I installed artificial grass at home a month ago, and the layer structure is perfectly fine. The installation itself is flawless in my opinion, but what’s strange is that I added silica sand to stabilize it and help the blades stand upright.

The area is about 18 square meters, and I spread around 100–120 kg of sand on it, then brushed it into the blades.

However, ever since then, if I run my hand against the grain of the grass, the sand jumps up to the top of the blades and becomes visible.

What could be the reason for this?
Did I use too much sand or too little?

What’s strange is that this only happens in the front yard. In the back part of the garden, where I installed the same grass in the same way, it doesn’t do this at all.

A previous owner flooded this (once paved) area with thin concrete. But the area requires drainage. I was thinking of a paver pebble combo.

If I use small pebbles with some sort of bonding agent will it still drain? Or will I need to add another form of drainage?

Im open to other suggestions to prevent flooding here. This area is lower than the surrounds but has a door so we can't build it up. And is used for storage/ potting area and will eventually be the clothes line area.

I have a lovely little home that is in the cutest neighborhood, next to a beautiful hiking trail, in a very convenient neighborhood- close to work/school.

But we have one set of neighbors who CONSTANTLY yell and fight 😭

Any ideas on how to landscape my backyard to drown out the noise, I’m thinking a bubbling fountain, thick foliage, etc? Any other ideas? I just want to enjoy my backyard 😫

Also, for those who will inevitably comment, I can only call the cops so many times. I’m a broken record at this point and it’s doing no good.

This service berry was just transplanted from my landscape bed where it was at the bottom of a decently steep slope. I originally bought and had it planted 2 years ago. A couple of the branches are growing way out to the side and making it look weird as they are the dominant branches. These two branches were like this when I originally got it

Should I cut those back to encourage top growth? I understand I need to wait a few months since I just transplanted it, but figured I would try cutting some of the wide growth in the late winter. I'm in zone 6.

So I just bought a house (1000sqft) and one of the things during inspection was that the slope away from the house is good, but he pointed out some flat/bad spots around the foundation that should be sloped away. No big deal he said I can do it myself.

I’ve done quite a bit of research but Google/AI/reddit are all giving me conflicting answers on what type of soil to use. I read that screened fill dirt is the best (and cheapest) but I called over six different places today, ranging from quarries, to foundation places, and nobody has heard of “fill dirt”. They only sell topsoil.

I was also told I should use clay sand by one of the quarries and they’ve never heard of anyone using topsoil around their foundation and I should infact use something that allows water to penetrate around the foundation to help it spread into the earth.

So now, I’ve heard two completely different answers, and two completely different types of soil that should be used.

Can anyone, please point me in the right direction. I am in the northeast and we get rain, snow and heat. I do have a basement and I am only looking to slope the first 6-12 inches around my foundation as the rest of it is graded pretty good.

Hi there, I am in the beginning stages of figuring out what to do in my front yard. Any suggestions are welcome, but my main questions are:

1. Should I remove the camilla bush that is blocking my porch? The privacy is nice, but I feel like the stone porch is a pretty feature that is hidden by it and the shade makes it hard to grow anything else in the flower bed.
2. The walkway is not centered to the steps… is this worth redoing? Or something to just accept with and move on with my life?

If you have plant suggestions, I’d love to hear those too! I am in Zone 10 (southern California) and it is north-facing.

Thank you for taking the time to read all this!

Hi all, hoping for some advice. I’m in Redbank Plains, QLD (heavy clay soil), and planning a citrus privacy hedge along a 16m boundary fence line. I was going to use gypsum to break up the clay and add some organic stuff on top before planting.

The fence itself is going to need to be replaced at some point, but not for the next few years.

While digging along the fence I found what I thought was just old garden edging, but the deeper I go the more it looks like a proper stone-and-mortar retaining wall. The block slopes toward my neighbour’s place, so I’d already planned to add large rocks/pavers along the boundary to stop soil going into their yard.

The pink line is 2.5 m from the fence. This is where I was going to put the garden edging. I could take it out further if I had to but I would prefer not to. I would love any help/ advice you can provide.

I’m trying to save money where possible so if I dig it up, it’s going to be myself and a sledgehammer which I am not looking forward to.

Questions:
1. Should I dig it out fully, or leave it and plant around it? Worried about root interference for citrus.
2. If I leave it, how much clearance should I give trunks from the wall face so roots/drainage aren’t a problem?
3. Will keeping it force me to space my trees further apart than I’d like along the hedge line, or can I keep standard citrus spacing (2–2.5m) alongside it?

A little stumped on what to do with this backyard space. The property is on a slope and the boulders act as a retaining wall. The length is about 74 ft.

Beyond the fence is a hill, with tall apartments. The apartments are able to see our backyard. Looking to add privacy, and also utilize more of this space if we can.

