Hey folks! I could really use some help.
We bought our home two years ago and the backyard was already a disaster when we moved in — seriously overgrown, wild, and clearly neglected for years. I’ve attached several photos as it stands right now so you can get a full sense of what I’m dealing with. It's a mix of giant weeds, mystery plants, crumbling pathways (everything is either fence to fence pavers or the deck area is rotting wood), and leaf piles from last fall that never got dealt with. Some areas are so packed in I feel like I’d need a machete just to make a dent.
In a perfect world, I’d hire a landscaping company to come in and give me a fresh start, but that’s just not financially possible right now. I’m trying to figure out how to tackle this in stages — on a tight budget and a tight timeline (I'm a full-time student and don’t have endless hours to throw at it before summer wraps).
I do have a weedwhacker and could probably borrow a chainsaw if it came to that. I’m also open to renting some kind of power tool or two potentially from the Home Depot or similar if it can get the job done a lot faster and more efficiently than my poor weedwhacker. But I know that just chopping everything down doesn’t solve the root of the problem — the plants will grow back just as aggressively, and some of them are starting to creep into the foundation cracks and I have to do something.
What I want long-term:
- A functional backyard with raised beds for veggies and herbs, maybe some fruit bushes or small dwarf trees
- An actual lawn of some kind so my dog doesn’t have to run on stones or through weeds
- A proper deck or patio which I’m fully willing and able to build myself when the time comes
What I need right now:
- A starting point. How would you project-manage this?
- Any smart methods to smother or kill weeds without using harsh chemicals (my neighbour has a beautiful wildflower/native plant garden and I want to be respectful)
- Budget-friendly tools or hacks you swear by
- Realistic expectations — like, what can actually be done in a few weekends with a set of hands or two vs. what might take a year or more?
I’m just totally overwhelmed and feeling stuck. And honestly, I want a space I can enjoy the nice weather in or have people over when it’s nice and right now I’m just ashamed of it. Any advice from folks who’ve clawed their way out of backyard chaos would be so appreciated.
Thanks in advance — seriously.
by Borgi-Queen
18 Comments
In a more ideal situation where you had time, or you take a lot longer on this project. Pulling by hand would be ideal, as I’d keep quite a few of these plants and work them into the new landscape.
If you want it done quickly, weed whack everything. For anything that doesn’t like being weedwhacked use loppers. I do not believe you need a chainsaw for anything pictured here. If you do clear out the brush FIRST!. Then use the chainsaw. As you don’t want to be dealing with brush in one hand while the chainsaw cuts into your leg.
Get free cardboard from the nearest source of free cardboard usually small companies. It will kill off the vast majority of plants and keep them from coming back up.
As for the pavers, weedwhack and borrow a pressure washer it will remove a lot of the dirt, and seeds imbetween the pavers.
Oh and step zero get a sticker for your local municipal yard waste facility, so you have a place to go with all the plant material.
I wouldn’t even bother cutting. I’d just start pulling and bundling. Toss in the bed of the truck and drop off at the refuse center. Don’t get overwhelmed, look at it as catharsis and yank with anger. 😂
I’m not a professional, and this is not advice…. https://throwflame.com
One pull at a time my friend. Pace the marathon, no sprinting.
Just take it a day at a time. You won’t clear it in one day, maybe not even a week depending on your free time. But focus a section as you have time and before you know it it’ll be… controlled, more or less.
For the stuff in the pavers, hit it with a vinegar solution. Dunno the mix but it’s all over this sub. Natural and gets the job done.
You can find relatively cheap electric mowers on FB marketplace. I’d suggest an EGO. Just saw one for less than $100. I’ve had mine for 4 years now and it’s been great. Super lightweight too. But if that’s too far out of the budget, then yeah either renting one or getting a manual mower would help.
I personally don’t bother collecting leaves. I’ll focus them on an area for my yard and mulch them with the mower. It’s great for your lawn and helps enrich your soil.
Easiest method to deal with weeds is to pull them. Again, depending on budget, look up grampas weeder. Worth the money imo. You can get the weeds with the roots super fast and it doesn’t kill your back.
But again I stress just do it in chunks as you can. An hour or two here and there. Once you get a section managed, it’s a lot easier to go over it real quick a week or two later to keep it in line. Before you know it everything will be more controlled. Good luck!
To start, categories areas between hardscape, gardens, other.
Clean patio leaves and bag them. Scrape patio with spade for big items and pressure wash. Don’t sand. It’ll grow again. Start a routine of pulling.and hitting with a cleaning vinegar. You might have to pull the stones where European bluebells are and dig them out. Once it stops growing as much, hit with pressure washer again and sand.
Some beds can be cleared fairly easy. Whilpersnip down all the areas that are primarily European bluebells. Cover in heavy landscape fabric. Don’t use crappy fabric. If you can tear it, it does nothing. Get it as a 6′ or 12′ from a roll at a landscape depot yard.this will smother some of it while.your energy is elsewhere. That span on the side of the house, just to the ground and f it for now, tarp these stretches. Don’t mulch. It’s just amoothering for now.
