Specialty Gardening: I would like your thoughts on xeriscaping this yard., 1 by LaWolf8

LaWolf8 wrote:
I'd bet that lawn is Bermuda or St Augustine both horrible to deal with, devil grass. I did my land lady's place with Bermuda, landscaper I used said spray it with roundup then we covered it 6 months with heavy black plastic, no winter rains and the heat of summer baked it. Extreme, YES, but after 4 years I've only seen a few sprigs come up and they get the RU spray bottle.

I do lots of walks around my area up to 3 miles and see yards that weren't properly treated and the Bermuda is coming back all thru the plantings. Not a pretty sight.

First get someone who knows to help, second take care of any drainage problems and take out old shrubs next to your foundation, don't put water at your foundation I've seen 3 houses with rot and roots are very strong. Third, keep that guy pruning every other year. Plants that size grow really fast, they may be causing drainage problems. Take your time

I used to be in landscaping and several other successful landscapers said a landscape needs to be refreshed every decade or so. Mature plants add value if well taken care of but maintain them. I inherited my folks ranch in Newport and selling I had to take out 2 huge Twisted junipers that had 18" thick Algerian ivy in masses. When it was stripped out the neighbors really thanked me even tho my sisters hated me spending all that money. It was well worth it.

I am new to this site, maybe I'll start an Lawolf8 advice column. Newport house below