Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with home and garden

Outdoor lights got wet -- now what?

DMelanogaster — Sun, 26 May 2013 15:13:27 -0800

I have these strings of tiki lights in my backyard and they got wet! These strings of tiki lights said "indoor or outdoor" on the package, so I left them out there all year. Now I'm getting the backyard ready for guests again and I noticed that all the tiki heads are full of water! SO, first of all, I'm going to throw them away --- right?

NOW -- what kind of lights can I get that aren't expensive and are kind of "fun" maybe (or maybe not) that will not get wet like that?!

I *really* like these lights and am very disappointed in their wetness. But I want to string lights along the fence without fearing electrocution. And I also don't want to pay a fortune. These were maybe $12 a string.

Homescaping Query

Miko — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 12:41:16 -0800

What's a good bush to plant next to the front door? This is in coastal Massachusetts. We moved into a house last year which has a bush by the front door that has to come out - it's a Common Buckthorn, which is a horrible aphid vector. What kind of nice bush could we plant in its place? I wouldn't mind something that flowers. It needs to be a bush that takes more of a tall/narrow form instead of a round spreading form, otherwise I'd love a hydrangea there. But it's a skinny space between the door and a bay window. Thanks for your suggestions.

Need more slate

DMelanogaster — Sun, 24 Jun 2012 06:25:37 -0800

Where to buy/acquire pieces of slate in Manhattan NYC? I need more thick, irregular pieces of slate f(same link as before) or my garden/patio. The ones I have came with the house. Everyone who has these wants to keep them, and most people wish they had more.

Home Depot used to sell bags of these and they delivered, but they don't seem to carry them anymore. I only need about 10-15 of them to complete my patio. I don't have a car, so would need them to be as local to the East Village, Manhattan, as possible. I would carry them in my shopping cart.

(in the center of the picture one piece is a square, and really, square ones would be fine too, as they're going to be put in a not-so-obvious place)

Can I water my lawn this way?

otto42 — Wed, 23 May 2012 06:43:19 -0800

A question about the lifting capacity of sponges, gravity, pvc tubing and whether my lawn can be irrigated. The water table under my lawn is very high. That is, when I dig a hole for a fence post, at about the three foot mark, I hit water.

Please tell me if this is physically possible.

If I take a four foot length of PVC pipe that is 5 or so inches in diameter, fill the pipe with high quality sponges to the top, and then place the pipe vertically in the hole, with the top 12 inches sticking out of the hole, will the water seep out of the top of the pipe where it can be collected?

More technically, is a sponges lifting capacity eventually exceeded by the force of gravity?, and if so, is four feet to great of a distance for lifting capacity to exceed gravity?

Alternatively, suggest any other reasons this will not work.

I want windowboxes without water damage

Foam Pants — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 15:55:51 -0800

Is there a way to attach window boxes to a third story condo without creating a vector for water to get under the siding? I would like a little bit of nature outside my windows but it rains like hell in Juneau. I own my place and could put window boxes out if I want. Ideally, there would be a system that was temporary but, most importantly, the constant rain makes it imperative that the window boxes don't allow water under the siding. This might be a pipe dream.

Amateur gardener with limited time needs help with the front garden.

shiu mai baby — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 10:06:40 -0800

Calling the green-thumbed: My front garden is a mess, and I suck at making things grow. Plz halp. I am determined to make the garden look better this year, and now that spring is starting to creep up, it's time I get myself in gear. I used an online garden planner to map out what I have now, which you can see here:

Current garden layout (anywhere you see a decimal measurement, just round up to the nearest whole number. The online garden planner wasn't completely user-friendly)
Photo of front garden in happier times

Here are the problems/salient details:

1. The two lavender bushes I have (one English, one French) are freaking HUGE, and I'm not completely sure how to groom them. That information, first and foremost, would be appreciated. I do love the lavenders, though, so I don't want to ditch them, just make them less overwhelming.

2. The catmint exploded last summer; I had no idea it was going to get so unruly. Plus, the purple blossoms, next to the lavender, is an awful lot of purple. The unruly catmint and the ungroomed lavender make for a really messy effect, and I hate it.

3. There are three shrubs in a row against the porch. Not sure what they are, but in the fall the leaves turn a lovely shade of crimson, so they're keepers.

