effort. We’re planting some clover as well. We have grass in the front yard but where there is lawn in the back we dont plant on having any grass. We’re planting clover, possibly some

wild oregano, moss or other non-grass ground cover. 

[casts_by_fly]

13 minutes ago, Jar11591 said:

@casts_by_fly sounds like you have a lot of work as well. Maintaining a lawn requires a lot of effort. We’re planting some clover as well. We have grass in the front yard but where there is lawn in the back we dont plant on having any grass. We’re planting clover, possibly some

wild oregano, moss or other non-grass ground cover. 

when we moved into this house in sept 2019 the yard had been neglected for three summers at least. It was only cut so it wasn’t an eyesore. That fall I made a plan with the guy who had been maintaining it to eliminate weeds, get it nice, etc. He sold the business over the winter and the plan didn’t get passed along. Late spring I brought it up but it was too late to do anything. We picked up in the fall. The following spring they treated and did things but by June it was a mess again. They weren’t seeing the lawns actual problems and were treating it generically. Fall 2021 I decided to take all weed, feed, and seed matters into my own hands. Last year I spring seeded and summer treated (weeds). Feed in the fall with some more overseed. This year I’m starting from a good base finally and can work on enrichment in the two main yards. The side yards goals are more modest this year but by the fall I should be in a far less intensive place. 

[Jar11591]

5 yards wasn’t quite enough. Have to tamp it down and add another yard or 2. Then it will be time to lay the weed fabric. 

 

Bare spot on the left is where I’ll be making a small paver patio for the grill and running an extension cord under ground. 

[Scott F]

I removed a 30ft round pool from the yard in a house I bought in 2020. Ours took almost 30 yards of dirt to fill in the hole. I considered putting in a seating area and fire pit, but I put down sod and planted a tree instead. 

[A-Jay]

When we first moved into our place here 2008, we needed clear some land, build a small dog kennel and make the fenced in 'dog yard'.

Most of it my hand.  Planted some trees and lots of grass. 

Here's some before & after shots - took just about 3 years to come in fully.

Still a lot of work to keep right. 

A-Jay

 

[gim]

Courtesy of @A-Jay Menderchuck Excavating.

[Jar11591]

On 4/19/2023 at 3:04 PM, Scott F said:

I removed a 30ft round pool from the yard in a house I bought in 2020. Ours took almost 30 yards of dirt to fill in the hole. I considered putting in a seating area and fire pit, but I put down sod and planted a tree instead. 

30 yards is a lot of dirt. Hopefully you had a bucket loader for that. I’ve thought about doing sod in front yard but ended up just topdressing and seeding. I’ve done sod once for a customer and I didn’t love how it turned out so i generally push soil/compost + seed for my landscape customers now. 
 

 

[Way north bass guy]

We’ll have been at our new place 2 years this June. Haven’t done a tremendous amount of what I’d call true “landscaping”, but did get quite a bit done last summer. 

Built a new driveway into the barn, that I’ve turned into my workshop, added another storage addition to the back of it and a closed in lean to off the side for the boat. Built a 30’x15’ raised garden bed, and a new 15’x8’ year round insulated greenhouse, and my brother brought his tractor over and brush hogged our 10 or so acres of fields that hadn’t been touched in at least 7 years or so. 

 

This years outdoor list is to screen in the porch, and the wife and kid want a small chicken coop built for a few laying hens. 

Here’s a few before and after pics. 

 

[Scott F]

48 minutes ago, Jar11591 said:

30 yards is a lot of dirt. Hopefully you had a bucket loader for that. I’ve thought about doing sod in front yard but ended up just topdressing and seeding. I’ve done sod once for a customer and I didn’t love how it turned out so i generally push soil/compost + seed for my landscape customers now. 

It was way to big a job for me to do it myself.  I had a guy come and fill it in for me.

 

[padlin]

Over the years the trees have grown and now shadow the garden for much of the day, started putting in a few raised beds in a sunny spot. Didn’t think about the weight of 12’ foot long 4”x 8” fresh cut lumber which I got a deal on at the sawmill. 2 days work and 1 to recover, going to take a while.

 

40 years getting the lawn in good shape wiped out by last year’s drought, waiting for fall to replant, fescue this time, no more blue grass.

 

 

[Jar11591]

@Way north bass guy excellent work. You seriously got a sweet set up there! 
 

@padlin raised beds are the way to go. Much easier to maintain and in my opinion a lot more appealing to the eye. 

[casts_by_fly]

On 4/19/2023 at 5:05 PM, Jar11591 said:

@casts_by_fly sounds like you have a lot of work as well. Maintaining a lawn requires a lot of effort. We’re planting some clover as well. We have grass in the front yard but where there is lawn in the back we dont plant on having any grass. We’re planting clover, possibly some

wild oregano, moss or other non-grass ground cover. 

