So I am a new home owner...no lanscaping experience. I have an area
of my yard along the fence that is very wet and not draining well. I
was going to dig a channel put in a large PVC pipe with holes in it,
cover the pipe with gravel then dirt (the yard has a slope to a huge
field). Has anyone heard of doing this? I want to then plant
shrubs/hedges on top of all this. So I was wondering what shrubs are
strong enough for texas summers, but still benifit from alot of water?
Or can anyone think of another solution? We just bought the house
and I can't afford a landscaper and my dogs are getting wet and muddy
all the time. HELP PLEASE

superstar_etta wrote:

So I am a new home owner...no lanscaping experience. I have an area
of my yard along the fence that is very wet and not draining well.

It might be a good idea to wait until you are more familiar with the property during the
next year and then you would have better information as to how to handle it.


I was going to dig a channel put in a large PVC pipe with holes in it,
cover the pipe with gravel then dirt (the yard has a slope to a huge
field). Has anyone heard of doing this?

Usually referred to as a french drain so you might do a google search for 'French drains.' I had
one put in, hopefully to keep water out of my house during heavy rains.

I want to then plant
shrubs/hedges on top of all this. So I was wondering what shrubs are
strong enough for texas summers, but still benifit from alot of water?
Or can anyone think of another solution? We just bought the house
and I can't afford a landscaper and my dogs are getting wet and muddy
all the time. HELP PLEASE

It might be good to wait til you figure out the above before going to the expense of planting .
If you put in a drain, it may be wise to keep some distance from the drain to plant. Perhaps someone
else has better information on plants. Like even your county AG service. Also on this
www.groups.google.com you can search this news group as there is abundant info on Texas Native
plants in this news group.Good luck.

--
nTX USDA Z 7B
Leona
Non Commercial site http://www.geocities.com/tvksi/index.htm

That's called a French Drain...

http://www.johnsoncountytopsoil.com/...ench_drain.htm



John T. Jarrett
http://logontexas.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
Web Design - Program - Host - Maintain - Databases - E-Commerce
$9.95 Nationwide Dial-Up ISP new customers welcome...
---------------------------------------------------------------
"superstar_etta" wrote in message
om...
So I am a new home owner...no lanscaping experience. I have an area
of my yard along the fence that is very wet and not draining well. I
was going to dig a channel put in a large PVC pipe with holes in it,
cover the pipe with gravel then dirt (the yard has a slope to a huge
field). Has anyone heard of doing this? I want to then plant
shrubs/hedges on top of all this. So I was wondering what shrubs are
strong enough for texas summers, but still benifit from alot of water?
Or can anyone think of another solution? We just bought the house
and I can't afford a landscaper and my dogs are getting wet and muddy
all the time. HELP PLEASE

That is the perfect reason for a bog garden. And you can design it where
dogs stay out. This would the least expensive and the best thing you
could do for a native habitat. You would be amazed that it:

1. attracts birds
2. attracts insects
3. atracts amphibians
4. is NOT a mosguito breeding ground
5. is a flood control/rention pond when filled with Canadian Sphagnum
peat moss
6. is a biofilter for rainwater
7. has year around interest

This would cost you about 1/4 to 1/3 what your other proposal would
cost.

http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/boggardenjuly.jpg
http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/boggarden1.jpg
http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/streetview.jpg
http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden - my habitat


superstar_etta wrote:
=

So I am a new home owner...no lanscaping experience. I have an area
of my yard along the fence that is very wet and not draining well. I
was going to dig a channel put in a large PVC pipe with holes in it,
cover the pipe with gravel then dirt (the yard has a slope to a huge
field). Has anyone heard of doing this? I want to then plant
shrubs/hedges on top of all this. So I was wondering what shrubs are
strong enough for texas summers, but still benifit from alot of water?
Or can anyone think of another solution? We just bought the house
and I can't afford a landscaper and my dogs are getting wet and muddy
all the time. HELP PLEASE

-- =

J Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/reference.html

I've lived in Austin and Houston for over ten years each now.

