need landscaping suggestions
June 20, 2022 11:58 AM Subscribe
I need suggestions for a
trapezoidal patch of yard that is too steep at one end to mow or even stringtrim safely. It also gets full, often harsh sun (so is hard to tend). I could just plant hardy fescue this fall, which doesn't need mowing, but neighbors tend to complain about unmowed grass. Any suggestions for something low-key, low maintenance, but maybe a little more imaginative?
How about some herbs like thyme, chamomile, or lavender? They're good with a lot of sun and don't need fertilizer.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:03 PM on June 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:03 PM on June 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
I'm in the process of removing most of the grass around my house. Two years ago I converted my backyard to a mixture of clover and grass, although I'm upping the grass content there because it takes to kids running around and playing sports a lot better than clover by itself does. Last year I put in lavender, lemon thyme, and creeping thyme in one patch in the front of my house and creeping thyme and chamomile in another. I was going to tear up the strip of grass on the side of my house this year and put in clover and wild flowers but I was too busy with other things so that will likely wait until the fall now.
Clover as a ground cover takes a lot less maintenance than grass does, much less mowing, no watering, and there are very few weeds in it. The herbs take the same but it's different, instead of pushing a mower every couple of weeks I've got to do some weeding by hand. Less now that the herbs are larger and more established but there was a fair bit in early spring when they hadn't woken up yet but the weeds had and there will always be some amount that I'll need to do. The herbs are drought tolerant so I don't water them at all. If you're in Arizona or something this might not work for you so you'd need to tailor things to your area.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:12 PM on June 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
Clover as a ground cover takes a lot less maintenance than grass does, much less mowing, no watering, and there are very few weeds in it. The herbs take the same but it's different, instead of pushing a mower every couple of weeks I've got to do some weeding by hand. Less now that the herbs are larger and more established but there was a fair bit in early spring when they hadn't woken up yet but the weeds had and there will always be some amount that I'll need to do. The herbs are drought tolerant so I don't water them at all. If you're in Arizona or something this might not work for you so you'd need to tailor things to your area.
posted by any portmanteau in a storm at 12:12 PM on June 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
Talk to your Co-operative Extension Office, they are great at local agriculture questions. Find out what plants will thrive in those conditions. In Maine, I'd say lilacs. hydrangea, forsythia, day lilies, irises, sage. All will naturalize and choke out weeds.
posted by theora55 at 1:40 PM on June 20, 2022 [4 favorites]
posted by theora55 at 1:40 PM on June 20, 2022 [4 favorites]
Daylilies would be awesome there -- they love the sun and they'll multiply until the hillside is covered so thickly that weeds can't push through. They love sun, and are drought-tolerant and extremely low-maintenance once established (there's a reason they're sometimes called "ditch lily"). They're also gorgeous in bloom -- they'd make that hillside a showstopper.
posted by ourobouros at 2:24 PM on June 20, 2022 [5 favorites]
posted by ourobouros at 2:24 PM on June 20, 2022 [5 favorites]
I have periwinkle slowly taking over my front yard and it's really great - no mowing, lovely shiny green leaves, purple flowers and it's growing just fine even though it doesn't get a lot of water.
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 2:37 PM on June 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 2:37 PM on June 20, 2022 [1 favorite]
Just a note on the periwinkle -- it is definitely pretty, hardy, & low-maintenance, but I replaced part of my lawn with it and kind of regret doing so. Vinca major (commonly seen as a green/white variegated kind) is much more invasive than Vinca minor (commonly seen as a dark green glossy kind). I didn't know the difference and planted Vinca major, and now I'm fighting to keep it from throttling everything in the garden. Both are considered invasive in some parts of the country. Which is to say -- you may be happier with it in a more contained area.
posted by ourobouros at 2:46 PM on June 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
posted by ourobouros at 2:46 PM on June 20, 2022 [2 favorites]
ooh, good point - the kind I have growing is definitely the vinca minor, and it's been replacing the grass at the rate of maybe 6 inches a year?
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 3:36 PM on June 20, 2022
posted by 5_13_23_42_69_666 at 3:36 PM on June 20, 2022
I would do some research about decorative grasses to see if there is a good match to your local conditions that isn't an invasive species.
Day lilies are used here (CT) on stubborn embankments.
posted by SemiSalt at 6:24 PM on June 20, 2022
Day lilies are used here (CT) on stubborn embankments.
posted by SemiSalt at 6:24 PM on June 20, 2022
I would Solarize that area with black plastic and then plant a mix of native grasses and flowers in the spring.
posted by rockindata at 6:44 PM on June 20, 2022
posted by rockindata at 6:44 PM on June 20, 2022
Low maintenance is going to depend on your locality.
