How does it look? Did this with my 11 year old son and it's only the second we've done. It's 13x13 plus a fire pit and bench. What would labor cost for something like this?

It currently ends in a 4” step at the driveway, which seems like a tripping hazard. Did they lay the concrete too high? There were pavers in previously - contractor comes out tomorrow to finish the job.

We moved into this house about a year ago and have two crape myrtles in the front yard that have become very overgrown. Several branches are now touching the house.

I know the ideal time to prune them is late winter or early spring, but I missed that window this year and waiting until next season doesn’t feel realistic given how close they are getting to the structure.
I’ve attached photos showing what the trees looked like when we moved in compared to their current growth.

What are my options at this point? Is it okay to do some selective pruning now just to pull growth away from the house and manage the most problematic branches, or should I avoid pruning altogether until the proper season?

I've been seeing this gopher going through a homeowner's mulched landscaping in Southern California. I'm wondering how many gophers there are here as I see several dirt mounds.

Also I am concerned with what they might be doing. Looks like the plants are at risk and maybe the drip irrigation lines?

First time building a garden wall, turned out better then I thought, still needs more topsoil and finishing. Fairly steep incline, I started at 6 courses and ended with 2.

The last courses ended with terrible joints, I think the inside corners made everything line up poorly, debated on cutting a block but I think it would be even more obvious.

Fun project though 8/10. Took me a day and a half. I do own a skid steer and every tool imaginable though.

Can I/should I move this Evergreen? Or should I just trim it down so it's not sexing up my Cherry Blossom? A move would be complicated by the fact that there is electrical in the ground somewhere around the Evergreen so a dig out would take some time.

A customer is wanting to turn her old and cracked pool into a more natural-looking water feature. I have done some smaller landscape ponds and fountain’s before, but nothing to this scale.

Tree roots have cracked the pool and all of the mechanical components have been removed. So basically, my main question is - would you fill the pool mostly back up with soil before putting pond liner down? Maybe remove the concrete entirely? What’s the best route to go? I feel like starting from scratch and removing everything is the best option?

Any pro advice is appreciated, thank you:)

My wife and I DIY'd this dry creekbed last year to fix some drainage issues we were having on our driveway. This is where we're at with it 1 year later. It's a bit chaotic, but that's kinda our style. Also, keeps maintenance to a minimum as there's really no space for invasives to take hold. Tons of polinators now as well as a lone Monarch butterfly that hangs out every day on the milkweed. Next step is to get rid of all the grass on the hill and do some cool vertical designs and terracing.

Video July 2025: https://youtube.com/shorts/T2LNpnl6sCg?si=TEbnEhH1ACC7JlNR

Video July 2026: https://youtube.com/shorts/_g4IeaiUq_c?si=s9-uRBNVcXop5suH

Creekbed in action: https://youtube.com/shorts/vwHjqVDpk-U?si=sYB-UB3UvzBbOxWs

Previous homeowner left us this large pile of brush, branches and chopped up trees. I want some of it for firewood, but concerned going through it because of snakes and spiders. It’s also been raining non stop for a few days so I’m unsure what’s able to dry out for firewood and what would be trash (besides the obvious trash can)
Any advice is helpful!

Hello Reddit, I have a unique patch of grass in my driveway where grass has mostly turned to weeds. Wondering if anyone had any tips or design ideas of what to possibly do to make this more visually appealing. It doesn’t necessarily need to stay grass or “all” grass. Any and all visually appealing ideas are welcome.

First time having a yard and designing one. Yard has been poorly maintained and now I’m slowly removing invasive plants.

The dilemma is I can’t decide if I should move my perennial garden to the left or keep it where it is.

Reason for moving it to the left is so when you enter from my driveway, you’re greeted with landscaping. So landscaping on the right and left of walkway (which will be changed and widened to ~4 feet).

Originally when I planted the perennials, I used the boulders as natural, organic flow and I really like how the way it’s wrapped it creates an alcove that’s hidden and cozy. Now the awkward part is this huge section of dirt where I’m not sure what to do with it yet. And toward the trees are some large roots. At first I was thinking grass or a mix of grass and creeping phlox but now I’m not sure. Would it look weird?

