Top of first picture is me getting ready to restore my Garden this season after I get more soil turn over and mix in.
On the bottom I sloped away from my garage in the fall time. I also put down hay and some grass seeds (only had one bag) in the fall to protect the exposed soil.
I see different plants coming back (please see the 3 other pictures) want to try to restore what plants I see (except bamboo, heard it was an invasive plant for western PA, so I dug them out and removed them) Used to be a zen garden at one point in the 60s. Trying to identify and put back native Western PA plants as well. (Note as separate projects, I patching up the side of the garage and maybe restoring that brick wall you see in the pictures, but one step at a time as I think now is a good time to revisit this area. Focused on restoring native plants and grass.
Can anyone offer suggestions here? Worth noting this is in western Pa in a vally at 2000ft in elevation near johnstown area.
Also as a pipe sticking out, that is my sewage drain line, I am aware of it and only working on the surface of the soil when sloping in fall.
by Rye_Dimar_Dragon
1 Comment
You have this backwards. That brick retaining wall is actively crumbling and bowing out. Do not spend a single dime or drop of sweat planting natives below it right now. Whenever you or a mason go in to rebuild that wall the heavy foot traffic and excavation will completely destroy any new garden you put in. Soft engineering means the hardscape bones have to be solid before the plants go in. Fix the wall first so you can establish your final grade and then worry about the greenery.
Good job sloping the soil away from the garage foundation to fix your drainage. Trying to grow turf grass on a narrow uneven slope against a wall is just asking for a miserable time pushing a mower at a bizarre angle. Turn that entire lower area into one cohesive planting bed. Those purple flowers popping up are a type of Allium and they look ridiculous strung out in a single thin line. Dig them up and replant them in a dense sweeping cluster so you actually get a block of texture instead of a messy scattered look.
For Western PA at that elevation you need bulletproof natives that provide structure year round. Once the wall is done skip the grass seed and fill that slope with sweeping drifts of native Switchgrass for height and movement. Layer in dense masses of Black eyed Susan and Purple Coneflower in front of the grass. Those deep roots will lock up the soil on that slope and give you a solid mix of structural layers that actually looks intentional instead of just a random weed patch.