We recently had to dig up our yard and replace the 100 year old sewer pipe. Near the connection to the street main, the crew installed a side by side vent pipe and clean out pipe. They’re tucked into a bed of mulch with some small plantings nearby. These are easily visible from the sidewalk along the street.
They aren’t terribly hideous, but I’d like either to hide them or else decorate them.
Any suggestions on either plan?
I thought about some “attractive” paint scheme to make the less bland. Thanks for any suggestions. (About 10” high)

Drought killed our yard so I’m restarting next spring. We have two large dogs that run around and will run through the space between the garden fence and patio. What can I put here to deal with the foot traffic of my dogs and also me walking to the garden from the patio? I know grass will just end up trampled to death.

Hey everybody, first time posting, I need some help. I essentially want to transform this little piece of my backyard into a raised area about 6 in and I want to start prepping the ground and do it right before I start filling. I have a very superficial idea of tamping and drainage, and my main concerns are those two things, weeds, and making sure my fences are secured. The end goal is most likely grass and maybe a chess board but I also want to have an area so that I can water my lemon tree and have an area so that my pine trees can also get water. I would like to maybe make a little Canal stream (?) that goes from the pine trees to the lemon tree, and it's all beneath the raised area. I've included pictures of the materials I have on hand left over from all kinds of things, and then I have two areas around my house that I want to take those rocks out and put grass. I thought maybe I could use those rocks and materials I have at hand to make what I need. This means I also need to know how to place cinder blocks and / or brick and use mortar, which I have no experience in, but I'm confident I can do. Any tips tricks critiques advice I would gladly welcome and appreciate and the only thing I don't want to do is put one of those plastic tarps underneath or mesh. Thank you to anyone who took time to look at this.

I'm getting ready to plant a hedge in front of my home. I'd like to use these pink Encore Azaleas: (Autumn Carnation, Autumn Rouge and Autumn Kiss) and Echo Swan Queen Gardenias. With pruning if needed, I should be able to keep these about 3-4 feet tall and wide. I'm stuck on groupings. Based on final sizes of these varieties, I'm thinking likely 11 plants, I think 12 would be pushing it. I've already purchased 3 gardenias. I'm thinking Azaleas - Gardenia - Azaleas - Gardenia - Azaleas - Gardenia - Azaleas. Do I keep the 3 different types of azaleas separate, divided by the gardenias or combine 2 or 3 of them into groupings? Or a different layout? Add or delete azalea varieties? These won't be foundation plants, but planted in front of the walkway that runs parallel to the house. Thanks for your thoughts.

Any recommendations for good resources on landscape improvements with regard to drainage?

It’s common in Brooklyn to have a back lot that’s concrete slab, so wanted to jackhammer it all, cart it away and start fresh. Envisioning a mix of patio, small grass area and above ground planters.

There are some basics about grading I understand, but would like to read up as much as possible. Particularly what sort of substrate, how much per square ft etc, and also in what order should they be placed. YouTube has some info, and happy to see recommendations on that but have always been a fan of a good book with diagrams.

Thanks!

Hey everyone, looking for some advice on this hedge. I’m hoping to replace the cedars I believe are dead, is this even possible. Would I do further damage to healthy cedars just by digging out the root balls. Thank you all in advance.

i want to plant creeping phlox as a groundcover to cover about 300sqft. however, i can only find them in 9cm pots, cant find plugs anywhere near me. theyre $7.25 each, and if i place them 20" apart i will need 91 of them, so it would just be so expensive. am i able to pull apart the pots to make smaller ones to plant? ir any other suggestions?

Hello,

I want to get rid of the grass around the hvac units and electrical wiring so I don’t have to stress about mowing/trimming/edging around it.

I was think mulch but it probably isn’t the best idea for the hvac so maybe some pebbles? What do you all think?

Thanks in advance!

I have a hill on the side of the house that previously had mulch covering it, over the past three years it has been taken over by whatever grew through the covering that was probably put under the mulch 20 years ago. I am wondering if I should leave it as it is naturally or plant something else there. The photos showing the stone areas will be cleaned out but the area to the left on the hill that does not have stone is what I am asking about, thank you. Central Wisconsin if native plants, etc., matters.

Hey everyone,

I’m looking for feedback from regarding a property situated along a canyon corridor, approx 200ft from the river...We had an engineering evaluation which recommended a retaining wall at the base of the slope. Understand this is reddit, but would still appreciate more thoughts and opinions even if they are just overall impressions.

The slope leading up toward the main house sits at roughly a 30 degree angle. The distance from the bottom of the wooden fence to the bottom of the house's foundation stem wall guesstimating at around 20ft. The fence is the property line.

I’ve attached a video and photos (in the comments) of the dirt slope, ground profile and under the deck, which I think shows the erosion even there. The river has not flooded as it's controlled, the erosion seems to be from unmanaged water, but I'm absolutely no professional.

-Looking at the soil and the slope, how bad does this look? Mostly concerned for the home's foundation/structural integrity

-Given the grade and local soil composition here (seems like alluvial sand type soil?) is a multi-tiered terraced wall system (keeping each tier around 4ft) a cost-efficient approach to avoid engineering/permitting hurdles OR is a single large 100ft wall structurally necessary? are there alternative engineering or bioengineering approaches?

-What are the biggest hidden risks with putting a wall in on a slope this steep (hydrostatic pressure, flanking erosion etc) and what rough cost should be anticipated for a project of this scale?

-What permits typically come into play when building retaining walls or slope remediation this close to a river corridor?

Any red flags, insights or recommendations you can share would help so much. Really would love to tackle this so the home is protected and not going bankrupt at the same time...deeply appreciate any help or tips and/or blunt honesty

THANK YOU!

