Help, I keep drawing a blank on my backyard.

As you all know I have been doing some major remodeling of our house. I am completely stuck on what to do with the backyard. Most of it is on a slope. We think that it used to be a field because terraces are cut into the soil (ridges). My husband wants to plant grass but I think it would be a pain in the neck to mow, but we also have to think about us having kids (they need a play area) I have been told I can't add more soil due to the trees back there, and we have a bad wash from the nieghbors yard. The majority is shaded so really kinda stuck on what to do.

Any ideas? Pictures that might give me some sort of push? I am royally stuck. The red lines are our property line. The only flat spot is the spot I was taking pictures on. (we want to move the trampoline down there but again, there is no walkway or nothing...)

Also the way our property is situated, I don't want to go in any lines across the property like the previous owners, to me it makes the odd shaped property stand out more (the oddness of the shape)

Another view. The trampoline and garden shed basically sit right next to the line.

Side view, so that you can get a view of how sloped it is.

Another side view.

Help please! lol

I would build terraces and plant some pretty shade perennials. I particularly love the following shade plants:

astilbe
bugloss
lamium
sweet william
columbine
toad lily
holly
hostas
foxglove
bleeding heart
bigfoot geranium
ferns

No grass is going to grow well in shady situations like that. I think the first thing I'd do is figure out how the water runoff is patterned. Otherwise, any terracing would be fighting the natural runoff pattern which can get expensive and/or more elaborate than you want to bother with.

I can see a nice series of small- to medium-sized terraces in curving shapes; e.g., hardscape, to add a bit of mystery. You don't want to see straight down or straight upwards; "hiding" those vertical sightlines can create interesting garden "rooms" and surprise mini-vistas that kids love to play in and adults will appreciate.

Personally, in these days of fire ants and water rationing, lawns are an overrated idea. I'd create several flattish (they don't need to be totally level) areas where a kid's playhouse would be in one spot. In another there would be a casual mini-dining area (nearest the house probably being more sensible) with low tables and seating that works for kids or adults, regardless of whether you're eating hot dogs with milk or pate and white wine. Another area might hold a pond with a small-sized waterfall - kids love playing in water! - or a sandbox, or that trampoline.

On a budget I'd do paths mulched with wood chips - very forgiving of falling children and relatively cheap. Or decomposed granite or even dry concrete (misted with water for a week, it makes a cheap and decent short-term paving). Some stairs to handle the steeper parts if needed, but breaking them up with curving paths will add to the feeling of different garden rooms.

Develop a plan - keeping it flexible to allow for budget issues. Then break it up into phases or sections, and it will seem much more manageable! Having a plan, even if you make some changes along the way, will help ensure that the overall look will be consistent, rather than a mish-mash of stuff half-done here and three-quarters completed over there, and lacking a good "flow" from one area to the next.

Good luck. This could be an exciting and very beautiful project for you!

Hi,
I like jkom51's ideas, I have been in very steep back yards that were virtually all garden. Your path down the hill can zig zag (or s curves) down the hill side you could make 'rooms' along the way for the kids or sitting area for yourselves. Just keep path wide enough for wheelbarrow.

I don't know what your budget is but...we purchased a DR Powerwagon 5 years ago and it is our favorite tool for the yard. Our machine can haul 800 pounds. To check it out see: http://drpower.resultspage.com/drpower/powerwagon

Anyway, I can't wait to see pictures as your project progresses. How fun to have a clean slate to work with.

Magwar, that is so exciting to see that beautiuf yard. I wish that I lived closer so I could help. I live in east Tx. and we are just in 8a so I can tell you what I have done with my land and it was on the Garden Tour this year so I know how beautiful your's can be. I asume those are pine threes? Mine are mostly pine. My half aker is up hill but all the same things can aplie to yours. I try to use as many perennials as I can and lots of pine mulch as I can.We put in a dry creek bed for run off and it get full in a hard fast rain. I started with small plants that were on sale or from seed. It will take a lot of hard work and a few years but that is a wonderful yard to have. I am taking some pictures for you but I need for the sun in the right place. Joan

Magwar, I broke my triepod but will try to get the picture finished tomorrow. Sorry.
Joan

Sorry, I'm just getting back to the pictures. Here are pictures of my shade garden. Flagstone path leading to the hidden place.

