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Suggestions for Yard
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Suggestions for Yard


Bought my first house at the end of last summer and previous owners left the yard a bit of a mess. I want to have a nice yard and outdoor hang out/grilling space so the yard is the big project I'm determined to work on this summer. I'm going to take out all the garden beds, level the yard, and put sod down. I'm just wondering if anyone has advice and if leveling and sodding is relatively straight forward? I was planning on using the dirt from the garden beds to level the yard. Would that work?

Also looking for some suggestions on what to do with the raised garden area coming off the back patio. I want to make it a fire pit area and think it would be cool to keep it raised to have a dedicated fire/lounging area. I'm thinking of sodding this as well or maybe doing some kind of stone? Not sure. Leaning towards sodding just cause I love having nice grass. Wondering if anyone has any other suggestion on what to do with this area?

by CosmoSein_1990

6 Comments

  4. MediocreModular

    Grow food. Don’t need raised beds. Just pile up compost and plant stuff. Perfect time for it right now.

  5. According-Taro4835

    First off do not use the dirt from those old planter beds to level your yard. That stuff is mostly compost and potting mix which breaks down and shrinks over time. If you put sod over it your lawn will look like a lumpy mattress by next spring. You need real screened topsoil to establish a proper grade. Sodding is straightforward sweat equity but the prep work is where everyone fails. You have to remove the existing weeds till the soil and grade it smooth and away from the house foundation before you unroll any grass.

    Putting sod in a raised fire pit area is a bad idea. Between the heat radiating down and the heavy foot traffic of people sliding chairs around that grass will be dead dirt in a week. You want hardscape there. Excavate a few inches and pack in a solid base of crushed gravel or lay some pavers. I review a ton of landscape concepts folks visualize online to avoid expensive mistakes and the ones who try to force grass under fire pits always end up ripping it out to install stone later. Save your money and do stone right from the start.

    Once you get the turf and stone sorted out do not just leave a flat green square running straight into that old wooden fence. A yard needs structural layers to actually look good. Carve out sweeping curved beds along the fence line and plant large connected masses of native shrubs. A continuous flow of texture gives the eye a place to rest and hides the base of that weathered fence. Get the bones right with your stone and soil grade first then layer in the green.

  6. Salt_Note8719

    For the fire pit area, I’d actually go with pea gravel or pavers instead of sod. Grass usually struggles with the heat and the constant foot traffic around a fire, and the stone looks great as a contrast to the grass. Good luck with the project!

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