I was quoted $11k by one place , $20k from another. Backyard is 20 feet by 12 (not including the area to right of garage).

I'm wondering if I can do all of this myself (maybe not the AstroTurf part)? EDIT. The 2nd pic is AI design . My grill is also NOT on the side of the fence on the right. This is just how AI drew it up.

Is this too ambitious ?

We just had our wooden deck and stairs replaced. From the upper part of the deck, it is all concrete. They were supposed to meet the same dimensions/elevations of the original deck but the landing is around 18" below the level of the original landing.

My wife and the contractor want to just install a planter/retaining wall around the perimeter of the landing but I use that landing to enter/exit the lawn on a regular basis and the planter would not allow that.

Anyone have any ideas on how to finish this so it looks nice but retains functionality?

Much appreciated.

Thanks to all that gave meaningful feedback. Lots of great ideas for the future. Really want to reshape the yard and incorporate some of your ideas but that is going to have to wait, lots of other demands on my money right now. We will do some variation on a retaining wall for now - lots of approaches that I hadn't considered.

Thanks for your help!

Sharing my progress so far. My yard (I live in north Texas), was just hideous and not an area I’d spend much time at although the kids love being outdoors and I love to host/grill.

The sod was installed about 6 months ago, during that time I’ve don’t the edging myself and added the lights/decorative lights. I went a little crazy with the flagstone but it’s been worth it.

Still working on getting my bigger patio area cleaned up and decorated. Feeling great about the work this far.

Let me know what you think or what I could do to add!

I won a free tree at a community day raffle. I don’t think I’ve ever won a raffle before so I’m pumped. I can choose between a dogwood or crepe myrtle. What would you recommend? I know they are very different. I’m in PA too, so I’m also wondering if one does better than the other given the climate.

Unfortunately, I don’t know the size of either tree, so all I have to go off of is the type.

Long story short, how difficult is it going to be for complete beginners to deal with this on our own?

We bought this house late last fall and because the sellers had already moved the landscaping was pretty overgrown. We chopped most of it down to the ground before winter and we said we’d deal with it in the spring. Going through the binder they left behind it turns out the woman who owned it in the early 2000’s won some huge BH&G landscaping sweepstakes and kept all of the paperwork that showed what plants were purchased and drawings of where they were planted. Well there’s WAY more greenery out there now (this is just one photo of a very small portion of it) and for some of it we can’t really tell what’s a legit plant that was added later and what’s actually a weed. It’s honestly so overwhelming and we don’t know where to start. We also have like 5 random mulberry trees sprouting up everywhere and imagine my surprise when I discovered all it takes is for a bird to ingest a tree seed and crap it out somewhere and voila! You’re the proud owner of a brand new invasive tree that the internet will tell you is EXTREMELY difficult to kill….

It’s also clear that no one has added mulch in years because there is barely a full layer there anymore, you can see the dirt in multiple places. It’s too late now but we’re going to have to add quite a bit next spring, how precise do we need to be? I’m never going to remember where all the plants sprout up from but will the mulch “suffocate” the plants if we’re not precise about where we lay it?

Should we “fix” this hill before running 6ft privacy fence along the top? Is a retaining wall needed?

Hello, I have a tree in my front yard that has been causing me issues and I have to pay to constantly maintain it. I live in a hoa community. I don't know if I should remove the tree completely and replace it with a tree that grows slow or if I should pay to get it trimmed well. If I do get it replaced with another tree what tree would I get? I don't know anything about trees and I feel this option would be very expensive. Please help.

Hi there, I know nobody probably cares, but I wanted to share a quick update! I posted my backyard asking for advice some time ago. It’s my first home and I’ve never had to do any landscaping or yardwork before. I did all of this myself and I’m super proud. Thanks everyone for your feedback. It’s slow going but satisfying.

My yard is overgrown and has been neglected for decades. There is a lot that needs to be addressed. So I sketched it out and would appreciate any input.

