Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange
Gardening and Landscaping Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [yard]

Use this tag with questions strictly related to yards and gardens. The scope of the question should be further narrowed down if possible using appropriate tags such as [lawn], [grass], [landscaping], etc. Please do not use this tag as a reference to the location of plants or insects found in your backyard, but include your geographical location in the question itself.

45 questions
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6 answers

Can I compost a large brush pile?

For the past year I have been piling up branches and limbs on a border of the yard and now it is about six feet high. I had wanted to experiment with a hugelkultur but the limbs are not very large and include twigs as well as grapevine cuttings,…
ychirea1
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2 answers

What are these curly mushroom-like growths in my mulch?

In one area of the garden in the house I bought couple of months back, we have mulch and recently we are seeing the following. Not sure if this is a mushroom or not. My current guess is that the mulch is very old and needs to be replaced. But I…
yasouser
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9
votes
3 answers

Clay filled lawn with bad drainage, needs solution

We just bought 28 acres of land with a 30 year old existing house in the center on about 1 acre cleared, the rest is completely tree filled. There is a natural slope only a few degrees heading from the back of the house towards the back yard,…
Gary
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7
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2 answers

What should I do with buried garbage/construction debris I found in my new yard?

I recently bought a new row home with what I thought was an adorable back yard. I started digging a shallow hole to plant a tree and noticed that about a half inch to about a foot down is where the previous owner buried some garbage (literal trash…
Jen Pirrone
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7
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1 answer

Can I add new soil on top of existing lawn without trouble?

I have a very uneven back yard, from a combination of settling, bad maintenance, and a very enthusiastic dog (digger) that a previous owner kept out there. As part of a large backyard landscaping project, we will be flattening this lawn and growing…
ench
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7
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How to cover a backyard with mulch?

I would like to turn my small backyard (currently 200 sq ft occupied by dead grass, nearly to the point of dirt) into something similar to a dog run, where the ground is just covered in mulch and/or bark. I tested a small area with a couple bags of…
Chris Mendez
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6
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3 answers

Lawn care: bagging vs mulching the grass clippings?

I'm sure this is an age-old question, but should I bag or mulch my acre of hilly odd shaped lawn? I hate the look of clippings on my lawn (and then brown clippings when they dry out). I hate the extra work of carefully navigating my property so as…
Marinaio
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6
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2 answers

Accidentally mowed poison ivy plant. Can I clean the grass?

So we forgot one small PI plant in the backyard and it got mown over. I see plenty of info on washing equipment with dawn soap and water, but what can I do about the contaminated yard?? I ask because we have a toddler who plays back there, so this…
Kim
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6
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2 answers

I'm trying to get rid of the tamarisk on my property

Lately, many salt cedars (tamarisk) are growing on my property. I'm trying to get rid of them, but I don't want to hurt any of my other plants. It seems they're grown to a field in size. They are scattered all over, and I need ways to dispose of…
Phoenix
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6
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2 answers

Can I Till Existing Grass Before Laying Sod?

I have a small backyard with patchy grass. I killed most of it during a recent project, always with plans of laying sod after. I've read that just tilling the existing grass isn't suggested when planting seed, but haven't read anything about sod.…
Nicholas Pappas
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5
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1 answer

French drainage design for backyard

I got a .2 acre (close to) rectangular backyard, slight slope. No puddle, yet the lawn feels wet. Or at least it takes longer to dry up after rain. Sometimes, when my neighbors started mowing, my lawn still is not completely dry. So I am considering…
Blaise
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5
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3 answers

What's the function/purpose of the waterproof tarp a few inches beneath the ground in my yard?

When I tried to plant some plants and dug up a hole in my front yard, it appeared that there is a waterproof, at least it appeared to me so, tarp under the soil and mulch mixture, and it extends to a very large area, probably as large as most of my…
qazwsx
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5
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1 answer

What is this interesting weed growing in a yard in Northeast Ohio?

I wanted to see what it grew into. It's really a pretty interesting plant, about 6 feet tall with a plume of flowers at the top. These pics are from several years ago and I've discovered this thing is really aggressive if you are stupid and let it…
Michael T
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5
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3 answers

How to effectively remove wood chips from the garden?

The house that I recently bought has wood chips covering the entire backyard except for the flower beds and deck. I would like to remove them and increase the flower bed size and put stones on the path. The previous owners put plastic sheeting down…
yasouser
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4
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1 answer

What are these flowering perennials with white flowers?

What are these flowering perennials with white flowers (growing in a yard in Northeast Ohio)?
Michael T
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