what to do with our yard- now with pictures!!! update

[Aerynne]

We live in a suburban residential corner lot on .19 acres. There is so much stinkin' grass here! It's poor quality and it's covered with weeds. It's expensive to water and it also seems like a waste (we live in the desert). But it has to be watered, unlike in the Midwest where you can water some in July and August if you want to. We have a fancy underground sprinkler system- you have to or your grass will die. So I want to change some of that grass for something else. But it has to be:

1. cheap
2. low maintenance (I know myself. I can barely maintain the inside of the house)
3. attractive or at least not unattractive
4. not involving a lot of chemicals

When you see nice lawns here in the desert, you don't realize what goes into it. They require weed killer (you might say "just let there be weeds" but they are pokey and if I'm going to pay to water a lawn, I want my kids to be able to run around on it barefoot). They require so many fertilizer applications (at least 4 per year) or else it just looks like trash, no matter how much you water it.

I would like to grow food, but our dirt is packed clay, and we can't afford to go buy tons of organic compost. Even when we've done that, we have such poor yields that it's really disheartening (I'm talking most of our plants don't produce anything at all).

I don't want to pour a whole bunch more concrete, not really.

I'd love a play structure, but dh doesn't want wood chips under it and I don't want rocks under it and neither of us want grass under it.

I don't want something that's going to require lots of weeding or replacing things all the time.

If we had a ton of money, this would be easy, but we don't.

So- ideas?

[Auroras mom]

How about some nice native plants? You can use succulents, and they spread easily. Lantana might be a good one for your area - very drought tolerant and has pretty flowers. Evergreen juniper as a ground cover is great as well, and drought tolerant once established.

I get a lot of my plants from nurseries and Lowe's when they are on clearance. You can get a ton of stuff cheap then.

[itzj]

Succulents would be nice. :yes

What about rubber for under the swingset? There is mulch or tile. http://www.rubberflooringinc.com/playground-flooring.html

Or you could do a shredded mulch instead of wood chips.

If you'd like to garden you could do raised beds and that would be a lot less dirt to haul in. Even with just 1 bed you could certainly grow some great stuff.

[Aerynne]

what exactly is a succulent?

I would absolutely LOVE one of those rubber mats for under a play structure, but sadly we can't even afford a play structure, let alone a rubber mat for under it.

[LadybugSam]

Can we see a picture of the space?

succulent would be something like aloe or an iceplant (http://compare.ebay.com/like/151018508522?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar). They are very drought tolerant and don't need much care.

have you checked craigslist for playstructures/playhouses?

Do you have any kind of shade?

---------- Post added at 01:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 01:35 PM ----------

I'll bet even those foam puzzle peices would work well under a slide, not so much for a large structure or swings though (unless you super glued them together so they wouldn't break apart :think)

[Aerynne]

Picture- I'll work on that

There was a free swingset today but it was gone by the time I called. :(

My dh is very, very particular about how things look (think model home) and even though our house doesn't look like that now, he's not going to want to put anything in that doesn't look awesome.

Our house faces north. Most of the front is in shade most of the time.

We also have a deck with an awning.

[Teacher Mom]

I wish I could send you good aged manure :giggle We have TONS.

and yes, check craigslist. My sister is currently getting rid of hers.....I'm sure others will be listing.......

[Auroras mom]

http://www.succulent-plant.com/


I like my yard to look like a model home as wlel, so I can dig your dh's concerns. A succulent and rose garden (drift roses are low maintenance once established, blom most of the year, and look gorgeous) might be super pretty. Also, a butterfly garden can look very lovely.

[librarianjojo]

Do you have an agricultural university anywhere near you? In SC, Clemson University is our big ag school and they have numerous extension offices around the state. They are forever offering classes at the library for native plants, plant care, lawns, lawn alternatives, water efficiency, etc. Even their website is a mine of information for growing stuff in different areas of the state. See if your library has classes offered for gardening or if your ag schools have any extension offices or materials available. They will be the experts in what grows well in your area, what is drought tolerant (so you don't jack up your water bill), and what will choke out weeds. They may even have seeds or other materials available.

