Opinions please, on outdoor space? (square footage, investment, sale, price)

[Aileana]

I'm divorced, disabled, very low-income, and have young kids at home. None of this is a problem for me, except that it does keep me from the kind of home/yard maintenance I used to be able to manage. I can neither keep up with it, nor afford to have it done for me, and I have no extended family who can help.

In a few months I'll be coming into a small chunk of money, and I'm considering having the lawn/hedge torn out to install a very low-maintenance landscape, like a patio garden. I have about a fifth of an acre with a few small trees, half of it on a steep hill.

Complicating this decision, is my hope to move in a year or two. When I asked the local real estate agencies what demographic would likely be interested in my house and neighborhood, they all agreed it would likely be a retired couple: many retirees are moving back to the state, and I have a modest rancher in a safe neighborhood, near public transportation.

So here's my problem: one part of me hesitates to invest too much in completely renovating the outdoor space when I'll only be here a little longer; on the other hand, wouldn't a maintenance-free(ish) outdoor space be more appealing to a typical older couple, than a lawn would be? (I hope so, but sometimes real estate just defies all logic...) And, what other choice do I have, if I simply can't stay on top of the work as it is? Other choices would be welcome right now!

Finally, what do you think is most appealing about outdoor space – seating? overall beauty? focal points or unusual features?

Any ideas or opinions are welcome, thanks!

[willow wind]

If you plan on moving, my suggestion would be to do nothing. There is nothing low maintenance about patio gardens They still need to be planted, pruned, watered, weeded, etc. You don't have to mow but the upkeep is still on going, perhaps even more so. And a fifth of an acre is really still a small lawn as lawns go.

For what you invest in gardens, you're not likely to get the return on the investment. Let a new owner decide what they want after they purchase.

Use your cash windfall to perhaps have someone come in once a week to mow and once a month to trim and a do a leaf raking in the autumn if you're in an area of the country where that is needed. It's probably much cheaper in the long run for the next year or two than spending money on landscape gardens.

[davebarnes]

Willow Wind is providing excellent advice.

1. You will never get back the money you spend on landscaping.
2. My taste (age 64) might be very different than your taste in landscaping.
3. Retired people are more likely to have the cash to do the landscaping.

[SouthernBelleInUtah]

As a retiree who is also a gardener, please do nit ruin the yard doing something I May hate. Much easier to work with a blank canvas.

[Aileana]

Thanks!

Perhaps "light" maintenance might have been a better word choice -- I can weed and re-plant fine, and would even enjoy that somewhat, but no way can I push a mower or manage a hedge trimmer for more than a few minutes. So I'd be looking at installing a patio garden with a low-maintenance design, which is how I probably should have worded it, for clarity. About ten years ago I lived in a city townhouse with a large patio garden, and the maintenance was MUCH less than what I'm facing now: a hill to mow and several hundred feet of hedge.

You've both brought up very good points, and that helps! Using the money to pay for maintaining my lawn would work if I could be sure the house will sell promptly, but in my area houses can sell very slowly. I think I'd better have something easy-care put in, just in case the house doesn't sell for a few more years and I'm stuck with it and end up back to square one with the yard. The landscape companies charge a freaking fortune. If my kids were only 10 years older!

Dave, thanks! You're right about every point, and fortunately I'm actually not thinking about recouping my money so much as I'm looking to enjoy my outdoor space while I have it, and to keep the neighbors from complaining too loudly lol. (they already are, and with reason) Sadly, I'm afraid that retired people who 'have the cash' won't be coming to live in MY neighborhood (I'm laughing while I type it but I guess it's kind of sad!)

I do agree with you about spending wisely: there'll be no Versailles-type fountains or statuary, that's for sure.

My sister just suggested a goat to manage the hedge, and a pony for the grass. I kind of like that idea, but what will the neighbors say??

Is there a kind of lawn that doesn't need mowing, and doesn't cost too much to put in? I'm also not sure I know all the advantages/disadvantages about other groundcovers, like pebbles/concrete/brick, though I've had many before, on a smaller scale. I've been pricing them all, and doodling plans, and going back and forth on decisions.

I really do appreciate your voices of reason. The budget is of course a main concern. Thank you!

[jackmichigan]

If your budget is your main concern, you should skip any plans for outdoor improvements and just hire a neighborhood kid to take care of the lawn. Or check into what a landscaping service would charge--it's probably cheaper than you would think, especially compared to what you'd pay for a patio installation.

If you install a low-end patio, it may serve more as a deterrent to selling than a plus. People have their own tastes and many prefer to make those types of improvements themselves.

Of course, I can't see your yard through my computer screen.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

I"ve seen a very attractive low maintenance front garden. It was mostly done in red brick pavers in a free form; lot's of nice curves. Then, there were reaised beds all around the edges that were beautifully planted.

The raised beds would need care, but they are much easier to work on than plants down on the ground, and they didn't take up much of the square footage.

That same design would work even better in the back yard where the pavers would form a huge patio.

[cully]

I, too, wouldn't spend on redoing anything, even making it low maintenance. Neat and clean. Neat and clean. That's it. I, too, would pay someone to mow. Spray anything in a bed that comes up that you don't want to come up. Maybe put a flower pot by your door once you list your home.

How much lawn do you have that you need a horse to eat it?

If the hedge is truly growing wild maybe you have a friend with a college student who can take a one time swipe with an electric trimmer.

I'm guessing your not a senior who could utilize some senior services. Perhaps you can see if there are services available at a discount to disabled people. If you belong to a house of worship, that can be a great place to start. An eagle scout can be an excellent source too. They might make the yard fixup a project.

[luv4horses]

There's always astro-turf.

Since you will no doubt loose money on a re-landscaping plan, why not spend a little of your windfall on paying someone to do limited maintenance? If you want to eliminate the hedge, depending on where it is located you might be able to 'tow' it out with a car, one shrub (from the base) at a time. Of course, you would not be doing this yourself, but with the helper.

[Aileana]

Oregonwoodsmoke, that's exactly the kind of thing I'm thinking of -- it sounds very pretty, and the raised beds I can manage. Mowing a steep hill I can't, nor can I lift a hedgetrimmer over my head for this hedge, more than a few minutes at a time. But planting and weeding in beds I can do. I've also seen such gardens that fill space with flowering shrubs like azalea, hydrangea and lilac, and that would be great too.

I really do appreciate all the answers, but it seems my first paragraph in the original post went unread. Paying to maintain it isn't on the table -- it's the option that already didn't work -- it's what I've been trying for two years. The landscape companies here cost a fortune that I can't afford on a disability income, and there are no local kids or family friends who will take on mowing a steep hill and trimming a hundred feet of edge, for anything I can give them. Believe me I've tried! lol THAT's why I need the low-maintenance option.

I'm not looking to get the money back when I sell; I'm looking to keep the city from fining me when my neighbors complain about mile-high grass, spreading poison ivy, and a hedge that has blocked the sidewalk where it goes past my house. The house is owned outright so I'm not worried about sale price.

Cully, you're right, I'm not a senior, don't belong to a local church, and after my diagnosis I found that one of the biggest disadvantages to living in a small town in the middle of nowhere, is this lack of support services or nearby family. That's a primary reason I'm hoping to manage a move next year, back to a metropolitan area.

But after reading all the answers, it seems that whatever I do with this yard, I mainly need to make sure that someone can easily change it to their taste, right? -- so mulch beds around the trees and gravel paths would be much better than poured concrete. That kind of insight does help, a lot. Back to sketches! :-)