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01-04-2003, 06:56 PM

(Keegan Alex) wrote in message om...

What would be best?? I've picked-up some books, but most seem more
geared for landscaped/terraced yards outside my price range or those
fancy mansion yards. I'm looking for something that looks nice, but
something that'll fit my middle-class neighborhood. I've even thought
about calling a landscape person out, but I'm sure that'd be way too
much. Do they come out and do advising for a small fee?

Thanks for any suggestions or help.

Here is some advice from someone who bought a nearly undeveloped two
acres: make it simple for yourself and make it comfortable for
yourself. It will still take a few years before things fall into
place. Things that will make you comfy at home:

- a veg garden. Reserve the sunniest area for it. Warning, it is
addictive and may end up wanting 1/4 acre just for it. A well kept
garden is a lovely sight. Ditto for fruit trees. Make a note of
possible wildlife threats (deer? rabbit?) as they may require
different levels of fencing.

- a pergola for those hot summer days

- a brick patio in full sun for those near winter weekends (unusable
in summer)

Things that will make it easy for you to look after the property:

- use perennials only (bulbs, shrubs, coneflower, small trees)
- use ground covers where there is too much shade for grass to grow,
or where it is difficult to mow. A good way to figure this out is to
notice where you have to put your mower in reverse, the first time you
mow. Those are places where you want a ground cover. Make curvy
borders for ground cover areas, they look better and you can mow
better around them
- mulch heavily once a year (your beds and shrubs and trees). Have a
tree company come in with a truckload of woodchips every year. A
backbreaking job once a year is better than many jobs later in the
year
- Dig under fence, remove sod, replace with weedblocker covered with
gravel. Birds drop seeds and tunr fences into jungles that need work
every year. Use sod to make raised beds.
- get a mowing tractor, a cart, some tarps for hauling things around

Some landscaper will come for a small fee the first time, in the hope
of getting your business. Once you start getting ideas (how do I make
a patio? how do I make raised beds? how do I make a shade garden in
the frontyard?) post again for more advice.