Hidden spot with flagstones leading to and from it.

Flagstone path to steps to the hidden place.

Stair steps with needle path. I have more pictures, but don't know how many I can post at one time.

Jestelleoan, your hidden spot looks so cool, peaceful and inviting. I can just imagine lying on a chaise lounge with a good book and a cool drink and letting the rest of the world go its own way. I really envy you. Dotti

Dotti, Thank you it is very peaceful and it is so much fun to watch the hummingbirds and butterfly comming to eat. We have a big yard for living in the city but it is all shade. I have a few sun spot for flowers but I love the shade. Joan

I much prefer the shade, also. During the day in the summer, I have to hide in the house because of the heat, but in the evening I sure enjoy the shade. I am also discovering that I really like the shade plants; also that even my sun lovers seem to really like the afternoon shade I have in abundance. Dotti

Dotti,
I love the sun flowers but I have so little I have stop making them suffer. They grow so tall and just fall over. I am learning more about shade plants and how much sun they realy need to be strong. Katie had a very good list for shade plants. I hope some more will show there shade gardens. Joan


This message was edited Aug 3, 2005 9:35 PM

jestelleoanm
Your Flagstone paths are sooo inviting, they just draw you in. To have a 'hidden place' along the way is great. How did you come up with the idea of the brick work for it?
S

Joan, I really love your paths. They are so peaceful. I wish I have a garden as big as yours. I can image a lot of shady plants growing.

Fang

Sandy, I still have a lot of work to do on the new side of the path. That side will take a year or so to get going. I had just a one way path and at the last minute for the garden show I realised that over 400 people could not turn around and come back down the same path so my poor husband had to build the new path and steps a week before the show.
When we started building on to the house I had them put floor to ceiling windows in the west side of the house so I could look out into the woods. I ask the builder to put a circle of bricks up there so I could have my H.P. My husband and I did a lot of the flagstone ourselves. I call it an ongoing garden and it will gooooooo onnnnn and on.

Fang, it is a lot of fun but too much work. I must have half of the weeds in the whole world. I do not know the size of your yard but I will go take some pictures of a place in the back yard that is a small H.P.

Joan

Joan, you are living my dream! That is so beautiful, and especially all the ferns. I have one tiny area for my shade garden, probably 12' X 18', that I have crammed full of Caladiums, Coleus and ferns. I love it, but just think what I could do with read WOODS to plant in. Lucky lady!!!
Pati

Pati, I took some pictures of a very small Hiding Place in my backyard. Maybe you could turn your little place in a peaceful place to sit and just be alone. I feel like I am hidening from the world. The in side space is about 6 X 10 ft.

This is front of Hiding Place.

Side of H.P.

This message was edited Aug 4, 2005 6:26 PM

Back of hiding place - azaleas and ferns.

magwar, jestelleoan, and everybody--I've been lurking and loving all the pics and ideas. I have a shade garden project going myself, and now I think I have to have a hiding place, too! Beautiful pics! t.

Tabasco, you will realy love it. It does make you feel like you are tucked away somewhere all alone. I need to be out side
among my flowers But you have to be very carefull because you can see all the thing you need to do. Joan

P.S. I would love to see your gardens-Dottie,Shadyfoks, Pati,Fang and Magwar my yard started out just like yours. Take a lot of pictures because you will forget how bear it was.

This message was edited Aug 4, 2005 11:28 PM

*smiles* Thank you all for your ideas. Jest, I love what you have done! Its absolutely beautiful. I get so frustrated because I don't know where to start in the backyard. I know I don't like straight lines anymore, we have a gravel driveway (appears to be one) that goes literally across the back yard (I didn't show it, too late in the evening) and its so hard to see the possibilities when I am faced with the daunting task of it all. Thankfully, we plan on finishing up on the front before tackling the backyard (I am thinking if we get started on the front, it will help spur my creativity in the back)

I know that I want terraces, and I know I don't want straight lines. I want to be able to put my swing where it is accessible, yet while sitting in it giving a beautiful look of the yard. I want grass in the backyard for my children to safely play, yet when they are not outside I want to look outside and see peacefulness and beauty. I want it to be somewhat easy to maintain (3 kids to manage right now plus a house lol) but something that I can keep working at. I want something to look neat and tidy, but not uninteresting.