Shaping hedges can also make a major difference. Sometimes moving in job sets helps, like soft scape stuff, then trimming, them hardest parts for last so it layers into clean. Good luck
The good news is that it’s just a mess. Clean it up. And all things you can do with no tools or real expense. Pull the weeds. Rake out the leaves and debris. Bag it. Trash it. Sweep. It will be a million times better.
Borrow somebody’s goat? They’ll go to town on all that, but it may also eat your washing…
TLDR; you have time so chill, think opportunities not obstacles, & learn about permaculture. Oh & source some helping hands. You got this.
Good news is you have space, plenty of great plants & materials here already, and you have motivation. I’d urge you not to use that motivation to go scorched earth – ask me how dumb I felt ripping out a bed of weeds only to see them at Home Depot later that month, and yes the wife liked them once there was a price tag. I can see hostas, Solomon’s plant, and foxglove (?) all of which take some establishment and would cost you money if you were starting over. Keep the hostas and that rounded bed for sure.
You have plenty of time before winter sets in so no need to be overwhelmed. Unless you have a summer event you’re doing, you don’t have to rush. You could realistically tackle all of this in a couple weekends to about a month of weekends too though so take a deep breath.
It’d help to know what’s what in your pictures – what’s closer to the door or further, what’s inaccessible anyway, etc. with that, I’d start with figuring out your zones. You have chill zones, activity zones, planting zones, and path zones. Grab any objects/items and put them in that area where the swing is.
Start from your back door & Weedwhack the edges** where hardscaping meets garden beds. Do the whole patio then do the fence line. I wouldn’t clear anything if idk what it is, just focus on cleaning up the edges. Looks like anything on the interior of the patio between the bricks is already planted somewhere else, so now you can clear cut the patio. You’ll already have better views. Next tackle the leaves. Rent a cheap leaf blower and blow them where you want them or get a cheap rake. You have leaves everywhere, which means you’ll have leaves again, so lean into it and use the free leaves as mulch for your planting beds. If you want to garden you’ll need mulch anyway so maybe figure out a place you can store mulch or set that stuff to break down into compost for your future plants. You have established plants which the last homeowner may have been responsible for & I’d recommend keeping. Get all the mulch in those beds. Leave that really tall stuff behind the brick wall & grill for now as the value to effort ratio is lower than vs the other areas.
Assess your now cleared space – you’ll have decking/patio that may be warped but clear, you’ll have planting beds that are edged but full of “stuff” and you have wilder areas that really need help. I’d focus on the areas closest to my back door/entertaining zones first, and fix my hardscaping. Reset the brick patios, reset any edging weed, pressure wash when done. That part can be easier said than done so watch a couple videos first. Once hardscaping is solid, I’d cut down any big trees/shrubs. As I mentioned, ID what you have by taking a pic of the foliage, stems, and any blooms. Prune or Get rid of the stuff that doesn’t fit the space it’s at. Pull out any tree saplings that don’t need to be there. Then go about deciding if you want to keep the plants that are left or not. A weed is simply a plant in a place that you didn’t ask for it to be. So if you like the plant, or could like it in a more manicured area, then move it to the manicured area.
Once you get this to square one & get it looking like something you can be proud of, come back to talk about improving the space, making for better maintenance plans, and setting out those garden beds you spoke of.
Just an FYI that you unfortunately have creeping bell flower. Looks pretty but it is the devil and super hard to get rid of. Make sure you dont let them go to seed and you will definitely not get rid of it by putting some cardboard ontop. Also, in my city it is considered a noxious weed and therefore you could get fined for having it.
Blood,sweat and tears my friend
String trimmer and roundup.
Weed Wacker, leave blower and a hand held chain saw and maybe 4 hours on your day off
Glyphosat first. Then 2 weeks later fire will be you friend.
I am joking. Time and effort will be king
whipper snipper rake and shovel be done in 30mins
60mins if you want to pressure wash too
FWIW the ivy in your alley by the fence … looks like a very happy Swedish ivy (the one with three prongs, below knee height and white edges).
KEEP THAT! You could even pull some and replant in other areas after they’ve been cleared out
I bought my house in 2020 and hired people in that first year to trim everything down. I have a lot of plants, flowers, and shrubs that a previous owner planted, it cost $500 and my lot is small. So, I just didn’t do anything really until about five months ago. I just started pulling weeds, and honestly, it was very rewarding. I’d clear a spot by pulling all the obvious weeds and it just looked so nice and felt good to do.
Every patch I conquered I’d make my husband come look at what I’d accomplished for that day. After I was done with the weeds I got really into what was planted and neglected because of me, and learned about them. I have irises that I cleaned up and bloomed for me for the first time this year. An insanely overgrown rose bush that is full of new growth and blooms just cause I took an afternoon to clear out all the dead stems, leaves, and debris at the base. Honestly, it feels great.
Now, I’m just into it. Planted some flowers, downloaded a plant app to help me identify some stuff, making plans on what I want to do with my space. I’m still cleaning some stuff up, mostly just the hedges around my house that need a lot of cleaning and pruning. But, it’s become a passion for me and I’m learning so much.
Basically, I’m saying to just get in there and start pulling some weeds, buy a rake and rake the leaves in your sitting area, get some gloves and just focus on cleaning up. I honestly think you’ll start to enjoy it. Im really surprised on how much I love it now.
Don’t be so lazy….