Can I DIY a makeover of my sloped hillside backyard section
fay_fay
5 years ago
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Yardvaark
5 years agoRelated Discussions
My backyard is going bananas!
Comments (25)Gina, I have four HB feeders, and that helps prevent some of the fierce territorialism. I refill mine every two weeks, but I only put one cup of syrup in each one, even though they will hold more because they need to be cleaned that often. I have several of the same fruit trees that you do - Meyer lemon, Bearss lime, blood orange, and Kaffir lime. In Venice I had Valencia orange, Manila mango, and Texas red figs when I left, but I had experimented with hermaphroditic papaya (not as good as regular papaya), coconut (wrong soil), strawberry guava, passion fruit (which took over an entire side of the back yard and attracted possums), and tangerine, which died for no apparent reason. Here in Westchester we got rid of the plum trees, which made good fruit, but only about a dozen per season - not worth the space they took up, but we kept the Fuji apple because the tree is large and healthy, makes good fruit, and supports the HB feeders plus several planters containing orchids and bromeliads, which are blooming right now. We also have a grape vine, but it has yet to produce grapes, although it provides support for cherry tomato plants that produce all year. I have a white sapote tree in the back yard, and it should produce fruit in a couple of years. You will need to watch out for the raspberry and blackberry plants, as they can become very invasive. I have seen entire yards in San Francisco taken over by those berries, and they are very hard to get rid of, once they have taken over. I'm wondering how your husband plans to eat all of that fruit! The only time I had excess fruit was with the fig trees because they were very seasonal and produce huge quantities in July and August. A lot of the fruit trees that you have now will produce a lot of fruit for just a very short period, and the northern fruits tend to produce only in the summer, which is why I do not plant them. I've been planting papaya seeds in the back yard just to see what might happen, but I am not going to buy more papaya trees - just yet! I would not mind having another mango tree, but I really do not have room for it, and they are rather large trees. If you want to find more exotic fruit trees, go to Mimosa Nursery - they have trees I have seen nowhere else, such as sapotes, mamey, and guanabana. Lars...See MoreNeed help with large/steep/bare backyard hillside
Comments (5)We live on a very steep, but rocky hillside and a previous owner put various terraces on it. Since winter is coming, and to prevent that hillside from slipping, plant a lot of creeping rosemary. Rosemary is drought tolerant. Our house is on top of the slope, but you risk a ton of mud from that hill. Our entire 1.5 acres are covered with about 12 automatic drip stations, so everything gets water 3 x per week for about 45 minutes. Junipers, as ugly as they are also are good for erosion. We have many. Thinking about distilling some gin from their berries... NOT! Trees: Olives are drought tolerant as are figs (once established). Pomegranates seem fine with little water too. There is also some kind of burlap sand bag ropes that will help hold back mud and water. The house across the ravine from us has it on their big slope....See MoreBackyard slope design that includes built in slide
Comments (8)Other than installing the play equipment, it's a bit hard to see where you're trying to take the project, or why. You speak of "leveling out the hill" ... what do you mean by that? A slope is the connecting transition between two, more or less level, areas. If it's not going to be the same slope, a retaining wall may be involved. Since trees are already planted, their level cannot be changed. (Though they will tolerate a percentage of root disturbance.) Will the plants that you've mentioned tolerate the light conditions that will be present when the trees leaf out? Groundcover, once established, can be effective at preventing soil erosion. But no plants are going to do the job of a retaining wall. As I look at the photos, I wonder why you just don't plant a single, nice, shade tolerant groundcover over the whole slope and make your life easier. It would look good, prevent erosion and be the lowest maintenance option. Planting a multitude of different plants is not going to have the visual strength, clarity and ease of maintenance as will a single groundcover planting....See Morebackyard landscape ideas
Comments (36)Be aware that Doug lives in the SE US, which doesn’t have nearly the water issues of southern CA, so adjust expectations accordingly. There will be Mediterranean plants and as GG48 mentioned California natives that will work well. I would spend time looking at lots of pictures of southern CA gardens to get an idea of plant density and plant palette that is used in your area. Here is a Houzz article I found that includes several low water CA gardens. [https://www.houzz.com/magazine/8-colorful-drought-tolerant-landscape-designs-stsetivw-vs~86440802[(https://www.houzz.com/magazine/8-colorful-drought-tolerant-landscape-designs-stsetivw-vs~86440802) While the designer linked below is in the Bay Area, it shows that some type of steps and access is needed, if for nothing else, basic maintenance. One set of steps up and then paths across the hillside periodically is necessary since a lot of foot traffic on an unvegetated slope will lead to erosion. [https://www.houzz.com/photos/ornamental-grasses-mediterranean-landscape-san-francisco-phvw-vp~766320[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/ornamental-grasses-mediterranean-landscape-san-francisco-phvw-vp~766320) [https://www.houzz.com/photos/ornamental-grasses-mediterranean-landscape-san-francisco-phvw-vp~766323[(https://www.houzz.com/photos/ornamental-grasses-mediterranean-landscape-san-francisco-phvw-vp~766323) Photo sources include the landscape photos here on Houzz, books from your public library, general internet searches, gardening magazines for your area. Start a file of photos of gardens and plants you find appealing, even if they aren’t planted on a slope. You can save ideas in a folder here on Houzz of photos found in the Houzz photos tab, but you can also upload photos from other sources. Regardless of whether this ends up being DIY or designed by a pro, having ideas of what you find appealing will help. As functionthelook mentioned upthread, you want to be aware of leaves, flowers, and other material that is likely to be shed by plants near the pool as anything that drops in needs to be removed. You may be able to find a list of pool-friendly (low litter) plants for your area somewhere on Houzz or elsewhere on line that you can use for the area near the pool. You say there is irrigation on the slope. Be aware that it may need modification to work well for the plants and the design you choose, and make sure that you know exactly where lines run before the shovel comes into use....See Morefay_fay
3 years agofay_fay
3 years ago
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