Sandpiper

Hi. I moved into a little place in July that has a sweet little back yard with a few large Mulberry trees growing around the fence line. There was absolutely no grass growing, though. I am having a problem with soil erosion, and whence it rains, my yard turns into a mud bath.

I talked to two grass/sod companies that told me they doubted any grass would grow out there because it would not get six to eight hours of direct sunlight a day. I do not want to cut on the trees, as the shade is marvelous in the hot weather. I talked to a landscaper, and he drew a plan which would cost, with tax, about $4,000. That is a lot of money for me. Half of the cost is for hardscaping most of the yard. He suggested flagstones surrounded by decomposed granite or was it marble? Anyway, I asked another landscaper for her opinion, and she drew up a really beautiful plan, but her cost would be $1,500.00 more than the first guy's cost.

What else can I do if neither Bermuda or St. Augustine will grow out there? I want the yard to be usable year around, and I want to do more to attract birds and butterflies. I already feed high quality seed mix, meal worms, and stale bread for the birds, but I have to enjoy them from the window most of the time. Any suggestions for a less expensive way to make the yard usable without cutting on my trees? It is approximately 500 sq. feet.

Thanks,
jt

2xgrump

hello Sandpipter....I love nice yards and nice gardens as well. Unfortunately, if you want your grass to grow in your yard, sad to say you'll have to get rid of your Mulberry trees. I dont' know what state you're in, but there are tons of plants, fruit trees, flowers that can be planted. My front yard has St. Augustine, I live in So Cal so we get plenty of sunshine. I have beautiful Queen and King Palm Trees, Sago's and tons of rose bushes, spring time, plenty of wild flowers. I know that you're enjoying your trees, but I'm tellin' you, you will enjoy your backyard more, if you see green lawn, plants and flowers blooming.
FYI....I see plenty of butterflies and birds in my front and backyard, pretty awesome.

Tumbleweed36

What state do you live in so we know more about the soil and climate you are dealing with.

Sandpiper

I cannot cut down those trees. They are quite large. I believe they have to be at least 20 years old, and they provide crucial shade to a back yard that gets very hot sun half of the year. I live in North Central Texas, in the metroplex, and the summers here are relentless. The yard now, if it had grass or was hardscaped, would be usable in the afternoons because of the trees. If they were gone, or if a lot of their branches were cut out, the yard would be unusuable most of the day during the hot months, which here, is about six months of the year.

Thanks,
jt

Sandpiper

I live in North Central Texas, in the metroplex. I have a King Ranch guy and another landscaper tell me that Bermuda would not grow out there, and they did not think St. Augustine would grow either because it will not get 6 to 8 hours of sun per day.

Someone very recently suggested I put down rye grass seed to at least help hold down the soil over the winter. There is a soil erosion problem in the yard due to the lack of grass. I do not think I would mind having the rye grass, and I have purchased a bag of seed that I have not yet used, but I am unsure if it will die on me in the spring. I would need some kind of grass growing the rest of the year. If the rye dies in the spring, I will be right back where I started, i.e. dry and dusty until it rains, and then it turns into a mud bath.

I would not mind doing a landscape plan where the yard is hardscaped to a large degree, but the cost is so bloody high! I mean, it is really expensive.

Thanks,
jt

2xgrump

Sandpiper...if you are into yard working or gardening, you don't really have to hire someone fulltime to do all of these, you can save a lot of $$$. You can have them fix the way you want it and then the rest you can do the work (DIY) such as planting, putting maybe step stones. Have do a very simple layout. My hubby and I do a lot of DIY in our yard and home just by doing research and asking people. Also, if you decide to keep your trees there are tons of shady plants that you can buy and they are very nice.

Sandpiper

I do not mind working in the yard at all. Once upon a time I had 5 acres, a pond, and horses. I loved working out of doors. Now, however, I am not nearly as young as I used to be. I think I could manage to work in beds where the soil was already prepared, but I am not strong enough to do the hardscaping or even to dig up out there. Late yesterday I tried to dig up some soil under a window to put in three pots of Indian Summer Daisies (they have been sitting out there for weeks in their pots!), and I hit rocks. I was unable to continue. I am not that strong in my upper body any more. I sure wish I was though!

The first landscaper told me that I could, of course, do it in parts, but the first part would be getting the hardscaping in. The cost of that is the biggest part of the over all cost at about $2,000.

I know there are plenty of plants that will tolerate the shade, including Hostas. If I try digging in other spots and hit a bunch of rocks, too, I will not be able to get past them.

2xgrump

I hear ya, that dollar figure is way too much. This will sound crazy, I don't know how it is in Texas, here in Los Angeles County, there are Home Depots, and early in the morning there are tons of guys roaming around looking for any kind of work, they go for around $10/hour min here. If you could trust some of them to help you out. I have a bad back myself but very careful when I do gardening, my hubby helps me a lot. Hostas are very pretty, I tried growing them here and just died after a month. I'm in to collecting Cactus, rare ones.

Basementgeek

Does it have to be grass? Maybe some form of ground cover would ok.

BG

Sandpiper

Well, I gather they gather there because enough of them find work. I would not mind finding someone that way if only I could be sure they were trustworthy. I am hesitant to do this. I think it would be better to ask others I know if they know someone. I got a name of someone today at a local nursery. The chap works there. I plan to call him tomorrow. This does not mean I can afford him, though, or that he can come up with a better plan, so I am still open to suggestions!

Thanks,
jt

Sandpiper

Yes, I have been thinking that, too. A good ground cover is Asian Jasmine, but it is still expensive to put in that many plugs. I like Dwarf Mondo Grass, too.

Thanks,
jt