Every Yard Has Its Own Character

For the next few weeks I would like to share with you some ideas for landscaping three very different yards. All three yards are unlandscaped lots around newly constructed homes. Each yard is unique with its own special problems, challenges and opportunities. Each week we’ll address one of the yards from start to finish — getting started, dealing with problems, choosing plants and trying to stay within a budget. In dealing with such diverse yards, my hope is to touch on a few of your own special challenges.

To keep thing simple, I will be referring to the yards as 1, 2 and 3.

This week we’ll begin by introducing each garden.

Yard 1 is relatively small and treeless with the potential for being intimate and charming. Getting there requires meeting a few challenges.

The ground is made up of rocks, rocks and more rocks. This area must have once been a river or lake bed. It’s littered with all shapes and sizes of river rock. Sound familiar to those of you who live in the Spokane Valley?

The soil, if you can call it that, is like concrete. This lot was excavated down about 3 feet below the neighboring lot to the rear. This left a 3-foot drop-off, which is eroding as we speak.

Creating a sense of privacy in this yard will be a special challenge.

Across the back yard above the eroding wall is the neighbor’s house, complete with a bay window that looks into our dining room.

You wouldn’t think fencing would be a concern, yet it does need to be addressed. One side of the back yard shares a handsome 6-foot wood fence that belongs to the neighbor. The other two sides are unfenced. Should the same look be carried around the rest of the yard? Another neighbor has a 6-foot brown fence that borders our driveway. How do we soften that stark look?

Yard 2: The grounds of this home are a bit larger than the average lot. Sounds desirable for a family, but nothing comes easy. The home was built on a lot that slopes from back to front and from left to right.

The slopes aren’t enough to cause huge problems, such as the need for tall retaining walls, but flat spaces need to be created for play areas.

Because of the slopes, extra precautions must be taken to ensure excellent drainage around the house. I am looking forward to working with the slopes. They can contribute to a very interesting and exciting landscape.

Though this yard doesn’t have rocks to contend with, it, too, is a bed of heavy clay. Before lawn, shrubs, flowers or vegetables can be planted, it must be improved.

The yard comes complete with a wild hedge of blackberries, a huge, old cedar tree and numerous patches of the indestructible weed called horsetail. The blackberries are relatively easy to deal with, but the horsetail may be another matter.

Yard 3: Our third yard is a steep sloping acre of pines and natural underbrush. Most of us would suggest not disturbing this natural wooded setting, but for fire protection, I may recommend some thinning and clearing. Of course, this adds another challenge, what to do with the brush and branch debris.

Bulldozers, trucks and graders compounded the poor drainage of the existing clay soil. Like yards 1 and 2, this hardpan will require lots of work before it’s ready for plants.

In order to create a flat backyard, it was necessary to make a deep cut into the slope. The cut resulted in an earthen bank running the length of the house, with its tallest point about eight feet. Obviously this will require some sort of retaining wall.

Country homes usually come equipped with a septic tank and drainfield. There are regulations about how much soil can be used over the field and guidelines as to what plants should be planted near the field.

One other challenge that faces this yard is maintaining the existing privacy while creating lighted areas for flowers and vegetables. All the while every effort must be taken to maintain the natural appearance.

I should add that all these homeowners have children. They want trees for shade, beauty, and privacy; lawns for play areas; vegetable gardens; flowers and interesting shrubs. We’ve identified the challenging areas; next week the fun begins. Hopefully, we’ll see the challenges begin to evolve into opportunities.