Landscaping Thread-Show Off Your Landscape

When we moved, the parking was in front of the house, we didn't want that so I moved it to the side and put some grass seed out.

 

Thanks for joining the party!

 

We had the house built and moved in August of 2022. I took the first winter to plan loosely what I wanted to do with the landscaping. Last summer and fall I removed some sod and grass and put down some hardscape and then threw down some rock to surround some flower beds temporarily until I could redo it right this summer. The picture represent what the landscaping looks like now.


Below is the front of the house. Hardscaping will need to be done from the house outward and planting beds mixed in. The front deck will be expanded in size slightly and a walkway made to the front driveway.


The inlaw apartment deck. It will be expanded in size. Landscaping in progress for now.


Side planting bed. Impossible to see but peonies, lilacs, a rhododendron and a lupine are growing from being planted last spring. More loam and mulch is needed to help tidy up and define the planting bed. The woods behind will be cleaned up a bit but will not be removed or improved.


Side of house with partial hardscaping finished. More smooth rocks for hardscaping will be added and the eastern redbud in the pot will need to be planted....somewhere.


More partially finished hardscaping.


Back entrance. Deck needs to be enlarged and landing developed at bottom of steps.


Entrance to basement/crawlspace. This will be challenging to make it look good.


Back deck area. I did not have a deck built because I did not know what I wanted for certain when the house was being constructed. Plus I can build it much cheaper as my labor is free. Hardscaping and planting beds will be around the deck as well as a patio and a fire pit maybe.


A couple mother's day presents and the side of the house where the compressor is for the heat pump. Familiar theme, hardscaping and planting beds needed.

 

I had some guys put in a retaining wall of blocks for the upper part of the yard.... for simplicity's sake it was a wall about 3 1/2" around 2 sides of the house.

but I had to walk around to 1 corner, in order to get up there. so last year, I dug out this big section next to the patio, and made it sort of like amphitheater steps.
I didnt want to make too many cuts, so i used mortar to fill big gaps. it is more functional than aesthetic




then this month, I made a smaller, better version further down the wall. making lots of cuts, fitting blocks. no plans for mortar.



I'm going to put a small fence/gate on the side where you see the 4x4 posts. I'm quite proud of this block. my piece-de-resistance. I call it "the panty dropper"

 

Last fall I promised my wife I would not leave a pile of stones on the edge of the driveway that would stay there all winter. So late last fall I worked to create a space to put them down in a general area of where I wanted them to go so they would be moved before the ground froze and they could not be moved. It took me an hour last fall to "throw" them around the mounds of dirt I left. This Saturday I worked on redoing the rocks so they fit much better and hopefully looked a little better. The bad news, it took me 6 hours to remove, adjust, break, chip, shape, shim and adjust the rocks so they were relatively even and had somewhat small gaps between them. I adjusted the height to define the planting beds. I ran out of rocks and might add one or two here and there but if I never touch it again it will work just fine as it sits now. Of course I finished and asked the wife what she thought and she said that she didn't see any difference.....sigh.

I still need to:

• Place pavers between the driveway and the rock walls.
  
• Place round or river rocks of various sizes between the foundation and the rock walls.
• Mix the compost into the planting beds
• Mulch the planting beds
• Add landscaping lights. (Already purchased but could not be placed until the rock wall and planting beds were done.

And of course repeat for around the entire house.....

 

Here's the fence on the top of the wall to keep the dogs in this part of the yard. i put a gate in the middle and on the walkeay

 

Finally got someone to move that pile of dirt. Still needs work to level it

 

Long story but got a Southern Magnolia given to me. Dug it up Sat planted it today. Hopefully it makes it

 

I'm getting ready to pretty much gut my front yard which is mostly lawn and roses bushes then go with a lower maintenance approach. I forgot about the thread but now that it got bumped I'll be posting before and progress pics!

 

For me, the landscaping world involves a mix of creating visually appealing spaces while ensuring they serve a purpose. Whether it's designing a garden bed that doubles as a pollinator haven or building a patio that provides a perfect spot for outdoor meals, there's always a balance between form and function. In landscape jobs, leveraging tools like AroundWire can optimize workflow and streamline project management, ensuring that both aesthetics and functionality are achieved efficiently.

 

I'll be stalking this thread until I can post my own work once I'm back state side. I'm seeing good stuff from y'all so far. Good work y'all.

 

Let's see those fall landscaping projects!

 

Does a food plot for deer count?












Now we just need a little rain.

 

YES!!!

Really, anything that anyone wants to post counts....

 

Can't believe I just stumbled onto this thread this afternoon, Acekraut linked it from NE Bs thread.
This wall is behind our house here in Vermont at the top of a big ass hill. Old wall was made from railroad ties that had really started to soften and rot out. Old wall was, approximately 50' long by 3-4' tall.
New wall is quite a bit longer, and a touch higher in on the left hand side. These are all 18" Allen Blocks. Because of the location on the hillside, I did all of the excavating for the trench, removed the ties and placed all the blocks and stone backfill by hand. The trenching digging was TOUGH going, lots of ledge and shale to break up. It's taken a long while to get it to this point, just need to cut the caps and glue them down and it will be finished. Need to rent a concrete saw for a couple of days before I get to that though.

 

Gives you respect for great wall of china builders

 

It has been an unbelievable amount of work. And I didn't even have to chisel the blocks of stone myself.

 

you got my respect. Looks great!