Unless you are on the East side of Austin AND have a ton of clay in your
soil, a bog garden will go bone dry.

If I remember correctly, in both May and June of this year, each month had
one rainy day and totalled less than an inch on both days.

Here in the hills, the saying goes, "We live in a perpetual drought
interspersed with periods of flash flooding."

Sure enough, I have a little "weather bug" program and every time it rains,
I get a flash flood warning message!

But the plants I planted where my neighbor's yards all sloped into mine
required watering every day in May, June and August (except when it rained
all of July). During the July rains, the exposed soil turned green with
algae it stayed so wet...but turned into two inch deep cracks when August
came.

I used to build wetlands in Houston - and I would kill to have made my wet
spot one! But everything would have dried out. I can't see how I could build
one here and expect ornamental plants to live year round without some kind
of lining.

--

John T. Jarrett
http://logontexas.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
Web Design - Program - Host - Maintain - Databases - E-Commerce
$9.95 Nationwide Dial-Up ISP new customers welcome...
---------------------------------------------------------------
"J Kolenovsky" wrote in message
...
That is the perfect reason for a bog garden. And you can design it where
dogs stay out. This would the least expensive and the best thing you
could do for a native habitat. You would be amazed that it:

1. attracts birds
2. attracts insects
3. atracts amphibians
4. is NOT a mosguito breeding ground
5. is a flood control/rention pond when filled with Canadian Sphagnum
peat moss
6. is a biofilter for rainwater
7. has year around interest

This would cost you about 1/4 to 1/3 what your other proposal would
cost.

http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/boggardenjuly.jpg
http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/boggarden1.jpg
http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/streetview.jpg
http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden - my habitat


superstar_etta wrote:

So I am a new home owner...no lanscaping experience. I have an area
of my yard along the fence that is very wet and not draining well. I
was going to dig a channel put in a large PVC pipe with holes in it,
cover the pipe with gravel then dirt (the yard has a slope to a huge
field). Has anyone heard of doing this? I want to then plant
shrubs/hedges on top of all this. So I was wondering what shrubs are
strong enough for texas summers, but still benifit from alot of water?
Or can anyone think of another solution? We just bought the house
and I can't afford a landscaper and my dogs are getting wet and muddy
all the time. HELP PLEASE

--
J Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP
ô¿ô - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/reference.html

Even with a liner? And a constant source of water? =


"John T. Jarrett" wrote:
=

I've lived in Austin and Houston for over ten years each now.
=

Unless you are on the East side of Austin AND have a ton of clay in you=
r
soil, a bog garden will go bone dry.
=

If I remember correctly, in both May and June of this year, each month =
had
one rainy day and totalled less than an inch on both days.
=

Here in the hills, the saying goes, "We live in a perpetual drought
interspersed with periods of flash flooding."
=

Sure enough, I have a little "weather bug" program and every time it ra=
ins,
I get a flash flood warning message!
=

But the plants I planted where my neighbor's yards all sloped into mine=

required watering every day in May, June and August (except when it rai=
ned
all of July). During the July rains, the exposed soil turned green with=

algae it stayed so wet...but turned into two inch deep cracks when Augu=
st
came.
=

I used to build wetlands in Houston - and I would kill to have made my =
wet
spot one! But everything would have dried out. I can't see how I could =
build
one here and expect ornamental plants to live year round without some k=
ind
of lining.
=

--
=

John T. Jarrett
http://logontexas.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
Web Design - Program - Host - Maintain - Databases - E-Commerce
$9.95 Nationwide Dial-Up ISP new customers welcome...
---------------------------------------------------------------
"J Kolenovsky" wrote in message
...
That is the perfect reason for a bog garden. And you can design it wher=
e
dogs stay out. This would the least expensive and the best thing you
could do for a native habitat. You would be amazed that it:
=

1. attracts birds
2. attracts insects
3. atracts amphibians
4. is NOT a mosguito breeding ground
5. is a flood control/rention pond when filled with Canadian Sphagnum
peat moss
6. is a biofilter for rainwater
7. has year around interest
=

