Gardening, Lawn Care, and Landscaping

[nrsair]

The past few years I’ve seeded with a clover/grass mix, so the clover is gradually taking over. Also have lots of wild violets, strawberries and dandelions throughout the yard. It doesn’t look bad (IMO) but it is a little incongruous because most of the people in my neighborhood pay for the heavy duty chemical application. But guess whose yard is the only one with lightning bugs?

My ultimate goal is to replace most of the grass in the front yard with a natural area of pine straw and native plants. It’s sloped, thought, so would need to build a little raised border out of stone to keep everything contained and looking nice. I’d need a good bit of stone, and the field stone that looks the best has gotten hella expensive!

 

[UNCatTech]

Recently gotten into native perennials as well. Big fan of phlox, beautiful ground cover when blooming (now) and hard to kill. Also got blueberries, azaleas, Virginia blue bells and bee balm. Shoutout to Frank’s Perennial Border in Winston, they carry a ton of native stuff.

I'm going to plant one more phlox just behind the frog. The small one is a replacement, the first in that location died.

 

[Duke Mu]

Depends on the grass.. Zoysia? Sod it.
Fescue? Seed.. But if you're in the South I wouldn't do fescue

If we move back to NC, I'm leaning to Zoysia. I've had enough of keeping cinch bugs and brown patch out of (Raleigh) St. Augustine and treating with 6% iron in the fertilizer to compensate for alkaline soil and water. Plus, one or two 5°F nights and St. Augustine is toast. Centipede can't take traffic. Bermuda can't handle the shade. Fescue and Bluegrass are for the mountains only.

We tried planting azaleas here in Texas - and they were dead in two months. lol

 

[Delta74]

If we move back to NC, I'm leaning to Zoysia. I've had enough of keeping cinch bugs and brown patch out of (Raleigh) St. Augustine and treating with 6% iron in the fertilizer to compensate for alkaline soil and water. Plus, one of two 5°F nights and St. Augustine is toast. Centipede can't take traffic. Bermuda can't handle the shade. Fescue and Bluegrass are for the mountains only.

We tried planting azaleas here in Texas - and they were dead in two months. lol

I have Zoysia and love it. Needs all sun to mostly sun areas to do the best but even partial sun does ok.

I have palisades zoysia which has a medium blade width. It does great w a normal rotary blade mower. Stay away from fine blade zoysia types unless you have a reel mower.

 

[Duke Mu]

I have Zoysia and love it. Needs all sun to mostly sun areas to do the best but even partial sun does ok.

I have palisades zoysia which has a medium blade width. It does great w a normal rotary blade mower. Stay away from fine blade zoysia types unless you have a reel mower.

The wider blade width sounds like a winner on Palisades zoysia. I have a Cub Cadet rotary with a Honda engine. Just keep the blades sharp and it cuts through thick and even wet grass like buttah.

 

[aGDevil2k]

I have Zoysia and love it. Needs all sun to mostly sun areas to do the best but even partial sun does ok.

I have palisades zoysia which has a medium blade width. It does great w a normal rotary blade mower. Stay away from fine blade zoysia types unless you have a reel mower.

Yeah I have zenith and it does well with a regular mower (have an EGo battery push one). But the Zeon types? Not sure how easily that cuts

 

[TurdFerguson]

What kind of grass?

I don't know. Not much. Lots of weeds and bare spots.

 

[UNCatTech]

When we moved in there was nothing on this hill but weeds.

 

[TurdFerguson]

I did more yard work today. Cleaned out a flower bed and did some trimming. Somehow I hurt my back bending over when I was cleaning out the flower bed.

 

[UNCatTech]

I did more yard work today. Cleaned out a flower bed and did some trimming. Somehow I hurt my back bending over when I was cleaning out the flower bed.

I hurt my back working on the yard today also.

 

[Zoo_View]

I was outside doing yard work from 1:15 to 7:45…….pissed off that I wasn’t out at 7:30…….Aging parents and hallucinating brother cause all sorts of timeline adjustments.

Supposed to rain some on Sunday. We need the rain……although my water storage (1,200 gallon tank and 9 x 65 gallon rain barrels) are all full.

