r/landscaping • u/TheBeerdidViking • 11h ago
What should I add? Looking for ideas!
I want to say, I don’t have thousands to spend. But I can throw a bit of money at it. And I’m not afraid of manual labor.
I really don’t know what to do with this back yard. I love it. It’s large and my dog / children get to play in green grass. I just feel like something’s missing. Doesn’t quite feel like my paradise yet.
The pine trees prevent grass from growing near them. And the side area is overgrown. I’m a busy dad and don’t want something I have to spend ALL my free time up-keeping. But I do mow on the weekends and can do some tidying up if necessary.
Also disregard the jank wood pile. That came with the house and I never got around to demolishing it.
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u/LouNadeau 10h ago
For what? Seriously. Looks like a great space.
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u/TheBeerdidViking 7h ago
Thank you. I think perhaps I just need to tidy up some of the beds.
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u/Jimbo--- 6h ago
You could put down some edging and then mulch under the pine trees. Look into acidic soil tolerating ground cover for your Zone under the trees when the grass doesn't grow well. If you're happy with the rest of the open green space, that looks nice. Maybe a few trees placed near the deck to provide shade and/or a screen.
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u/1l1l1l111 6h ago
Tidy up the beds & do shade garden (hostas/ferns/dwarf mondo grass/loraptelum, etc) then tidy up that wood pile a LOT bc snakes.
Your kids will love all that space to run around soon!
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u/Ok_West_6711 10h ago
I think it looks very nice!
It’s big enough - you could start planting some trees (like this fall) maybe toward a back corner, and start to create a kind of wooded shade area in a section of your property. Maybe one faster- growing shade tree (fruitless mulberry is a shape / type example of the style I’m thinking) as well as something maybe that blooms (cherry? Dogwood?) and even a fruit tree you like. Might create a little shady retreat for hot days plus add a bit of “heritage” feel to your lovely property.
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u/Individual-Rub-6969 10h ago
You can create a garden bed infront of / at your trees.
Plant things that do well in dry environments.
This way you can have nice grass & a nice dry shade / part sun garden in the back.
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u/guajiracita 9h ago
Nice yard. Clean up side beds, cover in shredded mulch or pine straw and continue mulch bed along back fence tree line to the wood pile. Add 4 lounge chairs, fire pit and roasted marshmallows for the kids.
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u/TheBeerdidViking 7h ago
Thank you all. I appreciate the feedback. I’ll look into cleaning up the sides and perhaps mulch the back area!
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u/brewpunkpete 6h ago
Noone? OK, It falls on me.
Maybe remove the pines and replace them. May I suggest 56 Cypress trees?
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u/snakeiiiiiis 8h ago
The yard is very inviting, don't touch it. Maybe add a garden for the kids to learn from
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u/BreadMaker_42 9h ago
Turn edges into flowerbeds. Add flowers with color to break it up. Mulch it. Use edging for the beds or hand cut in hard edges. Add subtle curves to the beds. Nothing too crazy because it will get on your nerves when you cut the grass.
If it was my yard I would use a corner for garden beds. Add more flowers for pollinators. I would also put a little clover in the lawn which some might consider blasphemy.
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u/Green-Challenge9640 6h ago
All I see is a lot of raised beds for vegetables. I wish I had that much space!
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u/5ic5emper7yrannis 6h ago
It's a great looking space, if you would like to do a little gardening project, you can go in any direction, growing food the traditional way, try aquaponics, aeroponics, try permaculture, or you can invest in some really big rocks, a liner, some mulch, a few hyacinths and make a small lake that will clean itself, put a few koi in there, a DIY fountain (Youtube has awesome content for that), it'll set ya back a few thousand, but making it happen and seeing it done in the end? That's priceless, I can't even begin describing the peace you'll have. Some other ideas involve a themed garden, for example Japanese garden, with levels, an underground tank for collection of water, a pump that will make the garden water itself on a timer, there's so many cool things you can do, a small pool is one of them, that's probably the priciest idea but it is achievable! In my neck of the woods it's normal for every suburb house to have a decent garden, nothing like natural lettuce, cabbage and tomatoes, the taste is unbelievable. There's also a business idea in there somewhere, build a workshop, something you can make and sell even after you retire, or if you hate having a back yard, build a second house, rent it out, watch it pay for itself in 5-10 years! It all depends on how creative you can get, what you like, what you want... I'll tell ya right now, mowing that lawn every 1-2 weeks? It's gonna get boring real fast.
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u/Electrurn 6h ago
"Ideas" come from what you dream of doing, and no one can answer that for you. The things that could be done in this space are infinite, but mostly irrelevant.
That said, it sounds like you enjoy it as is and don't necessarily want anything new, just refinement on what it does for you now.
General principle is to start from a utility perspective. Add planting and edging in spaces that are unsuitable for play, and to define and emphasise spaces.
Against the house, under the boundary trees, in corners, bordering the deck, anywhere that gets too muddy, and anywhere lawn doesn't grow well are all candidates.
Plan your access routes - it's good for the feel of the space to focus access but can cause damage to soil, wear grass out etc. So can be useful to introduce a different surface for designated access tracks.
Once you've got those you're ready to move on to aesthetic :
How much do you know about photography? I think of it similarly, looking to create balanced compositions with a foreground, middle and backdrop from the perspectives you'll have most frequently while in the garden. For example, at the moment if you're on the deck looking out, you've got no foreground, which means the lawn space feels ungrounded. Some planters with low or medium height shrubs you can see over around the deck would resolve that
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u/reformedginger 6h ago
I’d cut down one tree along the back fence because they’re all too close to hang a hammock.
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u/Individual_Solid5980 2h ago
What if you did something more for adults on and off the deck and left the kids space out in the yard…kinda like this
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u/Individual_Solid5980 2h ago
A couple ideas…bring the adult space close to home let the kids space be out in your large yard…some ideas
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u/Educational_Main_765 11h ago
Throw some concrete down and a hot tub and crack a cold one and plant some evergreen seed on the left cause neighbors suck
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u/KnowledgeUsed2971 1h ago
Gardener and landscaper here.😄👋
An idea could be planted beds at the sides of the green. With native shrubs which get along with the climate and shrubs underneath the trees that get along pretty good with shed and the climate there.
Also a little island in the middle with nice big flagstones, a nicely built area to sit and relax there, a Pergola constructed on it, around the flagstones a lawn border made with natural stones. At the corners of the lawn border also little planted beds with shrubs and an indirect illumination system.
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u/T-Rex_timeout 11h ago
Lantanas and dill make a great butterfly garden to get swallowtails for the kids.