This would cost you about 1/4 to 1/3 what your other proposal would
cost.
=

http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/boggardenjuly.jpg
http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/boggarden1.jpg
http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/streetview.jpg
http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden - my habitat
=

superstar_etta wrote:

So I am a new home owner...no lanscaping experience. I have an area
of my yard along the fence that is very wet and not draining well. I=

was going to dig a channel put in a large PVC pipe with holes in it,
cover the pipe with gravel then dirt (the yard has a slope to a huge
field). Has anyone heard of doing this? I want to then plant
shrubs/hedges on top of all this. So I was wondering what shrubs are=

strong enough for texas summers, but still benifit from alot of water=
?
Or can anyone think of another solution? We just bought the house
and I can't afford a landscaper and my dogs are getting wet and muddy=

all the time. HELP PLEASE
=

--
J Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/reference.html

-- =

J Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/reference.html

No...I did say I can't see doing it without a liner...

--

John T. Jarrett
http://logontexas.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
Web Design - Program - Host - Maintain - Databases - E-Commerce
$9.95 Nationwide Dial-Up ISP new customers welcome...
---------------------------------------------------------------
"J Kolenovsky" wrote in message
...
Even with a liner? And a constant source of water?

"John T. Jarrett" wrote:

I've lived in Austin and Houston for over ten years each now.

Unless you are on the East side of Austin AND have a ton of clay in your
soil, a bog garden will go bone dry.

If I remember correctly, in both May and June of this year, each month had
one rainy day and totalled less than an inch on both days.

Here in the hills, the saying goes, "We live in a perpetual drought
interspersed with periods of flash flooding."

Sure enough, I have a little "weather bug" program and every time it
rains,
I get a flash flood warning message!

But the plants I planted where my neighbor's yards all sloped into mine
required watering every day in May, June and August (except when it rained
all of July). During the July rains, the exposed soil turned green with
algae it stayed so wet...but turned into two inch deep cracks when August
came.

I used to build wetlands in Houston - and I would kill to have made my wet
spot one! But everything would have dried out. I can't see how I could
build
one here and expect ornamental plants to live year round without some kind
of lining.

--

John T. Jarrett
http://logontexas.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
Web Design - Program - Host - Maintain - Databases - E-Commerce
$9.95 Nationwide Dial-Up ISP new customers welcome...
---------------------------------------------------------------
"J Kolenovsky" wrote in message
...
That is the perfect reason for a bog garden. And you can design it where
dogs stay out. This would the least expensive and the best thing you
could do for a native habitat. You would be amazed that it:

1. attracts birds
2. attracts insects
3. atracts amphibians
4. is NOT a mosguito breeding ground
5. is a flood control/rention pond when filled with Canadian Sphagnum
peat moss
6. is a biofilter for rainwater
7. has year around interest

This would cost you about 1/4 to 1/3 what your other proposal would
cost.

http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/boggardenjuly.jpg
http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/boggarden1.jpg
http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/streetview.jpg
http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden - my habitat

superstar_etta wrote:

So I am a new home owner...no lanscaping experience. I have an area
of my yard along the fence that is very wet and not draining well. I
was going to dig a channel put in a large PVC pipe with holes in it,
cover the pipe with gravel then dirt (the yard has a slope to a huge
field). Has anyone heard of doing this? I want to then plant
shrubs/hedges on top of all this. So I was wondering what shrubs are
strong enough for texas summers, but still benifit from alot of water?
Or can anyone think of another solution? We just bought the house
and I can't afford a landscaper and my dogs are getting wet and muddy
all the time. HELP PLEASE

--
J Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP
ô¿ô - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/reference.html

--
J Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP
ô¿ô - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/reference.html

I, too, thought of a bog instead of a french drain, but knew the summers here in NE Texas would be
too dry and hot to keep it up all summer. and sure enough.. ground cracked, even bricks started
seperating..
had to soak around foundation to keep the walls from cracking. Everyone in this area has to water
their foundations in summer to keep the brick of houses from shifting.


"John T. Jarrett" wrote:

I've lived in Austin and Houston for over ten years each now.