4. There's an unidentified tree to the left of the porch. Not sure what it is, either, but I'd like to keep it as well.

5. In front of the tree are three small stonecrop that I planted. They seem to be doing ok, but I won't be devastated if they go.

6. In front of the three shrubs are two iris bulbs I've planted. They're doing ok, but again, I'm not devoted to them.

7. To the left of the lavender, and on the smaller garden on the other side of the path to the front door are three holly bushes. I really kind of hate them, as they aren't particularly attractive. I'm all for ditching them in favor of something else.

8. In the smaller garden to the right of the path to the front door is a Miss Kim lilac that I planted two years ago. It's doing pretty well, I'm happy to say, and I do want to keep that.

9. I've tried for two years in a row to get daisies to grow just behind the stonecrop, but they wither and die within a month of planting.

10. I'm trying to lean towards perennials, because I just don't have the time or the inclination to plant new stuff every spring, even though the brighter colors of the annuals are appealing. Ideally, I want to plant something and be done with it, aside from occasional seasonal care.

I'm really not very good at gardening, so whatever I end up doing needs to be fairly low maintenance. We live northwest of Philadelphia, which according to the zone maps is 6b. This used to be farmland, but when we dig up anywhere there's quite a bit of shale. Our house faces SSE, and the main part of the garden gets a good amount of direct sunlight, although the little garden to the right of the path is mostly shaded, thanks to the shape of the house.

So! Given all this information, what would you recommend? Please treat me like a complete moron in your directions, because I really am not far from that, although I am an eager student.

What to do with a giant back yard?

zompus — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 17:18:47 -0800

What should I do with a (relatively) giant back yard? My wife and I are about to buy a house. The house is around 1400 square feet or so but sits on a plot of land that's just over one third of an acre. The backyard is quite large, probably about 10,000 square feet. This is in Southern California, so it's unusual in my experience to have this much area available.

Here is what it looks like: pic The earth-moving machine is not included with the house. This picture is taken standing at the south end of the backyard looking north.

If we do nothing to the yard, it will become a giant mudpit in the winter and a forest of weeds in the summer. What are some creative and cost effective for what to do with this bounty of land? So far we have come up with growing a plot of grass, laying down a brick section to walk on, and creating a vegetable garden.

How to remove ornamental grasses?

guptaxpn — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 11:55:35 -0800

I'm being offered $100 to remove "Ornamental Grasses", any experience with the removal of plants would be greatly appreciated. I need the money, badly, I just have never done this kind of work before. I'm being told that it will be a b**** of a job and that I should be able to do it with a shovel. Brief googling is telling me that people have needed hatchets and axes to get rid of the roots of these plants.

Have you ever had any experience removing this sort of plant?

I believe they just want it gone.

I'm just curious to know how I can prepare for tomorrow.

Thanks MeFi!?

Help me fertilize for the first time

gocubbies — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:28:56 -0800

I just bought a brand new house in mid-May. I've never owned a home before and I'm new to yard keeping. The entire yard was sodded in May. Recently my builder mentioned following Scott's four step process. I'm located in the midwest. Can you explain what Scott's four step process is? Can you also point me to a link (preferably on Lowes.com) for exactly which fertilizer I should buy to use this week? Any other tips to help a newbie? Thank you!!

Shade-tolerant plant that will prevent bank erosion?

jeffmshaw — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:51:28 -0800

Looking for a shade-tolerant plant that will prevent bank erosion that I can grow in North Carolina's triangle region. I've recently moved to Durham, and my new place has exciting garden possibilities. One fix I want to make quickly involves the bank underneath my deck.

Elsewhere, the bank is covered by English ivy, which stabilizes the soil. But under the deck, there's not enough light for it to grow, meaning rain causes erosion and water flow toward my house.

I'm going to put in a french drain to try to catch much of this flow, but I'd also like to plant a shade-loving ground cover to help stabilize the bank. Any ideas for native plants?

Swamp thing/you make my heart sing

hecho de la basura — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 11:55:31 -0800

Home Drainage Filter: What can I do about a corner of my yard that develops standing water for ~36 hours after a good rain? So far I have lived in my house now for about 2 and a half weeks. In that time there has been a huge amount of rainfall. We received 3 inches just this past Friday! I've noticed that the right corner of my back yard develops some pretty serious standing water and I am utterly clueless as to what to do to remedy it.

