Help! My landscaping is non-existent/horrible/part dead/weed infested!
Alexandria Juarez
2 months ago
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gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
2 months agoAlexandria Juarez
2 months agoRelated Discussions
Please help me with the bane of my landscape
Comments (18)Bboy, that's so poetic! :-) I gardened for nearly 15 years under a huge cypress that was actually on my neighbour's lot before I got the neighbour to cut down the tree. My problem was not just dry and shade and root competition and a smothering drizzle of tree debris, but also that the area was the perfect weevil habitat. Anything I grew that didn't succumb to anemia or drought or get buried got eaten to bits. And plants do absolutely migrate or lean to where they want to be. With respect to what would happen if you took down your spruce, I think you would still have some challenging growing conditions due to the the two remaining trees. Tree roots don't recognize property lines. For that reason, and because I can't see the property as a whole, I can't say for sure that a bed there is the right thing. It may well be. And if you are a keen plantsperson, you'll just find stuff you like at the nursery regardless of what anyone here recommends! And of that stuff, watch what does well with little help on your part, and do more of it. Ferns may do brilliantly, once established. Except Ostrich ferns - they WANDER, and aren't as innocuous as violets. If you keep the spruce, I think you could do a mix of hellebores and ferns. Hellebores are actually incredibly tough. A ground cover shrub to consider for shade is microbiota - does OK in shade and one plant could eventually cover the whole bed, pruned to shape! And having limbed the spruce up as far as it is, you might take it up even further unless you need the canopy low to block sightlines. Then the stuff under there would get sun, though all the other problems would continue. Other shade plants to consider would be Asarum, Epimedium (needs a haircut every year though), and groundcover rhodo/azaleas. Karin L...See Morehelp me get rid of this horrible prickly weed
Comments (14)Carpet Burrweed "Soliva sessilis) is considered a noxious weed with no benefits. It is a winter annual that dies back in the summer after forming seeds, and not watering your lawn leaves the soil open for the seeds to sprout when the rains come. Humans tend to be the major source of the spread of the seeds. The spines are attached to the seeds. Germination begins early and seedlings develop rapidly, usually faster than the grass it grows in. Since you don't water your lawn, and the weed likes compacted soil and sun, you might consider either sheet-mulching your entire lawn area (shading it out), or rototilling the whole thing, then when you see the first small plant, keep the top few inches of soil loosened. And keep doing it (preventing the compaction it likes). Germination starts with the first heavy rains of autumn, so you would need to keep on top of it when you need to, not when you can get around to it (too late). Scientists seem to think that there is a fairly low carry-over of seed from year to year, so if you could eliminate the seed production for one year (about Feb to July or so), the existing seeds may not live long enough to keep germinating year after year. If you want to keep your lawn, you should probably ferilize it with compost or manure, overseed it well, water it, and cut it higher so it can help shade out the burrweed. Or you could fertilize with natural fertilizers (compost and manure), then lay sod over it. The microbial action of the compost and manure could help the seeds to rot, with the help of the sod in keeping out the light. It can be removed manually in late winter and early spring, but if you wait until the seeds form, you're wasting your time. This weed is rather famous here in WA, as we get a lot of rain for 8-9 months, then nothing all summer, producing the conditions it prefers. 8-( Sue...See MoreWhat are dead giveaways? McMansion Landscaping
Comments (97)Late to the party, but for me McMansion landscaping is a home where, even with a three second drive by, you can tell that the local landscaping company designed, installed, and maintains the whole thing. Plants are chosen for ease of care and hardiness with no thought to the personality of the home or it's occupants. It is rows of the most common conifers, the hardiest boxwoods, a bit of ornamental grass for "interest," a small tree that blooms each spring, and one or two sections of pooled annuals in locations that are quick and easy to change out each season- all surrounded by perfect mulch. In other words, completely and utterly boring. You can just tell that the homeowners never go outside- it's all window dressing. "And while it is not at all unique to McMansion style landscape design, my primary suggestion is to avoid siting plants where they will need to be pruned, trimmed or otherwise mangled to remain in an appropriate scale without overwhelming their neighbors, any views or adjacent architecture. Excessive or unnecessary pruning is the bane of my existance!" And it is the joy of mine :) I always choose plants that I can nurture, shape, and direct- I love pruning better than anything else. If I don't have enough to keep me busy all spring I will invariably start in on things that don't need it, so I like high maintenance plants!. Exception to the rule, maybe, but true....See MoreWeed infested, steep, long slope -- HELP!
Comments (34)I will add, the frequent use of the word "poison" in stone's narrative suggests a less than complete understanding of what the various materials actually are, and what they do. If a specific herbicide has been compounded in such a way as to interfere with one or more enzyme pathways within green, vascular plants, is that a poison? The word poison has an actual and specific meaning. In human terms, a poison is a material which, upon being consumed, causes immediate life-threatening reactions. So, are herbicides which are designed to interfere with one or more essential enzymatic pathways within green, vascular plants poisons? Not to you and me, and not to moss (non-vascular) and not to a mature tree trunk which the material has drifted onto (No green tissue exposure). It is indeed tiring to see the same simple-minded "chemicals are bad" kind of thinking here. So, what about plants which exude allelopathic materials from their root tips? Must they be banished so as not to be poisoning the environment? This is just way too beginner for me. And in support of TR's comments above, you, stone, are putting lots of words in our mouths here. No, you're not the only person on this forum-if you can believe it-that would first seek out the desirable plants in a scenario such as above, for saving before proceeding to do any other work. It must be hard to live your life, knowing as you do that everyone else is an idiot who doesn't know what they're doing. +oM...See Moregardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
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