[Aerynne]

Here's the front of the house

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/erinolson/DSC_1168_zpsec8a9fc5.jpg (http://s30.photobucket.com/user/erinolson/media/DSC_1168_zpsec8a9fc5.jpg.html)

north east side yard- I want to get rid of most of those bushes except the ones at the very back. Would like something cool to mark the property line

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/erinolson/DSC_1169_zpsa92fa408.jpg (http://s30.photobucket.com/user/erinolson/media/DSC_1169_zpsa92fa408.jpg.html)

We just ripped out some huge ugly bushes here. Dh is thinking of putting in a hosta bed. I'm cool with that. This area is in shade most of the time.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/erinolson/DSC_1170_zps38183c3c.jpg (http://s30.photobucket.com/user/erinolson/media/DSC_1170_zps38183c3c.jpg.html)

Since we have no front porch to speak of, I'd love to make this a patio of acid-washed concrete with a little table and a few chairs and 2 or 3 giant plant pots with plants of some kind in them.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/erinolson/DSC_1171_zpse37cba17.jpg (http://s30.photobucket.com/user/erinolson/media/DSC_1171_zpse37cba17.jpg.html)

My dream for this yard is to make a help-yourself herb garden with medicinal herbs I use regularly. Then there would be a sign that said if someone needed an herb they could take a little. I'd also like a little path somewhere and a bench. The bushes here can all go. The wisteria stays (I pink sparkly hearts love it!) The wisteria is just barely in the picture on the left- you can just see some branches.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/erinolson/DSC_1172_zps5a8bf29b.jpg (http://s30.photobucket.com/user/erinolson/media/DSC_1172_zps5a8bf29b.jpg.html)

The dandelion farm aka the back east side yard. My dream for this is to pave it all and build a big shed for storing garden stuff and the lawn mower so I can get them out of my garage.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/erinolson/DSC_1173_zpsc01b82a6.jpg (http://s30.photobucket.com/user/erinolson/media/DSC_1173_zpsc01b82a6.jpg.html)

East side of the back yard (the small tree with pink flowers is a peach tree :heart)

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/erinolson/DSC_1174_zpsa1c37e6f.jpg (http://s30.photobucket.com/user/erinolson/media/DSC_1174_zpsa1c37e6f.jpg.html)

Overview of most of the backyard. I want this to have kid-friendly stuff to play on. I would also love a garden if it would grow but we have so much trouble with that.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/erinolson/DSC_1175_zps521f6fab.jpg (http://s30.photobucket.com/user/erinolson/media/DSC_1175_zps521f6fab.jpg.html)

This is the southwest corner of the back yard

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/erinolson/DSC_1176_zpsf13477f4.jpg (http://s30.photobucket.com/user/erinolson/media/DSC_1176_zpsf13477f4.jpg.html)

Area along the back of the garage. This gets tons of sun.

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/erinolson/DSC_1177_zps385cd3bf.jpg (http://s30.photobucket.com/user/erinolson/media/DSC_1177_zps385cd3bf.jpg.html)

[OrangeHope]

Your house looks beautiful! now I want to see some inside pic's :P~

[librarianjojo]

I have a mostly black thumb, but I think your house is really pretty! :heart I do feel like you could use a little more height in your yard, from a proportional point of view. I feel like there isn't much variance in the way of color, texture, and height. Now, how you go about doing that... :shrug3
Maybe trellises for your herb garden (an idea which I love :heart btw, but wonder about any form of legal liability should someone do something ill advised...:think Perhaps check with insurance?) or drought resistant evergreen trees to mark your property line.

[Aerynne]

Put in some work. Remember our front weed bed?

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/erinolson/DSC_1171_zpse37cba17.jpg (http://s30.photobucket.com/user/erinolson/media/DSC_1171_zpse37cba17.jpg.html)

Well, now ($300 later)

http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c343/erinolson/IMG_2179_zps0e7364f5.jpg (http://s30.photobucket.com/user/erinolson/media/IMG_2179_zps0e7364f5.jpg.html)

[LadybugSam]

:rockon

[librarianjojo]

Pretty! I love dark mulch and the variety of texture in the plants. :heart

[Dandelion]

Your hard work looks great!

[ShangriLewis]

How about clover instead of grass?

[Teacher Mom]

what did the 300 cover???

[ShangriLewis]

I grew a bed of chicken and hen when I lived in California. I bet it would do well there. It shoots of little runners then you just tuck those in places and they make a new plant. They are beautiful once they fill up a bed.

[Aerynne]

what did the 300 cover???

20 bags of rubber mulch, landscaping fabric, 3 bushes, 5 hostas, and a whole bunch of impatiens

[Teacher Mom]

I just saw that rubber mulch for the first time this year!! But I couldn't believe how much it was!!!! But that will be a good investment!!!!

Did you do the other part of the front of the house too?? or was that all for just that small section? it doesn't look like that would be 20 bags of mulch, but I only see those plants :think

[Aerynne]

I just saw that rubber mulch for the first time this year!! But I couldn't believe how much it was!!!! But that will be a good investment!!!!

Did you do the other part of the front of the house too?? or was that all for just that small section? it doesn't look like that would be 20 bags of mulch, but I only see those plants :think

Nope, just the one flower bed. It really is expensive. But I was looking to treat weeds without dangerous chemicals, and it also has a 12-year guarantee, so I was thinking that it's a good long-term investment since I want maintenance-free. With the landscaping fabric and the rubber mulch, it should be maintenance-free.