Unless you are on the East side of Austin AND have a ton of clay in your
soil, a bog garden will go bone dry.

If I remember correctly, in both May and June of this year, each month had
one rainy day and totalled less than an inch on both days.

Here in the hills, the saying goes, "We live in a perpetual drought
interspersed with periods of flash flooding."

Sure enough, I have a little "weather bug" program and every time it rains,
I get a flash flood warning message!

But the plants I planted where my neighbor's yards all sloped into mine
required watering every day in May, June and August (except when it rained
all of July). During the July rains, the exposed soil turned green with
algae it stayed so wet...but turned into two inch deep cracks when August
came.

I used to build wetlands in Houston - and I would kill to have made my wet
spot one! But everything would have dried out. I can't see how I could build
one here and expect ornamental plants to live year round without some kind
of lining.

--

John T. Jarrett
http://logontexas.com
---------------------------------------------------------------
Web Design - Program - Host - Maintain - Databases - E-Commerce
$9.95 Nationwide Dial-Up ISP new customers welcome...
---------------------------------------------------------------
"J Kolenovsky" wrote in message
...
That is the perfect reason for a bog garden. And you can design it where
dogs stay out. This would the least expensive and the best thing you
could do for a native habitat. You would be amazed that it:

1. attracts birds
2. attracts insects
3. atracts amphibians
4. is NOT a mosguito breeding ground
5. is a flood control/rention pond when filled with Canadian Sphagnum
peat moss
6. is a biofilter for rainwater
7. has year around interest

This would cost you about 1/4 to 1/3 what your other proposal would
cost.

http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/boggardenjuly.jpg
http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/boggarden1.jpg
http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/streetview.jpg
http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden - my habitat

superstar_etta wrote:

So I am a new home owner...no lanscaping experience. I have an area
of my yard along the fence that is very wet and not draining well. I
was going to dig a channel put in a large PVC pipe with holes in it,
cover the pipe with gravel then dirt (the yard has a slope to a huge
field). Has anyone heard of doing this? I want to then plant
shrubs/hedges on top of all this. So I was wondering what shrubs are
strong enough for texas summers, but still benifit from alot of water?
Or can anyone think of another solution? We just bought the house
and I can't afford a landscaper and my dogs are getting wet and muddy
all the time. HELP PLEASE

--
J Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP
ô¿ô - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/reference.html

--
nTX USDA Z 7B
Leona
Non Commercial site http://www.geocities.com/tvksi/index.htm

Leona said something that is important. Waiting and patience. Observe
the site over seasons and the current climatic influences. That give you
time to develop a plan, get information, do discovery work, and finalize
your planned project for this. =


(down this thread, John Jarrett responded to my plug for a bog garden.
=46rom reading his posts for the past 2 years, I know John is a
professional in wetlands and such. He has the edge on me. In regard to
the bog garden, you need to study the site and consider your constant
water source. Even if it didn't have one, one could put in a soaker hose
to keep the Canadian Sphagnum peat moss damp. If you put the bog in, put
in stepping stones or walk stones so you can access it without stepping
in the peat. )

About the hedges, if you do plant hedges, plant native hedges of your
area. That is the most bang for the buck for people, eco-system and
wildlife. I don't know what to say about the french drain and hedges. =


Anyway, keep up your thread and keep up your pursuit about this project.
The more you drill down, the better the concepts will evolve.

superstar_etta wrote:
=

So I am a new home owner...no lanscaping experience. I have an area
of my yard along the fence that is very wet and not draining well. I
was going to dig a channel put in a large PVC pipe with holes in it,
cover the pipe with gravel then dirt (the yard has a slope to a huge
field). Has anyone heard of doing this? I want to then plant
shrubs/hedges on top of all this. So I was wondering what shrubs are
strong enough for texas summers, but still benifit from alot of water?
Or can anyone think of another solution? We just bought the house
and I can't afford a landscaper and my dogs are getting wet and muddy
all the time. HELP PLEASE

-- =

J Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/reference.html

Howdy folks,
Waiting and patience is an important idea.
As far as French drains are concerned, make sure it is done right. I
got to take a look at one this week that was not done well, it had no
way for the water to outflow and turned into a sump pit that filled up
from all our rains and would lift whatever was planted on top of it
with hydrolic pressure.