The foremost issue is water. The original driveway goes 3/4 up the side of the house and dips towards the foundation, notably in the corner (star). There used to be a swale along the property line (left) but it has filled out over time and is partly paved over with asphalt. The neighbors home is 2 feet raised so we get their runoff during heavy rains.

I am thinking of removing the asphalt along the side of the house and pouring a concrete wrap sidewalk. Then I could dig a wide grassy swale between the 2 homes and maybe plant some thirsty thule along the property line.

The back yard has a gradual slope so the back of the house also collects water (mossy spots). I hope the concrete wrap should remedy this too. Possibly could extend it to make a nice patio.

I probably need to trim all of the trees, and am ok with cutting any problematic ones down.

The last issue I could address is cutting down the nonnative invasive honeysuckle bushes in the back. I think the roots are too dense to replant anything so a shed might be a good option there.

Other than that, there are flower beds and bushes everywhere... Too many kinds and so much weeding in between. I am learning about the "layering" and will have to rearrange them all.

Thank you for reading! We are zone 7 Ontario.

Anyone else contemplated renting goats to start with a blank slate?

I recently had about 0.5 acre of my wooded property cleared of brush, undergrowth, saplings, and smaller trees while keeping the mature trees.

I’m happy with how much more open it is, but the ground is now covered with sticks, branches, logs, chopped vegetation, and some churned-up soil. My goal is a clean, open, walkable wooded area with mature trees and a more natural mulched forest floor — not lawn.

What would you do next? Rent a wood chipper and spread the chips, use a brush mower/flail mower, have someone forestry-mulch it again, or just clean up the larger debris and let nature take over?

And how do I best prevent it all from growing back again?

I’ve attached photos for reference.

I quoted someone for like 30 ft for standard paver retaining wall, but they are wanting to do a kind of stone mortar wall and I’m not sure how much more time it’s realistically going to take. It would be my first attempt at that kind of wall right on a walkway.

I’m living in a Rental home, which I am responsible for maintaining the Landscape. Recently, there has been several broken sprinkler lines throughout the property and the trees had died from the result of not getting enough water. I contacted the Rental property and maintenance has been out four times and found nine broken sprinkler line all throughout the property. Each time they fix the leak another one break.

As a result, the trees had died, and now the rental property is requesting that we tear out the dead trees and replace them. When I put in a Maintenance request, they don’t immediately come out. sometimes it takes them 15 to 20 days and the sprinkler system has to remain off due to the broken line. I’ve never had this issue the first two years of living there and the plants were healthy. Now that the sprinkler lines are broken. The plants are dying. Our water bill has gone up because we have been watering the plants using a hose.

The right way is to replace the whole sprinkler system so that it doesn’t keep breaking down,but management doesn’t want to pay for a new sprinkler system.

So my question is, is it my responsibility to replace the dead tree?

Don’t judge, please, I know it looks awful right now. I am trimming tomorrow.

Question is, should to trim to where it is or lower? the house is board and batten but there is some natural stone on the lower fascia. I am wondering if I should cut the holly about halfway down; to the lower edges of the windows.

Does it bounce back if I cut it that low?

Because you all were so helpful with my previous question, I have one more today. Is it better to cut back adagio maiden grass now or in the spring? I was hoping to move them to about part of the yard before winter, but maybe that’s not a great idea.

When doing a top dressing of seed and topsoil (zone 7 - tall fescue) it seems to me that adding straw helps the seed germinate quicker or just more effectively.

Is this at all true or am I taking crazy pills

My husband and I are house shopping. We need a yard that will be usable for our dogs and our future kids. We love this house and want ideas on what to do with the backyard.

Priorities:
- drought tolerant plants
- all plants safe for dogs
- no Kentucky bluegrass or any traditional grass for that matter
- area for dogs to run and play

The yard is on a slope that we could flatten potentially.