Cleaning up #2: Backyard

You just have the coolest backyard … honestly!!!!! Wow, and you have gotten so much done, thus far. Transformation is amazing. Beds are gonna be real “purdy” once they get grown in and begin to bloom.

What type of sunlight do you get at the Gazebo? Are you looking for annuals or perennials … flowers inside or outside? That would help in suggesting what might grow there “bother free”.

Congratulations on all the hard work. Hope you are taking some time to enjoy it too. :-)

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

I don’t know what to do with all this nature…ideas?

Keep it natural. If you over do it, it will loose its charm..

Where you stripped all the plants off the steps, be sure to plant something here and there in between the stones. Creeping thyme is a great plant and will soften the stairs, plus it’s very steppable.

I personally would not totally get rid of the brush pile. Instead, I’d do away with the smaller twiggy items and keep the larger stuff, stacking it in a nice way. It can provide a home for several kinds of critters.

Tree ID: Get a god picture of one of the leaves, plus the bark around the trunk.

Gazebo is really cool. I’d have someone check the support structure however. Looking at your decking, it looks a little deteriorated so I’d be wondering about the braces underneath.

Flowers for it.. Would have to be something that can tolerate shade. What ever you decide on, mix some water crystals into the potting mix so that it can go for a bit without care or rain. Just be sure and wet them first BEFORE you mix with the soil, as displacement can be huge.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

Scott, thanks for the advice.

Where the wood is there are a lot of rusted metal and stuff we don’t necessarily want in the backyard. There are a lot of other places here for critters :) I can’t get a good picture of the tree it’s too tall :(. The gazebo’s structure is tension wire. It looks pretty awesomely built to me, but we might have someone look at it.

-- " You can judge the character and greatness of a society by how it treats its animals."

Take close-ups of some of the leaves, blossoms, and bark. You don’t need a pic of the tree in its entirety.

Several thoughts.

You could do what I did in california…..buy everything and whatever lives….buy more of that.

Everything that is there, is there because it’s supposed to be or can be….i.e. native planting. Maybe investigate some other native plants and add them. Use your work to “groom” what is there naturally.

Remember, that what is there is shade tolerant (judging from the pics, it looks pretty shady and such…) so don’t get things that require a great amount of light.

Definitely get low maintenance stuff. Judging by the terrain you won’t want to have to get on your hands and knees all the time to cultivate, trim, etc. Power equipment might have limited usefulness, etc.

i like rocks. all mine live in the woods and under ground. i like the way all yours are living with you. it takes me a real strong invite to get mine to show up.

-- arborial reconfiguration specialist......Zone out....(USA 5)

Oh.. Well.. So it was more than just a brush pile and was actually a “Dump”..

That’s lovely stuff to deal with. Just make sure you’re up to date on your tetanus shot (7 years).

Tension wire? Really? Wonder who built that.. It’s not the average contractor who deals with that.

Did you hire a home inspector before you went forward on the contract on that place? If so they should have looked at the structure… I’m guessing it’s fine, but with the location, I’d be wanting someone trained to actually tell me it’s fine or what I might want to be concerned about.

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

Scott this may clarify it!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3148/2542704433_156969f3c7_b.jpg

-- " You can judge the character and greatness of a society by how it treats its animals."

Ah yes.. That does indeed help. The wire is crossed in the center and keeps the end supports from splaying outward and loosing their grip.

Actually, structure from that picture looks fine. But I wouldn’t want to sit in that chair off to the right.. ;)

-- Planting Daylilies in Kentucky, zone 6b

If you wanted to try something a little different for shade instead of the usual Impatiens, Begonias, Ferns, Fuschia, Pansies … try the Peace Lily. It has a wonderful white flower, and loves shade/dappled light. I actually grew them outside at my other home in my shade gardens as an Annual. They are sold in most home stores (Home Depot, Lowes, Target) in the Inside plant/garden center. People typically grow them inside. But I found they are really quite beautiful either planted in outside pots or directly in the ground.

-- "A perfect garden is just a garden to be in-perfection. Mornings to work on it and evenings to pause and look at it." Southeast Michigan, Zone 5a/5b

Wow, girl, you have done so much!

-- the day you quit learning is the day you quit living.

amazing.. and I agree re: the nature—keep it that way. You have a piece of heaven there, just the way it is.
AMAZING

-- - Debbie, SW Ontario Canada (USDA Hardiness Zone: 5a)

Wow …..You really have been busy.Your new yard is really starting to look good.The natural look with all that rock is just stunning.Some container plants here and there would really add some colour to your walkways.Impatiens are really good in the shade and come in a lot of nice colours.Easy to care for too.Loved the pictures and tour of your yard.

-- Bon,Hastings,Ont.....zone 5a....Always room for one more

Now this is SOLID New England!!
At one stage, I got transfered to Ohio where the roads where too straight and the landscape too flat for my taste. If you wanted rocks in your garden, you had to buy them from the Garden Center!! Using this as a scale, you are working with millions of dollars of landscape material.
I see ferns, daylilies, moss, and hosta’s as a base. Let the plants decide what they like.

-- Earth laughs in flowers - Ralph Waldo Emerson