There is a marked low spot of unknown origins there, approximately 5'x10'. The water in the low spot is of a depth to cover the (medium-size/mutt) dogs ankles when they stand and play in it. Which they do often. They have also dug at least one huge hole there, thereby increasing the low in the low spot. The water eventually drains/goes away after about 36 hours. I'm not sure if the spot ever really dries out completely as I have not lived here long enough to see 48 consecutive hours of dry weather. The corner is the corner where my yard and my three neighbors' yards meet. None of their yards have standing water in the adjacent corners.

My original thought was to simply plant a rain garden there but I read that a spot that has standing water for more than 24 hours is not good for rain gardens. I'm hoping this is incorrect information because I would dearly love to have a rain garden.

Is it possible to just fill in the low spot with top soil? Do I put gravel down and then dirt? Is a rain garden out of the question? I am desperately (perhaps pointlessly?) worried about the oncoming mosquito season. The water *does* drain eventually. It just takes a day and a half.

This is my very first house so every little thing is freaking me out!
Thanks!

ideas for a big planter box?

peep — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 15:03:23 -0800

What should I do with this giant brick planter box that fronts my house? Here's what it looks like. It's about 15 feet long, 2.5 feet high, and 1.5 feet deep. Right now it contains a mix of dirt and potting soil (and LOTS of cat shit and peanuts buried by squirrels).

There is zero direct sunlight. The light you can see in these pics is the most it gets, and the sun is at a very low angle.

The shade, combined with the crapping neighborhood cats means nearly every flower we've put there has died. The straggly fern in the corner is the longest-lived plant so far, but I'm not a huge fan of ferns.

I want to fill it with rocks and call it a day (ok, maybe not literally, but I'm going for simple, cheap, and easy). My husband doesn't want anything "too boring."

He wants to do "some kind of water feature." I say that's a huge money pit, and a half-baked idea anyway since he doesn't really know what he wants or how to accomplish it.

Any ideas?

Bugs - OUT!

lilboo — Thu, 20 Mar 2008 07:40:54 -0800

Anyone have a good recommendation for a manufacturer of screen doors? I need to put one in on my back porch, and while I don't want to spend a ton of money on this, I would like it to be of some quality - any ideas?

I need some help constructing a shadecloth/tarp type thing for the backyard.

Optimus Chyme — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 10:13:02 -0800

I need some help constructing a shadecloth/tarp type thing for the backyard. We've been trying to figure out how to shade a specific area of our yard, and while driving one day, saw this. Does it look familiar? Is it a commercial product? How can this or something like it be anchored to a block wall?

Here are two pictures of it, one full and one detail of the hook.

Here are two proposed layouts.

We're not into anything like a standard shadecloth like you'd see at a nursery; they are ugly as hell. Thanks in advance. I don't know what I would do without you.

What to do about a leaky pool fillter?

Morrigan — Wed, 03 Aug 2005 07:00:33 -0800

How can I fix a leaking above-ground pool filter (with epoxy or something)? Should I try or will this mess it up further? We have an older above-ground pool with an elderly sand filter. One hose comes from the skimmer, past the motor and into the filter. Another hose goes from the filter back into the pool. A third "port" with a screwed-on plastic cover exists near the bottom of the filter, possibly for draining for the winter, and it is this port that is leaking right now, dripping, not streaming, but dripping rapidly.

Should I epoxy it somehow (with what?)? Should I grin and bear it and replace the water a few times a week? I can't find anything expressly relevant on the web, probably because the filter is obsolete.

Where can I find help maintaining some landscaping?

pornucopia — Thu, 21 Jul 2005 14:15:29 -0800

I find myself responsible for a semi-large, quite varied chunk of landscaping. Shrubs, flowers, trees, you name it. I don't have a clue what I'm doing. Where can I find help? Ideally there'd be an AskMe-like place where I could post questions about specific plants.
"Is this a weed? If not, how do I nurture it?"
"This plant looks like it's dying. What do I do?"
"This shrub is out of control. What bits do I cut off?

Etc.

How do I dissolve doggie do-do?

thejimp — Sat, 30 Apr 2005 09:26:10 -0800

The last bit of snow is finally melting in my backyard (yes, I live in Canada) to reveal a pile of dog shit, courtesy of my young black lab. Any ideas on how to melt that too? Any substances (preferably non-toxic) that I could spread on the lawn to speed up the process?