What would you do back here if you were broke but want this to be nicer? Just moved in. I have been weeding and raking up the waste (5 bags so far) but once I am done it will truly just be one big dirt patch. I rent but my landlord is flexible.
by AlgaeLarge8911
22 Comments
Grass seed and some plants bordering the house– I’d also cut back the greenery on the left to get more space.
Garden bed for veggies and flowers and a nice little seated area. OR a cornhole court.
Get two yards of top soil delivered. Rake it out in a thin layer and then seed with partial sun grass seed. Cut back some of the vegetation along the left side to let more light in.
Try to find things free. Free outdoor furniture for example. I got a couple old wicked chairs for free on fb marketplace then spray painted them.
Also mulch sometimes can be found for free.
Maybe create a thin long flower bed. Seeds are way cheaper than bulbs or grown plants. Find what grows in your zone and the right time to plant.
You will want good soil if you want anything to grow so that would be the one thing you don’t want to skimp on.
A lot of people need to divide their plants, so you might be able to get some freebies. For ground cover, bugleweed (ajuga reptans) does a pretty good job in sun or shade. I like it better than grass. Also, creeping thyme and lyre sage.
As a renter I couldn’t see making the investment or giving up my time to improve someone else’s property. But if I were to do anything I would first cut back the vegetation even more; so that it’s off the ground. Then go to Facebook marketplace and find someone giving away crushed stone or gravel and level off the ground. Then get some free or used railroad ties. And find someone giving away free or cheap clay, oyster shells, synthetic turf, decomposed granite, or sand and build a bocce court. Lastly buy some inexpensive solar lights off Amazon.
You can start composting back there for free. Just need to start a pile.
Prune back those branches and make some space! If it were me I would just borrow a gas powered hedge trimmer from somewhere and start swinging
Get a free mulch drop and put 6″ down everywhere
I’d mulch it with cedar chips. Chipdrop charges $20 total. I’ve used it many times without any problems. They take the $20 from the Credit Card after a drop.
https://getchipdrop.com
My landscaping philosophy is to make areas functional and useful especially if you’re a handy kind of person. Make all areas level first and easy to walk on. I would designate an outside boarder, choose a material for retaining perimeter, fill, compact and decide on surfacing. There is always a balancing of time, budget, available materials vs preferred materials, and effort= how enthusiastic and invested you are in the particular project and its importance.
I put two Deadmans anchors in and set up Slack lines. Fuck yeah, slack lines
Look for native plant groups in your area on FB. Many share extra plants.
There are also lots of options for native seeds. Prairie moon would be a place to start. You can get some mixes relatively cheap. As a renter, you might not see the full impact, but others might benefit in 2-3 years from your effort.
If you want a space to be a spot for you to hang out…and you feel like building something maybe the landlord would pay you to build. Build a pergola and hang plants from it. That would benefit him when you move on. You could also put a hot tub spa in there with some hard scape columns if he’d pay.
It seems like the space gets some sun, so you could put in some raised beds or planters if you wanted. Or if you don’t care about gardening, putting down wood chips would make it functional for hanging out, games, etc.
I would suggest asking the landlord to pay for some of these cheaper materials, in exchange for your free labor. I’ve had success with that in the past. The worst he can say is no.
Call local arborist and ask if they have free mulch/cheap mulch from a chipper job.
Id make a small very narrow border against the barn and place a species of plant that will define that edge/line year round.
How about a single or semi double row of a nice hellebore? Even in winter the leaves are still present…
In addition add in some bulbs to Naturalize between the plants, crocus and daffodils..
Place some irregular shaped pavers and create a non pattern simple walkway with various shaped paver../ stone.
Yeah, it looks HOT back there, and grass and flowers and stuff, even native, is gonna require a LOT of water, especially the first year. $ and time. Just factor that into your decision!
Horseshoe pit
Lawn and Garden always works. Simple railroad tie rectangle raised bed…Or, Bocce Ball!
Is that a curb behind that greenery on the left? I’d cut every bit of that stuff down and back and hit that curb with a power washer I bet that looks really nice. If that’s a fence and not a curb I’d still do same thing.
For the yard I’d just do grass. You can get grass seed and a couple bails of straw for around $20 at Lowe’s/HD.
For that stump, I know I’ll catch shit for this, but I had a couple just like it. I used an auger bit and drilled a few holes in and filled them with salt. Couple months later they broke apart with a sledgehammer like styrofoam. I filled in the divots w/ dirt and spot seeded. It’s like they were never there.
When money does start flowing in I’d make a landscaping bed along the house edged with nice stone pavers, plant some bushes, and fill with river rock.
Your space has a ton of potential IMO.
I’d throw some more trash back there maybe store some old appliances in that spot. Ideally you’d want an old car that doesn’t run to fill that space cause they you can sit in the car.