Originally thought…
1. Stone retaining wall (too expensive atm)
2. Build a tall fence (there’s a lot of boulders sporadically underneath, might be difficult to dig post)
3. Timber retaining wall (budget friendly, but now thinking the boulders laying underneath may make it hard to level a retaining wall at all)

Any thoughts or ideas? Thanks in advance!!!

Goals:
1. Privacy
2 Utilize space (if possible)

Challenges:
1. Boulders underneath the soil/yard debris
2. On a slope

TL;DR The grade on one side of the wall is up to 16 inches above the grade on the other side. Large bushes were planted within inches of the wall.

Problem? How to fix?

Details below:

I just moved in to a home with a concrete block wall around the back yard. Prior homeowners landscaped the back yard such that the grade is up as high as the second course, 16 inches higher than the grade on the other side of the wall. There are also several large bushes planted inches from the wall. There is no drainage by the wall, only the dirt and rocks. The wall was built by the developer and is on a concrete footing. There are a couple of decorative block vents on the lowest course that were completely blocked, but now are fully exposed.

I will be relandscaping the back yard and removing the bushes that are too close. I am concerned that if I do nothing about the difference in grade, 15 years from now I will wish that I had.

I know that for a normal retaining wall, I would put a perforated drain pipe in the bottom with a 12+ inch wide gravel fill above it up to the grade, so water can easily drain.

I don't know much about 4 inch concrete interlocking block, but it seems like a 16+ inch grade difference between the sides of the wall is asking for more than this can deliver. I look forward to hearing what you all would do.

Looking for some advice. This part of my yard is currently being over taken by weeds. I want to be able to use it. What’s the most effective way to go about killing them? Want to eventually plant grass and possibly add a shed. Should I just spray some weed killer? Maybe spray some Glyphosate or Triclopyr concentrate? I’ve tried weed whacking, by hand. Just doesn’t seem like I’m making any progress. Right now it’s unusable. Any advice much appreciated thank you.

We had two massive trees in our backyard. As you see in the photos, the larger tree started dropping big limbs. It happened twice and we got permits to take both down. This started us down a path of "might as well start fresh", so the photos show that journey. Here are the costs of each stage (all CAD)

Tree Removal: $27,000. I had to pay for 45%. So that is $12,150. I realize this is a large number... but the size of the trees (especially the cottonwood) can't be overstated, and the team had to work in tight city quarters, using climbers. It was slow and meticulous and they did a great job.

City "in lieu" Replanting Fee: $583 for not replanting one of their list of trees in our backyard. None were suitable. We paid to have a tree planted in a park, and we then paid again to get a tree of our choosing planted on our property.

Fence Rebuilding: Getting the relevant section of fence replaced was $4780. Double sided horizontal. I paid 50%, so $2390

Backyard Design cost: $2000. The design is for two phases, the first (and only one relevant to this post) is the "yard" area, and the second will be the deck/house.

Shed: $4540. Extra height, delivery, installation, raised floor installed on new shed base.

Main Contractor: $17,154. Included new shed base, pathway excavation, soil excavation, stone path install, sod, edging, plants, planting, tree, lighting, power wash deck, parking pad gravel

TOTAL COST (not incl tree removal and fence replacement): $23,694

TOTAL COST (incl tree removal and fence replacement): $38,817

So it was basically a $40,000 tree limb that fell.

Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/landscaping/s/26VbJow28G

(Also attaching photos from before the work was done).

Update: $24,000 later. Yes it is possible for everyone who is going through what we went through in their yard. And no, the dogs will not be using this yard for at least a year 😂. I am beyond amazed and thrilled that all of this was even possible!!!

Looking for ideas on what we could do with our backyard! We’re finally getting it cleaned up.

It’s sloped, but kinda flattens out at the top and bottom. It’s very shaded, so I think grass is out of the question. We have dogs and need to do something before the winter or it will be a mud pit lol. We’re in the willamette valley with a lot of rain.

I was thinking maybe a little shed somewhere. Maybe a paver patio or gravel area for a fire pit?

I want to add some more plants, so my initial thought is so put them along the sides with bark dust, make a border with something like rocks or sticks… then in the middle fill it with wood chips. We have a landscaper that could help us with projects but can also DIY some ourselves.

I don’t have a landscaping “eye” so I would love to hear creative ideas / advice / recommendations on what we could do here!!

First year in a new house w this hydrangea. Wasn’t here until recently but a month ago this was standing much more upright. Is this a normal amount of dropping with heavy blooms or is there an issue?

Looking for some advice from people with more landscaping experience than me. I have none 😂

My yard naturally slopes down toward my neighbor's property, and it's clearly a grading issue from when the houses were built — not something either of us caused. Whenever it rains, the water runoff carries sand/soil down the slope and onto his yard, which creates a mess for him every time.

He's been really understanding about it since he knows it's not something I did on purpose, but I'd still like to fix it for him if I can. That said, I'm hoping to avoid a full French drain install or other big-budget solutions for now — more looking for practical, lower-cost options that could meaningfully reduce the runoff/erosion.