If your a new home owner a good guide to have is the Grow Green
Native and Adaptive plants guide put out by the city of Austin. ( My
only quibble with it was the Oleander listing, but you can't ever make
all gardeners happy ) Take your time choosing plantings, observe and
learn it pays off in the long run.

Steve Coyle
www.austingardencenter.com

"Steve Coyle" wrote in message
om...
Howdy folks,
Waiting and patience is an important idea.
As far as French drains are concerned, make sure it is done right. I
got to take a look at one this week that was not done well, it had no
way for the water to outflow and turned into a sump pit that filled up
from all our rains and would lift whatever was planted on top of it
with hydrolic pressure.

If your a new home owner a good guide to have is the Grow Green
Native and Adaptive plants guide put out by the city of Austin. ( My
only quibble with it was the Oleander listing, but you can't ever make
all gardeners happy ) Take your time choosing plantings, observe and
learn it pays off in the long run.

Steve Coyle
www.austingardencenter.com


What's the problem with oleanders?

Howdy folks,
In regard to this message:


What's the problem with oleanders?

Xylella fastidosa

Thats the short answer. A nasty little bacterium that has moved up
from the Gulf Coast into Central Texas, popularly known as Oleander
Leaf Scorch.
Diagnostic lab at A&M has confirmed this disease in samples from
Travis county. No treatment at the moment (A&M pathology lab) but I
have seen a lot of folks waste money spraying fungicides in useless
attempt to save plants that are dieing off.
I first noticed it two years ago coming in from samples in
neighborhood near Steck and Mesa. I think while there is not yet a
treatment for it, we shouldn't be adding to the population of hosts.

take care, we have a great weekend coming up for gardening.
Steve Coyle
www.austingardencenter.com

Hey, Steve, I get grief with the 4 nandinas I have in my native habitat.
You're right. You can please some of the people sometimes but not all of
the people all of the time.

That is so cool about Grow Green Native and Adaptive Plants.

You're right. Research, observe, patience, research, observe, patience,
research, observe, patience...my, it does truly pay off. (anything,
perennials, shrubs, Trees, etc)


Steve Coyle wrote:
=

Howdy folks,
Waiting and patience is an important idea.
As far as French drains are concerned, make sure it is done right. I
got to take a look at one this week that was not done well, it had no
way for the water to outflow and turned into a sump pit that filled up
from all our rains and would lift whatever was planted on top of it
with hydrolic pressure.
=

If your a new home owner a good guide to have is the Grow Green
Native and Adaptive plants guide put out by the city of Austin. ( My
only quibble with it was the Oleander listing, but you can't ever make
all gardeners happy ) Take your time choosing plantings, observe and
learn it pays off in the long run.
=

Steve Coyle
www.austingardencenter.com

-- =

J Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/reference.html

There you go. The wrong plant by some and now a bacteria has them
spraying fungicide. Great, 2 wrongs made a third wrong. Besides, like
red-tipped photina, overplanted. =


Steve Coyle wrote:
=

Howdy folks,
In regard to this message:
=

What's the problem with oleanders?
=

Xylella fastidosa
=

Thats the short answer. A nasty little bacterium that has moved up
from the Gulf Coast into Central Texas, popularly known as Oleander
Leaf Scorch.
Diagnostic lab at A&M has confirmed this disease in samples from
Travis county. No treatment at the moment (A&M pathology lab) but I
have seen a lot of folks waste money spraying fungicides in useless
attempt to save plants that are dieing off.
I first noticed it two years ago coming in from samples in
neighborhood near Steck and Mesa. I think while there is not yet a
treatment for it, we shouldn't be adding to the population of hosts.
=

take care, we have a great weekend coming up for gardening.
Steve Coyle
www.austingardencenter.com

-- =

J Kolenovsky, A+, Network +, MCP
=F4=BF=F4 - http://www.hal-pc.org/~garden/reference.html