I bought this house last summer and one of the selling points to me, was that there's no lawn. All wild plants and such. It looked like crap all winter, and honestly didn't look much better when we bought it, but is there anything I should do with this? The only plans I have are to put something in the back as a privacy screen (there are no fences around the yard, and the neighbor's back windows face directly into my living room where I work in my underwear all day).
Our house is on the down slope (the double glass doors are the living room).
NEPA, Zone 6b I think.
by Limp_Skill7894
5 Comments
I would remove the ivy, it’s terribly invasive. I would suggest planting some native full shade tolerant shrubs to block your neighbours view into your yard.
I’d start cleaning up and removing the English Ivy to start. It’s an invasive species and it’s smothering everything. As you do, you can start to take note of what else you have in your yard. I think I see some bulbs coming up like tulips or daffodils. You might also consider thinning a few of your trees – removing one or 2 to help the others grow.
The ivy needs to go but it’s a lot and it is covering ground, preventing erosion and so on. Keep it out of the trees and as you work out what you want there instead remove it and plant better stuff. Look out for mature flowering stems on the ground even though they mostly occur in trees. The issue is seeds spreading it all over the place and heavy vines choking and bringing down trees. Many folks report native plants coming up after it’s removed. Didn’t happen for me, I just got noxious weeds…
Start with that privacy screen. You need evergreens as privacy is worse in winter with the deciduous trees. Check how much sun area gets before buying anything and I hope you can find a fast growing evergreen that’s native. Best is if they grow to size without pruning/shearing and you can place them where they won’t grow over property line or up to your house. Remove the ivy and plant. Use raked up leaves as mulch. Check weekly for fresh ivy regrowth and remove.
Then reclaim the bed with the rock wall. Check how much sun area gets so the new plants thrive. You’ll have to grub out the ivy. Folks say it’s better to cut ivy out of trees in 2 places per vine and let it dry up before pulling it down. You will not get all the ivy first time through, go back every week looking for fresh green ivy.
Try to ID the plants in the dead lawn below the rock wall, perhaps there’s some worthy ground cover in there you can revive. Do a survey of all plants and structures, seems the folks before you had some interest in wildlife.
I’d want to make a dead hedge or brush pile for the critters if possible but any ivy vines/roots need to be suspended off the ground or they could sprout new growth. That would save you going to the dump or burning the debris which doesn’t look like a very good idea. Make piles of leaves as you clear up to use to cover ground under new plantings, you can contain in rings of chicken wire if you want to get fancy. Work from house out and only pick up the branches/twigs that are tripping hazards in the far wilderness so it’s relatively safe to walk down there.
Pretty sure that’s where Hansel & Gretl disappeared
Pull those vines off those trees to save their life. Thin the trees out. Remove the small ones that will never thrive. Plant blackhaw, elderberry, and other bushes in the shade. Plant junipers for privacy. The ivy has to go. Replace it with native sedges and plants, more junipers and native shrubs