Need help with landscaping ideas (flowers, lawn, grown, Ferns)

[Chilloma]

Help! I am determined to fix things up outside and make it inviting and more enjoyable for myself and my son to be outside. We're on a tight budget so can't do anything too extravagant but I do have access to landscaping materials low cost or free. The front yard is fairly flat and the back is sloped. Any suggestions?

[Chilloma]

This is the backyard. It has a slope that started at the house continues down. It's very uneven. No fence between me and the neighbor behind me.

[ferraris]

How old is your son? A bird or squirrel feeder might provide some entertainment and is pretty low-cost.

[Chilloma]

He is 2 1/2. He does enjoy watching and listening to wildlife.

[Butterfly4u]

Chill,
You are zone either 4 or 5 I think.
When the lawn starts to green up, hopefully, after spring really sets in
you might want to feed it with some lawn food. You can buy lawn food
at any big store.
That will help the lawn green up and look nice.
Do you have a lawn mower? You might have to get one, even used
push mower is inexpensive and if your son is old enough, that can be his job. LOL!
You said you have no privacy fence up in the back, that isn't good.
You could buy a wood fence and put that up. or buy some reed fence at HD
this spring and put that up, its easy and inexpensive. Instant privacy.
Out front you could buy some small shrubs that are evergreen to put in front of
the patio for privacy if you want to sit out there in the summer.
I don't know what you want to do with your yard, and I don't know what would
grow in zone 4. Mabey you could look up a local nursery, not a big box store, and go
ask them what shrubs grow good in your area and are low maintance. Oh, and buy a
cheap sprinkler at Walmart too, that is what I use, they do a good job with your lawn.
In the summer, if it doesn't rain, water the lawn after the sun starts to go down for a couple
hours, it will look real nice for you.

[Chilloma]

Thanks for the feedback. The yard is terrible. It looks like it has a few different types of grass as well as bare spots. I do have a push mower. My little guy is too small to push it but he rides on my back while I mow. :-)

[azoria]

It makes it easier that your yard is a blank slate, you can do anything you want--because there is nothing on the property now.

If your funds are limited you should first decide what are your priorities. To you want to spruce up the front for curb appeal or would you rather work on the back yard where you probably spend more time?

Do you have usual tools and equipment for yard work like shovels and rakes etc? How much time and interest do you have for maintaining the things you might plant? If you're not much interested in gardening you would want to install low maintenance plantings to brighten the place up but not require much of your time.

Also we don't know if you own or rent? If you own the house look at the yard project as an ongoing long term enterprise that can be carried out over a number of years.

[Chilloma]

I have gardening tools just no imagination. I do not own this house but my parents do so they will eithe sell it at some point or rent it out. I enjoy gardening although I'm a novice. I want something I can maintain while still having plenty of time for my son. And if he can help, all the better. He loves being outside and digging. I should also note I have leftover things from the previous owners like landscaping bricks like the ones seen around the firepit and a few pots for planting. I have allocated the space to the side of the small shed for a vegetable garden. Outside of that I'm lost.

[CraigCreek]

Your yard needs some "bones" to give it shape - maybe a low white picket fence in front, a few trees, and foundation evergreen plantings to start with. These things will cost money, of course, but there is a lot you can do very inexpensively:

Add color here and there: a pot of colorful annuals (pansies, petunias, geraniums, etc.) on either side of your front door would help its appeal. If you can paint the metal awning to match the shutters, and add another pair of shutters to the window on the other side of the front door, it would look more balanced. Be sure to include some dark red flowers in front, since your shutters are that color. A pair of hanging baskets with flowers or Boston ferns on either side of the awning would help emphasize the entrance and make it welcoming. You could only add the flowers, and spend less than $25, yet get big results for little money.

Painting the front door to match or contrast with the flowers and adding a floral garland to the door and maybe a garden or seasonal flag would dress it up with little effort or expense. Windowboxes would add to the appeal, too, but are more costly. But if you could paint the door yourself, once again the cost would be minimal. Thrift shops often have rather faded grapevine wreaths for sale- take off the old flowers and replace them with new flowers, or leave it bare so that the texture and shape will contrast pleasantly with the door.

Instead of a group of chairs in front of the house, try a metal and wooden bench that you can put together from a kit - these are very easy to assemble and cost around $50 at dollar-type or big box stores. If this doesn't work for you, use two chairs with that small round table in between. Put a smallish pot of flowers on the round table for an accent.

Don't forget to check out yard sales, once the season starts - you can find all kinds of cool stuff at low prices there.

You can get good ideas from yard and garden books at your local public library. Also, ask friends if they have extra plants they could give you - many people clear out their gardens in the spring and often have excess plants - if you were near me, I'd offer you ivy, periwinkle, and daylilies for free! Your local garden shops and big box stores like Lowe's and Home Depot may also have sales - sometimes slightly bedraggled flowers can be had for very little, and just need a little TLC to bring them back to life.

Of course you'll want to work on the grass, both in front and in back. Do you have access to a spreader? You could use it for both grass seed and fertilizer. You can also hand sow seed and fertilizer, but it takes longer and can be hit-or-miss.

The small shed will be very convenient for storing your equipment and supplies. A grapevine wreath might look cute on its door, too. Make sure it's sunny near the shed - that's where your vegetable garden will go. A raised bed would take more time to build, but would be easier to use in the long run. If you've never grown vegetables, start with lettuce, peas, beans and tomatoes whatever else sounds good to you. The first four are easy (and should be planted in that order)..

How about a sandbox or wading pool nearby for your little guy? He could dig in the sandbox while you're digging in the garden. Make sure you have somewhere comfortable to sit near your little boy's play area, so you can easily keep an eye on him. A big umbrella would be good to keep him from being sunburned.

It looks to me as if your main seating area belongs in the back yard, since that's where the firepit is already located. Perhaps add some pavers around it, both for safety and appearance and function, then include a few more good-sized planters or pots for color. It might be good to add some dwarf fruit trees in the back as well - they stay fairly small, but offer shade and both blooming color and delicious fruit in season. Since the house belongs to your parents, perhaps they can help you invest in things that will be there for a while and that will add to the value of the house - I wouldn't recommend this if you were renting a non-family house.

There are additional online sources of inspiration - bookmark the things you like the looks of, then see what you can do with the resources available to you. Have fun!

[Chilloma]

You guys have great ideas! I'm definitely going to try some of these. I haven't convinced my parents to let me put a fence in but I'm still working on it. :-) I can't wait to get started planting and moving things around.