Where in the world is your trapezoidal patch of grass?
do it, Rockapella
posted by deludingmyself at 9:14 PM on June 20, 2022 [3 favorites]
Where in the world is your trapezoidal patch of grass?
do it, Rockapella
posted by deludingmyself at 9:14 PM on June 20, 2022 [3 favorites]
We have a portion of our property that is very, very similar to your situation, particularly the "too steep to mow or even string trim" part. Based on your photo, ours is even steeper that yours.
I've mentioned the solution we came up with after about 15 years of horsing around and experimenting here and here.
That involves planting the area in our native wildflowers that grow here in the midwest (Missouri) which basically means big, tall, extremely vigorous plants. Those are the ones that work out because they are large and vigorous enough to crowd everything else out. They grow thick and tall and around here, that is the only strategy that will keep other plants (actual weeds) from moving in and taking over. Depending on where you live exactly, you mileage may vary.
Some of the neighbors do complain and think they are "weeds" but they are just factually wrong. When you're trying to establish grass monoculture you of course have to kill off all native plants and so you start to think of them as weeds because they are not lawn.
The second link above has some ideas about how to make it look more like an intentional wildflower garden and less like an abandoned lot. The five top tips are:
#1. Keep it trimmed very neat and straight around the borders so that it looks intentional.
#2. Delineate the borders with a bit of rustic wood fence or fence corners. Again this helps it look more intentional rather than simply abandoned.
#3. Put up some signage indicating 'native plantings,' 'butterfly refuge,' 'pollinator friendly garden,' and such things so people realize what it is. You can buy pre-made signs and some organizations sell them, or just make your own.
#4. If you can arrange your species so that something or other is blooming through the entire season, it really helps it look more like a flower bed instead of weeds. For example, I threw a bunch of Dames Rocket seeds across our plot in early March and they have been blooming early April until now. That fills in almost 3 months where otherwise there would be few or no blooms.
#5. If you can get in there even once a year in the fall (Oct-Nov in our climate) and knock down the dried stalks, it really helps. People seem more bothered by a stand of "dead" tall plants than when they are growing. I use a scythe but a string trimmer or even just getting in an trampling everything down somehow, works too.
posted by flug at 9:43 PM on June 20, 2022 [5 favorites]
I've mentioned the solution we came up with after about 15 years of horsing around and experimenting here and here.
That involves planting the area in our native wildflowers that grow here in the midwest (Missouri) which basically means big, tall, extremely vigorous plants. Those are the ones that work out because they are large and vigorous enough to crowd everything else out. They grow thick and tall and around here, that is the only strategy that will keep other plants (actual weeds) from moving in and taking over. Depending on where you live exactly, you mileage may vary.
Some of the neighbors do complain and think they are "weeds" but they are just factually wrong. When you're trying to establish grass monoculture you of course have to kill off all native plants and so you start to think of them as weeds because they are not lawn.
The second link above has some ideas about how to make it look more like an intentional wildflower garden and less like an abandoned lot. The five top tips are:
#1. Keep it trimmed very neat and straight around the borders so that it looks intentional.
#2. Delineate the borders with a bit of rustic wood fence or fence corners. Again this helps it look more intentional rather than simply abandoned.
#3. Put up some signage indicating 'native plantings,' 'butterfly refuge,' 'pollinator friendly garden,' and such things so people realize what it is. You can buy pre-made signs and some organizations sell them, or just make your own.
#4. If you can arrange your species so that something or other is blooming through the entire season, it really helps it look more like a flower bed instead of weeds. For example, I threw a bunch of Dames Rocket seeds across our plot in early March and they have been blooming early April until now. That fills in almost 3 months where otherwise there would be few or no blooms.
#5. If you can get in there even once a year in the fall (Oct-Nov in our climate) and knock down the dried stalks, it really helps. People seem more bothered by a stand of "dead" tall plants than when they are growing. I use a scythe but a string trimmer or even just getting in an trampling everything down somehow, works too.
posted by flug at 9:43 PM on June 20, 2022 [5 favorites]
Response by poster: Thanks for all these excellent ideas! This is in the lower Shenandoah Valley, so zone 7 or 8. Solarizing is a good start, and I am leaning towards periwinkle as a least-cost, visually compatible, fairly low maintenance choice. I have done a maximum-variety job with a larger, shadier slope: apparently it’s inevitable to have to get in there and weed/tend periodically.
posted by mmiddle at 4:34 AM on June 21, 2022
posted by mmiddle at 4:34 AM on June 21, 2022
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Ideefixe at 12:02 PM on June 20, 2022 [4 favorites]