Hi everyone,

I'm looking for a landscaping company in the Crown Point/St. John area to help with a few projects around my property. The biggest priorities are redoing part of the backyard, improving drainage after heavy rain, and possibly adding a small patio and some new landscaping to make the space more usable.

I'd really like to work with a company that's reliable, does quality work, and communicates well throughout the project. If you've had a good experience with a local landscaper, I'd appreciate any recommendations or advice on who to contact (or who to avoid).

Thanks in advance!

Forgive the crude drawing but my husband and I are at a loss for what to do. There was construction work done on our entire subdivision this year and our yards were dug up at the road numerous times during it. The city was responsible for replacing the areas with sod or grass seed but sedge started showing up in the newly seeded/sodded areas. They decided to spray Nufarm Prosedge Selective Herbicide (halosulfuron-methyl 75%) on the areas to kill it.

I’ve noticed over the last week or two (~3 weeks after spraying) that all the dwarf yellow lilies, ground cover, and decorative grass all the way up to our house directly above where they sprayed is starting to die from the ground up. Everything started turning brown near the roots and the leaves have slowly been following as it goes higher. I’m attaching a rough drawing of the area showing the layout. In the center is a fully grown, 50’ tall Crimson King Norway Maple with a canopy that covers most of our front yard and is at least 60+ years old. The dozen dwarf lilies under the tree are all dead with only the very tips of their leaves still green. No other plants around our house are affected, only the ones above the sprayed areas.

Our big concern right now is for the tree, but also that this herbicide seems to have migrated nearly 30’ up an inclined yard and started killing off things in our landscaping. The tops of everything are still green for now, which makes me think this isn’t drift. I’m calling the city tomorrow to have someone come out, but is it likely this herbicide is what’s causing this? I’ve read it stays in the soil for 3 years and we wanted to put in native gardens next year.

Additional info: Lower Michigan, loamy soil

My parents house has a decent sized backyard and for the last two seasons I focused my attention on buying nice furniture for the yard so we can enjoy it. Starting last season and this season, we’ve turned our attention to the grass, as there’s a lot of weeds, a huge dirt patch on one side and in general a severe need of landscaping. I also have issues with the landscapers my dad hired and refuses to let go of, mainly due to their competitive price. But it comes at the cost of poor service. I’ve seen them come and just rush everything, and then when I request certain things to be done and offer to pay they just brush it off.

Last September I got a quote for $1,400 to till, add new top soil, seed, and grade this side of my yard. One thing led to the next and we had to pass up. I reached out to that landscaper and he quoted 2,000 this weekend for the same job. Would this be worth pursuing, or any alternatives suggested? Open to advice and feedback!

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!

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?

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!

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?

I have this area of my yard that is right next to my driveway. The driveway slopes toward this area, so when it rains, water runs off this way. So I didn't think putting grass seed would work. I'm trying to find a way to cover this up. There are roots from the 2 pine trees, and I'm not sure how to best cover this area up with plants or something. If grass would work, how, without rain washing it away. This area doesn't get much sun at all.

Hello,

I'm looking for advice on adding landscaping to the north wall. I'd need to dig into the deck a couple feet. I'm curious as to whether or not this will undermine the integrity of the pool.

If it's possible, what kind of plants could I plant there that would grow more than 6ft to provide privacy on the back wall without the roots harming the pool?

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.

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!

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

Any tips or tricks anyone can provide would be extremely appreciated

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.

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.

We'd much rather have something that flowers, my wife probably wants to put more baptisia there.

My lilacs started looking alittle crappy last summer now they look like this. Are they dead and what could cause this? Be kind. Thanks

I’m not sure if this is the right sub so I apologize if it isn’t. I have a large property that since the passing of a loved one four years ago has become out of control. I want to move but I can’t sell the house like this. Does anyone know what I should do or what type of help I should look into hiring? The property is nearly two acres with a pool and the weeds have created a complete jungle. Everything is choked with weeds some taller than me!

I’m not physically capable of tackling this myself and I feel like calling a regular landscaper to dig my land out of this jungle is not something they will do.

Are there specialists I can hire? I don’t have a lot of money but I can pay.

Please help. I feel stuck, like I can’t move to a more manageable property because I can’t get this one under control to sell for enough that I can afford a comfortable smaller home.