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Hi all, I'm hoping this is a simple fix because I am out of money after the money I paid the landscaper. I have a very tiny yard that was also very sloped. I had a fence put up and the back part of the yard leveled by landscaper with a lot of added topsoil/dirt. They laid mulch on top of most of it and built a sort of mini-retaining wall on the side so that it wouldn't fall into neighbors yard. My neighbor on the opposite side has a yard that has always been a little higher than mine and had also built a small retaining section on the side that works fine to prevent flooding issues (although most of his yard is paved anyways).
Anyway, we had our first heavy rain today and a fairly large section of the yard with the new topsoil that didn't have mulch on top (and where I had put some grass seed) quickly started washing away into my neighbors yard. I put in sandbags and am now trying to figure out what to do.
Could I just lay some bricks/blocks along the edge (where the sandbags are now), put down more topsoil to replace what was washed away and more grass seed? Or maybe put down sod grass in that area? I need to be able to do this myself. Incidentally, the area behind my fence is flooded and has always flooded somewhat in the entire alley area behind all of our houses. And the area at the very back of my fence has 2-3 inches of water under the mulch. I know this is bad and will rot my fence and I would think eventually the soil would erode there also? But I"m not as worried about that because it doesn't seem like the soil is going anywhere soon and it's not impacting my neighbors. I attached a couple of pics and would be grateful for any suggestions! Thanks.
I agree with Boston- sod would work better. Have you contacted that landscaper again and asked for a fix?
On another note, why grass that will have to be mowed? With a yard that tiny- maybe a little flat deck and a place to put a chair and some large flowerpots?
I did contact the landscaper but haven't heard back. Cambium, your suggestions sound like the most effective but also the most work and I'm a very lazy gardener unfortunately. I went with BostonMike's suggestion and laid down a few squares of sod to see if I could keep it alive. I also put a climbing hydrangea in the center by the fence hoping it's roots would help with erosion. I bought a Boston ivy also (in a pot leaning against the fence) but someone said it would be a monster and take over all my other vines so I'm scared of it now and it sits there mocking me.
You need a drain. A French drain along the fence line. It's not that hard to DIY.
Or, you will keep tossing all kinds of retention stuff onto it and water will keep pooling and pooling.
You have grading issue.
You need a drain. A French drain along the fence line. It's not that hard to DIY.
Or, you will keep tossing all kinds of retention stuff onto it and water will keep pooling and pooling.
You have grading issue.
Agree. I was just going to say that looking at the new pic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by chabang
I did contact the landscaper but haven't heard back. Cambium, your suggestions sound like the most effective but also the most work and I'm a very lazy gardener unfortunately. I went with BostonMike's suggestion and laid down a few squares of sod to see if I could keep it alive. I also put a climbing hydrangea in the center by the fence hoping it's roots would help with erosion. I bought a Boston ivy also (in a pot leaning against the fence) but someone said it would be a monster and take over all my other vines so I'm scared of it now and it sits there mocking me.
That's a better pic, thanks. Aren't you going to get a pool of water in front of the sod though?? Seems like you're covering up the problem, not fixing it. You need to stop the surge of water from draining in that spot. Soil should absorb rain easily (especially in warm seasons) unless its really heavy so something tells me you need a good aeration. Your soil might be so compacted that its not absorbing properly. Doesn't look like a big slope
It just looks like a low spot to me. Why not get a couple a bags of topsoil to bring up the grade? Then put your sod down. Anything long that has a straight edge will let you know when you are up to grade.
Based on my knowledge, by law in my state if you have a pile of dirt from construction, you have to put up some sort of barrier. Usu black plastic stuff that is attached to stakes...like small plastic fencing... that will keep the dirt pile intact more or less until you can move it. Your sandbags are ok temporarily, but you need something to hold the dirt into the ground there.
Believe it or not, compacting down the soil (landscaper does this?) and applying a thick layer of mulch may help temporarily. If suitable, some suckering shrubs like eastern native dogwood, snowberry or smooth hydrangea may help. Plant them and mulch the area. IMO good job with the sandbags, and again IMO if you plant stuff there that can take temp wet conditons etc., you can move them in the future.
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