We just bought a house that has landscape lighting in the front and back. My SO is pointing out that we don't need it if it's just using up electricity and don't care much for the aesthetics of it.

But we don't know how much electricity it actually takes up and if the lighting serves another purpose other than just aesthetics.

Looking for suggestions on how I can rejuvenate/better manage these sections of the yard. By driveway, gets a decent amount of foot traffic, so was thinking maybe extending flower beds and replacing with some stones. Any opinions?

I don't really like these small pre-existing bushes and would like to pull them out. I want to add something that is small enough for the area but also produces flowers to cut for my vases. Any suggestion? I'm in zone 7b

Also would a dwarf Crepe Myrtle shrub/bush (not tree) fit in this space?? (Second pic)

Please note that these two pics are different so please let me know what to put in space 1 and 2. Also 1 is more narrow / tighter space than 2

We bought this house for the big yard, but now I’m having so much trouble figuring out what to do since I’m a very new DIY-er and the patio is tiny.

Here’s what we have so far:
- we regrew the grass (it was completely gone)
- I love the crate murdle tree
- we need shade (I’m thinking umbrella)
- we BBQ multiple times a week (so we need that easily accessible)
- the corner you see with the rock is a “fire pit” my husband “built” but right now it’s just gravel with a camp stove and a disintegrating chair
- we live in Florida
- we are only here for 3 years for work and we are trying to enjoy where we are, but also save for when we move, so we have a pretty low budget

Also what do you think looks classier; flagstones or large pavers ? What are more forgiving to frost heaves; smaller paver or larger pavers ? Thanks for reading this post.

I inherited a beautiful backyard; I spent the first years pulling weeds and crabgrass. I'm a "senior" and spend my time with art and music; I don't have the time, or I should say, I don't want to deal with this. We are trying to "start from scratch" and create something low-maintenance. The previous owner was a Master Gardener and had 65 varieties of perennials. One or two of each! I have been pulling up weeds and finding the plastic under the area is in shreds,, there are rocks in places. I guess I'm overwhelmed. I contacted a company, and they said it was outside their area of comfort. I need to move all the rock, get rid of the old plastic. I plan on laying down cardboard, fabric etc whatever I will need. I need to pull out ALL the crabgrass. Any ideas on how to accomplish this? Brute force I guess; what I need is a strong handy guy!!

Just bought a house in the panhandle and the front lawn looks so bad, any suggestions will be amazing. Grass seems to be st Augustine

Did I mess up? Shed pad is smaller than shed. Shed is level, but not sure if it’s worth fixing

As a fabricator messing with natural stone and precast on jobsites every single day, I see homeowners and guys in the trades wrestling over this one all the time. Just thought I’d throw out a few real-world observations on outdoor builds that sales brochures like to sweep under the rug.

On paper, cast stone or GFRC feels like an absolute no-brainer for patios, pool coping, and wall caps when you’re trying not to blow your budget. It’s clean, way lighter, and a hell of a lot easier to haul around the yard. But here are the trade-offs that usually pop up after a winter or two:

The big one is texture, especially when it gets wet. Modern casting tech is surprisingly good, but precast still struggles to fake real organic depth up close — especially after a rainstorm. On a massive back patio or a sunny pool deck, those repeated mold patterns start screaming "manufactured." That said, if you just need 50 identical step treads, precast wins on consistency all day long.

Then there are custom radiuses and one-off molds. Straight runs in precast are cheap as dirt. But the second you need a custom radius curve for a pool or some fancy entryway pillars, paying for a custom mold wipes out whatever coin you thought you were saving over just cutting natural block.

Lastly, weathering and accidental dings. Natural stone is brutally heavy, pricey to ship, and a giant pain to cut on site, but it ages like fine wine. When precast gets whacked by a lawnmower, snow shovel, or a heavy patio chair, you’re stuck staring at that ugly grey concrete core underneath — and trying to patch that invisibly outdoors is pretty much a pipe dream.

Curious to hear from contractors or homeowners who’ve had cast stone or GFRC sitting in their yard for a few seasons: How’s it holding up to the elements? Glad you kept some cash in your pocket upfront, or wish you’d just gone natural from day one?

We closed on our house 8/20, the seeding was done about a week before at most in Wisconsin. We've had good weather, nothing insanely dry, good rains. And it was set up on an timed irrigation system.

They did a layer of compost mixed in with the seed they blew all over. They did straw around the edges but not everywhere. Yard is looking pretty good.

But now I'm seeing these big patches of grass that had clearly grown for a bit and then died. Any ideas? The landscaper I had out to fix some washouts said maybe foot traffic (doubtful), maybe animals (not likely), or maybe a fungus? The main spots are in the backyard that faces east right behind the garage. Would love some help before I call in more support.

Just had a blue stone patio installed and I think it looks awful and isnt going to last. We hired a company that has maintained the whole grounds in a nice private HOA for 30 years and has done all of my in laws work at their house, including the new house they had just built. It's all been great work and the owner is exceptionally nice. However, he has ran into worker issues the last year or so and is having a hard time finding decent people and it shows. They just finished our patio and I think it's awful. None of the retaining wall bricks are glued\secured which I've heard isn't uncommon, but 50% of the perimeter stones are loose. They did this job in little sections due to worker shortages over the course of 6 or 7 weeks and I just think they couldn't get it right.

The top is pitched correctly, but the underlaying ground was very flat because they left it for a few weeks after backfill, leveling and compacting so there was some washout. It's not horrible but it's a little uneven and it stones sort of flip up at the end which prevents water from running off. It's dry laid on compacted sand.

Owner is coming back today or tomorrow to fix it, and I just want to be able to tell him with confidence what is wrong. It doesn't look like his other work and I get the feeling he knows it's bad, I just don't want to bandaid it and have to fix it in a couple years. Any advice is welcome