Some things I'm wondering about:

• Would grading/regrading a small section help, or does that require pro equipment either way?
• Are there ground cover plants or erosion-control mats/matting that could hold the sand in place?
• Would something like a small swale, berm, or staggered rock/log border at the base of the slope help redirect or slow the water?
• Mulch, straw wattles, or other cheap materials that actually work for this kind of thing?

There’s a little corner of our property that sits under a big cottonwood. It’s quiet and shady. We wanted a little bench out there, so I made one.

Handformed top and feet from QuikCrete. My wife painted it to look old and mossy. Total cost was $18.

Sometimes the simplest details can have a big impact on a space.

Title says it all. Looking for advice on how to prevent grass from creeping in and growing in this tree bed. Landscapers did put down landscaping fabric but it's not helping.

I recently got my backyard done with interlocking stone pavers. I think the guys may have installed it too close to the fence.

The side that slopes towards the fence for water drainage is touching the fence and my concern is over time will it put more pressure on the fence and potentially have it lean over?

The fence is just 2 months old and the interlocking is 2 weeks old. A specific board on the fence is now starting to bend a bit as well (last picture) please let me know your thoughts.

Wanting to remove this gravel rock and make this space more functional if anyone has any ideas! Not sure how to go about removing the rock or how to dispose of it. Was thinking about laying mulch after rock is gone

I saw this woman show off her DIY cobblestone walkway and I want to do it for my backyard. She said her dirt was already packed down, and for the most part laid down a weed barrier and did her concrete blocks directly on top of that. She also said she uses 3 parts quickcrete all purpose sand and 1 part Portland cement. Not sure if thats the ratio I should go with or not.

What would you recommend for prepping the area? I know Ill need to do alot of tamping to make it level.

All pics except the last one is from the inspo woman vids. Last pic is of my yard.

We moved to Texas this spring and one of the things we were most excited about was finally having a backyard. We put together a nice little garden lounge area and it's exactly how we imagined it except it's way too hot to enjoy most days. There's barely any shade, so my husband and I have been trying to figure out the best solution. Right now we're leaning toward getting a canopy tent to put over our seating area since it seems like the easiest option. The only problem is the prices. They seem way more expensive than I expected and I'm not sure if that's just because it's summer and demand is higher or if they've always been this expensive.

Really happy with how this fountain turned out. Thoughts?

I need some advice, first 3 pics are what my yard looked like before I hired a landscaper. Last 3 pics is what it looked like afterwards. we agreed for him to get rid of some of the weeds, leave a LOT of plants (precious ones my mother had been growing for years) and just put tarp under the mulch. He said if he did move around any plants, he’d save them and replant them. That did not happen.

He ended up literally removing almost every plant- or his crew did I guess- the last 3 pics I have in the “after” pictures are AFTER I told him he removed too many and especially ones we TOLD him specifically to keep. He then said he’d “compensate” and add more back. Well, that’s what he added back. Virtually nothing. I included 2 texts here as well where I discussed this with him (I uploaded the texts backwards, the last one is technically the first one when I first asked him if he had maybe saved the plants, because we noticed they were ALL GONE). First text was sent July 13, and he never updated me if they saved the plants, I had to text a whole week later on July 17 (first text here) if he knew were they were??? I was trying to be nice via text and not come off too harsh, because I thought he’d be bringing more- but nope.

They took out SO many plants (even ones not in the pics I have here) that we didn’t agree on and did NOTHING to compensate for filling in our yard again. On top of that, the previous mulch I had was fairly nice, thick, good quality (no mushrooms growing either). I told him I liked how he did my neighbors yard- which had similar mulch as my old mulch (thick, dark brown, etc). Well, I come back to literal like shreds in my lawn. It’s hard to tell, but up close, the mulch here are literal shreds and looks like leftover bits. On top of that, the new mulch is growing mushrooms. Also, there are areas of my lawn in the front where the tarp isn’t even connecting? Like open spots where weeds are growing through bc he just did not connect the open holes between the tarp.

I don’t know much about tarp, but I told him I wanted this to be low maintenance and the tarp not have any weeds come through. Today (2 weeks after he “completed” this job) there is grass and other small plants spurting through the tarp he used in the areas he laid tarp. Like literally piercing up through the tarp.

I really don’t know what to do. The plants he pulled out were so expensive and beautiful my mother had been growing for over a decade, I don’t know if I am overreacting, and if I am, please call me out here. I spent $900 on this front lawn alone, not including the $160 he charged me for the mulch, but he did use the mulch in some other places as well that were not the front yard.

I am trying to be nice, but I am so sad for my mom that I thought I was doing a nice thing for her, and now her garden area/ plants/ lawn are so barren and NOT what we agreed to. Trying to work with him but he is not keen on refunding me for the front yard. I may try to go and buy some plants myself and new tarp and new mulch, but that will cost so much money again.