Ugly, ugly sideyard. Lots of advice needed

14 years ago

We have inherited a mess from the previous owner of this home and are desperate for ideas. Excuse the rough look - we are siding the home and painting the fence (darker) this year.

The back door from the kitchen is on the side to to a 10 x 12'ish patio. The patio then turns into a long sidewalk. Apparently about 3 years ago (according to the neighbor) the side beds were beautiful. They were all rich black soil with a mixture of Annuals and perennials. Due to the lady's illness, these areas are now a mixture of weeds and what I think is quackgrass. The odd perennial still pokes through.

Here are the facts and problems:

1) The fence on the left is East and the back gate in the photo (by the garage) faces south..so lots of sunshine mid-day. The strip on the right, of course is west.

2) It's lawnmower unfriendly

3) about twice a year we get round disc-like seeds blowing all over (from City blvd. trees), so rock doesn't work all that well - messy, messy

4) I'm not a 24-7 gardener, so looking for the nicest, low maintenance solution for these long strips.

5) Should we keep it grass perhaps, re-sod and put up with mowing and trimming it?

6) If we revert back to perennial beds (say a cottage/herb garden)is it a matter of digging or can it all be tilled to start again? What on earth to plant for Zone 2B?

7) I'm thinking of painting the fence a darker, earthy colour and staining the concrete as well.

Any suggestions? LOL, this is only the side yard. Wait until you see the backyard in a different post. Yikes!

I appreciate any advice at all, since I am not creative in this area. This is my first post on this wonderful site and I'm glad I found it.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sideyard

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Comments (5)

diggy500
14 years ago
hi molly
i'm no expert...but i have made a few gardens in my lifetime,so if i may offer an idea or two,this is what i might do.....
first...depends on how much you want to or are able to spend..you could remove the sidewalk and replace with garden stepping stones...then with the garden against the house,i would buy a couple yards of triple mix and trim the plants down,wet,cover with newspaper,wet heavy again,then put the soil down..maybe 6 inches thick...some nice local plants could fill in...indian paintbrush,local rose bushes,prarie coneflower,hosta's and maybe some peonies.and in the fall some bulbs for spring...with the fence,i would make a long thin garden,maybe a foot across for some vines...clamatis,maybe a climbing rose...or a grape vine or 2..
good luck...i'm sure it'll turn out nice...
cheers
marricgardens
14 years ago
If this was my yard, I would leave the sidewalk where it is, plant hostas, heucheras or other shade lovers beside the house. On the other side (beside fence) I would put up several pieces of lattice and grow clematis or virginia creeper. Clematis like there heads in the sun but shaded roots. To help shade the roots, perhaps some low growing perennials. The lower perennials would also help show off the clematis. Before planting these I would get rid of the grass as diggy500 says. The several layers of newspaper will not only prevent weeds from coming through but the would decompose over time and add nutrients to the soil. I would keep the planting theme simple and only go with one or two varieties of vines (easier to look after). Hope this gives some ideas. Good luck! Marg
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bluesunflower
14 years ago
Molly, I popped over here by mistake, I live near Seattle. I can't comment on what to plant in your zone but I wanted to say that I don't see an ugly ugly side yard. What I see is a whole lot of potential. If there were great beds there before that means there is probably some pretty good stuff to work with under those weeds. Smothering the little buggers with newspaper is the cheapest most effective way to go. It will save you all the work of pulling and save the soil from chemical weed killers. The real question you should be looking at is what would you most enjoy in that space?

Maybe right now your feeling overwhelmed by a new house and all the inherited problems but try to think ahead a year or two when you are more settled in. Would you like a tropical hideaway, a cottage garden, a watery oaisis or maybe hose and go concrete all the way?

There are a million and more ways to deal with that space and every gardener here will have a million more ideas. You are the one who will have to live there and do the work so what would be your fantasy space? If you could post a question such as "here is my space and the issues, what I would love to have is a tropical hideaway with a koi pond... or something desert looking. Can you help me with ideas for how to make that happen?"

I think I understand. I also inherited a mess. Our house is on the side of a mountain and all the dirt had been scraped away to use as the house foundation. There was zero dirt anywhere. Instead I had 15 years of weeds and compacted driveway gravel serving as the front yard!

Now I have an 18,000 gal. pond, a 200 gal pond and a cottage garden. Took me three years with no money and no help but in the morning a sit by the pond with my coffee watching the fish and the birds and I absolutely love the space I once hated with all my being.

So what do you really want?
tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
14 years ago
You have some good suggestions for plantings already. Something to consider about color, seeing as you're in zone 2 Manitoba. Those are long, dark winter months and I'm not sure I'd go too dark with that fence. And with it being a narrow space, if too dark it would tend to close in on you. Leave staining the concrete until after you decide to keep it or not.

tj
mollymagoo
Original Author
14 years ago
Hello all and thanks so much for some suggestions. I never knew about newspaper trick and pictured myself digging it all out.

I have a bit to ponder here - you've all been so very helpful. I think I'll take some time to really assess the space today. The sidewalk has to stay unfortunately, as the budget doesn't allow taking it out (it also links around the home to a second patio and unfortunately is less than 10 years old).

I'm thinking that yes, I will restore both sides to nice bigger plantings vs.(such as hosta, etc.) adding slowly as I can and filling with Annuals until my perennials are enough to fill out the space.

Thanks a million for all of your comments!