I’ve got 10 days of growth in the dog yard now and it’s doing pretty well. We had 2 days of really cold on day 3 and one heavy rain around day 5 so that slowed things down a little and then pushed around the seed in spots. Nothing a fall overseed can’t sort out. I’ll probably have to cut it in 2 weeks for the first time.

 

the pool yard is thickening nicely. I’m reel mowing it this year and keeping it low. I dropped it to 1” last night and it’s really good. I need to level some more and have a few patches, but I think 1” is going to be great on it. 
 

 

[Jar11591]

Update on the project. Finally level enough after 12 yards of dirt. Was way off with my original estimate of 5 yards but my girlfriend kept “finding” other spots that need leveling haha 

 

Tomorrow I’ll be laying the weed barrier fabric, and installing the raised beds then getting all of our sprouts planted. Next week will be about 6 yards of pea gravel for the picnic area, and 8 or so yards of natural wood chip to go around the garden beds and shed. 

[casts_by_fly]

7 hours ago, Jar11591 said:

Update on the project. Finally level enough after 12 yards of dirt. Was way off with my original estimate of 5 yards but my girlfriend kept “finding” other spots that need leveling haha 

 

Tomorrow I’ll be laying the weed barrier fabric, and installing the raised beds then getting all of our sprouts planted. Next week will be about 6 yards of pea gravel for the picnic area, and 8 or so yards of natural wood chip to go around the garden beds and shed. 

wow. 12 yards is a lot. That’s a lot more than a leveling project.  Looking good!

 

my spring seeding is 3 weeks and 2 days in and looking pretty good. Need to cut it this week for the first time. 
 

 

[Jar11591]

8 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

wow. 12 yards is a lot. That’s a lot more than a leveling project.  Looking good!

 

my spring seeding is 3 weeks and 2 days in and looking pretty good. Need to cut it this week for the first time. 
 

 

My back will have a couple days rest before I have to move the stone 

 

Your grass is coming in well. You must have quite the lead clean up in the fall with all those trees back there!

[casts_by_fly]

3 hours ago, Jar11591 said:

My back will have a couple days rest before I have to move the stone 

 

Your grass is coming in well. You must have quite the lead clean up in the fall with all those trees back there!

you have no idea.  I’ve trimmed the trees that overhang the pool but the primary wind direction is from the trees right into the yard and pool. In a bad year I have to blow leaves every other day. 

[Jar11591]

Weed barrier down, garden beds built. Next is putting gopher netting in the bottom of the beds, and filling the beds with compost/soil. 

 

[Jar11591]

Girlfriend says the project can’t proceed until we get rid of these concrete bases from when we took the pool deck down. So I’ve been chipping away at them for 2 hours now with a demo hammer. Right in the middle of where we are planting clover and creeping thyme. 

[gim]

4 minutes ago, Jar11591 said:

So I’ve been chipping away at them for 2 hours now with a demo hammer.

Maybe the GF should give it a try and see how fun it is "chipping away" at some old concrete bases.  Then her view might change some.

 

[Jar11591]

As soon as she’s done with work im

gonna have her give it a go, so

she knows exactly what is going in to this landscaping project haha.

 

It aint easy on the wrists but this demo

hammer is actually pretty fun 

[casts_by_fly]

Bit of a time jump, but the last pictures were at 10 days after seeding.  I'm at 7 weeks here now and the yard is looking great.  Aside from some washout areas that need an overseed, the yard looks awesome.  Its gotten really thick in places.  Its been cut a couple times now and with another couple weeks of growing it should be pretty mature for a spring seeding.  I haven't had any issues with early weeds, so I think the topsoil must have been decent stuff and the pre-emergent was good.  I can just about spray any weeds that come up now so that will carry me until fall preemergent goes down.

 

 

 

[Jar11591]

@casts_by_fly looking good!
 

 

Update on my project. We’re finally in the home stretch. Taken a little longer than anticipated but such is life. Just finished installing the last of the border. First delivery of pea gravel just got dropped off.  7 yards to start. Probably gonna need 12 or so. Gotta knock back the hedge row on the left about a foot, and take it down about 4 feet. That’ll give the garden beds a lot more sun. After the stone is installed, we’ll be picking out some furniture for it. Table, chairs etc. Bare patch of dirt on the right is where more clover and creeping thyme will be going. It started sprouting today. 

[Jar11591]

Finally got around to installing some of the pea gravel. It’s coming along. Definitely will need at least another 7 yards, but if I’m done by the end of the month I’ll be happy.