My driveway is dry. The soil is still kinda damp. We’ve had rain that parts of Orange County haven’t.

 

[mpaer]

I am having an " off " year in gardening. I have planted dozens of bulbs the last couple years and other than daffodils they mostly only bloom for one year. The leafs come up-dud on the blooms
So I am psychlogically whipped. I have planted some Hosta bulbs and they are looking good so far
I am hoping for a last minute upswing in my mood-and a frenzied few days of planting-but right now I haven't got it in me
So what, I guess I want pity LOL

 

[CHAMTRAIN]

A heads up on the cheap 5 for 10 bags of mulch from Lowes. They have very poor color this year, cheapest looking product I have ever purchased from them. So bad I went to Home Depot and bought some of their 3 for 10 bags of Vigoro to cover it.

Lawn is popping right now, been a rough 2 years for me (fried my lawn 2 springs ago, like dead dead). Been a long road back but my house looks professionally done. I no longer use any granular products, I have a sprayer and buy weed killer off of amazon. Cheaper and more effective. Highly recommend.

 

[finesse]

Just finished repotting three large gardenias for my wife. Found some new volunteers in the garden. A quill fame flower, a Canadian mayflower and a Little Brown Jug vine appeared out of nowhere along with a dozen or so bell worts this week. I like free plants.

 

[UNCatTech]

I am having an " off " year in gardening. I have planted dozens of bulbs the last couple years and other than daffodils they mostly only bloom for one year. The leafs come up-dud on the blooms
So I am psychlogically whipped. I have planted some Hosta bulbs and they are looking good so far
I am hoping for a last minute upswing in my mood-and a frenzied few days of planting-but right now I haven't got it in me
So what, I guess I want pity LOL

They will come. I have some plans that I planned 2 years ago, that i thought were dead and gone, start coming in this year. And others that I planned last year that look dead.

I understand not getting the reward from the work being a downer, but give spring some more time, it will pick you up.

 

[UNCatTech]

A heads up on the cheap 5 for 10 bags of mulch from Lowes. They have very poor color this year, cheapest looking product I have ever purchased from them. So bad I went to Home Depot and bought some of their 3 for 10 bags of Vigoro to cover it.

Lawn is popping right now, been a rough 2 years for me (fried my lawn 2 springs ago, like dead dead). Been a long road back but my house looks professionally done. I no longer use any granular products, I have a sprayer and buy weed killer off of amazon. Cheaper and more effective. Highly recommend.

Lowes mulch has been off for 2 years.

I just get mine at Walmart, it's $2.50 normally so I don't have to deal with the sales. Last year I put out over 200 bags. I do it slowly 10 or 20 bags at a time, when I feel like it. I'm not paying $4 a bag when Lowe's and HD sales are over and there's are no better.

 

[Zoo_View]

I am having an " off " year in gardening. I have planted dozens of bulbs the last couple years and other than daffodils they mostly only bloom for one year. The leafs come up-dud on the blooms
So I am psychlogically whipped. I have planted some Hosta bulbs and they are looking good so far
I am hoping for a last minute upswing in my mood-and a frenzied few days of planting-but right now I haven't got it in me
So what, I guess I want pity LOL

Same here on bulb blooms.

I think I have hours of digging up bulbs and separating them in my near future.

 

[mpaer]

Same here on bulb blooms.

I think I have hours of digging up bulbs and separating them in my near future.

Are you suppossed to put them in a cool dark place for the winter or something?

 

[Zoo_View]

Lowes mulch has been of for 2 years.

I just get mine at Walmart, it's $2.50 normally so I don't have to deal with the sales. Last year I put out over 200 bags. I do it slowly 10 or 20 bags at a time, when I feel like it. I'm not paying $4 a bag when Lowe's and HD sales are over and there's are no better.

I pulverize the hell out of leaves each Fall and use those for free mulch.

Accelerates the compost pile, too.

 

[Zoo_View]

Are you suppossed to put them in a cool dark place for the winter or something?

I separate them and return them to the ground.

Bear in mind, I haven’t a clue what I’m doing.