I already know what I want in my front yard, grass and curb appeal. We bought ATV tires today, so maybe I will be able to get back outside and start cleaning up again. (Kids started school today lol) YAY.

Shady, jkom, and Katie. Thank you for your ideas as well. I hear creeping red fescue grows well in shady areas around here, and we are going to give it a try. We could also go with zoyzia but...as beautiful as it is, its expensive.

I will start taking pictures of the front yard when we start getting the pines down. (They are dangerously close to the house, and we just put a new roof on. I know when we get those pines cleared out and get them cleaned up, we will get where we know how we all want it laid out in the back. I just wish I knew how I wanted to make it look in the back. Too many slopes. Bad part is, half of the backyard comes to an end on a slope. So I get to look at my neighbors yard when I look out my back porch window. I hope that it stays the same for a long time, if not....I get to look at whatever he has planned. (which...from what I can tell...looks like crap lol)

Magwar, you might consider planting some shrubs or trees just inside the property line between your place and the back neighbor. They should block the view of his back yard fairly quickly, especially as he is down slope from you. Once they plants are big, you should be able to see his roof only. Dotti

I think that would be a great idea dotti. I want to create a sense of privacy in our backyard. In the front I am wanting to be able to look out at the road (safety reasons) But I want my backyard to be secluded. =)

Its cool enough to work outside right now so I am out and about! lol

I'm drooling over your hiding place, especially the stone bench! I also have zone envy over the hostas.*sigh* I'll try to post some pictures of my little garden early this summer, which has grown WAY out of control. Everything now is just huge.
#1 New path

#2 Mother's day present bench

#3 Middle. My camera isn't good, but maybe you can get an idea of what's there. Guess I should take some new ones to update.

Pati, I love your little hideaway. Its cute!! Its really pretty (although I don't know what you mean about overgrown..I think its pretty =)

Well Magwar, I still love it, but now you can barely see my bench from that same spot! And, see my mini-Doxie, Rosey, in the one of the path? Those Caladiums and Coleus are almost waist high! My Macho Ferns are shoulder high and their runners chase me if I walk slow! LOL

This is the first year I have grown plants in the summer, and I had no idea they would grow this big, and boy, are they pushy and rude! I'm actually looking forward to my winter plants of sweet Impatience and orderly Petunias. *smile*
Pati

Pati, that is wonderful. I love the big palm in the garden and I want to see the garden now. It is so funny when you said the plants were pushy and rude I was just thinking the same thing about some of mine. I belong to Master Gardeners and every one shares their plants so I do not know how big some thing grow. I have just stared pulling them out. It was hard at first but you should see me now. I am one mean mama.
I am in zone 8a so I can not have all those zone 10 you can grow. It seems everything I find that I realy like is zone 10. I guess that the grass is always greener on the other side.
Joan

Magwar, I just keep thinking of your yard and how many thing could be done to it. When you have time I would like to see a picture of what you see from your back pourch window. We are down hill from our neighbor so we look on his deck and it just has swimming thing on it. There is a fence there so you see fence and then deck. I have so little sun if I put trees there it will realy block out sun in the back. Thank goodness we built out the side of the house and I have a room that just looks out in to my woods.
Joan

Will do! It just had to rain here today, we borrowed my brothers bobcat and started working on the front again (digging up stumps) and right in the middle of it, it started pouring down raining.

Go friggen figure! lol Hopefully it will move out long enough so that we can haul the stumps up the road to burn them.

I never realized how much time and effort it takes into redoing a yard. (This is my first home, so this is all new to me lol)

Magwar, It never stops but that is what makes it fun. The grass gets in and then comes the bugs, diseases, fertilizers, no rain, to much rain, weeds and then the beautiful flowers open and you know why you do all of this. It brings gardeners peace.
Joan

Magwar,
It has been a while since we have heard from you, how far did you get with your project?
Shady