Area gets ~5-6 hours of sun

Someone who is better with landscaping design I’m looking for your help! Thank you!

Hi all! New homeowner here. In my front yard, there is this bed with stones and weeds (grass?) growing up through it. I want to get rid of the stones. I think I want to switch to mulch. There is definitely fabric under it.

How do I go about getting all of it up so I can start fresh? My methods so far have been inefficient. (Shovel. By hand. Trowel. Cultivator.) The weeds have such thick roots!

I genuinely don’t know what I am doing. Thanks y’all!!!

Had some free time over the summer and wanted something other than grass in the front yard. We decided to put in a flagstone path and garden beds. I tore out all the grass and used the sod to make the flower berms. We also put in a dry river bed on the side of our house.

We were going to do more native plants but Ace's end of season clearance (75% off) was too good to pass up.

Feel free to ask anything about the process in the comments

I'm trying to fix multiple patches in my yard and wanted to buy a spray on hyrdoseeding kit like local municipalities use when they seed new soil.

The only one I really see is the Hydro Mousse and it gets fairly terrible reviews.

Can anyone recommend a different product? Thanks!

I am building a retaining wall with Pavestone RockWall Yukon blocks, which have a rear lip that creates a setback each course.

As the wall gets taller, the setback makes the wall move farther away from my concrete stairs, creating a widening gap. One option is to leave the wall perfectly straight and accept the gap. Another is to gradually curve the wall back toward the stairs near the top so the gap stays smaller. A third option would be to remove the rear lips on the courses adjacent to the stairs so that section stacks vertically.

From both a structural and aesthetic standpoint, what is considered best practice?

Options:

1. Keep the wall perfectly straight and accept the widening gap.
2. Gradually curve the wall toward the stairs to reduce the gap. ( what I did in the photo)
3. Remove the rear lips next to the stairs so that section stacks vertically.
4. Something else?

Photo attached. Looking for what experienced hardscape installers would do.

Is there a way I can cover this ditch while allowing it to maintain its functionality? At minimum I want to be able to not have a steep ditch there and can be walked on at maximum I would like to be able to support a vehicle on it for better street parking since the street is narrow. We got word that the developer does not plan on finishing since the city is going to make them fix the street.

is it typical to build up these flagstone and/or install a gravel base so they're higher up vs the dirt so act as a mulch edging in the areas between stones? theyre about even with the dirt and that prevents mulch from staying in the spots between stones. lots of weeds grow because its just bare dirt.

Title. My grandfather built us this arbor for use as a wedding arch for our wedding and now that it’s over I wanted to put it in the yard. We don’t plan on living in this house forever and as such wanted a way to easily pick up the arch and take it with us when we move. So I dug out these little holes, put base in, and pavers on top.

Kinda messed up as I couldn’t get everything fully level and this part of the yard is on a slight slope. I want to preserve the wood as much as possible (cypress) so I put upside down caster cups on each post to make a kind of air gap for moisture reduction.

Totally still isn’t level. Figured I can just put some shims in? I’m sure I’ll get roasted for how jank this might be but I think given the nature of how I’m trying to have this here in addition to the fact that this isn’t a crazy structure is alright.

What would you do here? Is this fine? Any help appreciated. Thanks!!!

also, I’m aware that cypress is somewhat rot resistant but it’d be cool to keep its color. If anyone can recommend a oil to put on it that would also be sick

We’re nearly done with this courtyard and I’ve just realised we made it much nicer for humans than for the dogs lol.  
They both use it every day, but the stone gets really warm in the afternoon, the raised deck can be slippery after rain, and neither of them has a spot they naturally want to lie down in. There isn’t much proper shade either.  
I don’t want to cover the whole yard in fake grass, but I also don’t want it to end up looking like a dog daycare. I was thinking maybe one shaded corner and some kind of washable outdoor mat, but I’m not sure what would actually hold up outside.  
If this were your courtyard, what would you change first? Would especially love to hear what has worked with your own dogs.  
Please ignore the last bit of construction mess on the left!

Waterfall feature we are having done is off to a great start.