Vicaroo once again an inspiration for a thread

anatess

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We redid our yard last year. We finally got flowers this year. Like [MENTION=900]KMARINO[/MENTION], I'm in Florida so the grass is a challenge. By the way Kelly, when we redid our yard, we put in a well! So we can water our grass for the cost to run the energy-efficient electric pump. In Florida, when the grass is not adequately watered, the hot sun burns the leaves and then the cinch bugs come to feed on the dried leaves and there goes your lawn.

We need grass. We play soccer in our yard.

So yeah, I'll post this picture. Yes, the bushes are still tiny, but hopefully next year or the year after next, all the bushes will start to fill in.
flowers.jpg
 

christyjulene

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Grass plugs can make an amazing lawn there are others in their catalog depending on where you live

Bella Blue Grass Plugs from High Country Gardens
This truly revolutionary new dwarf turf grass is the best lawn in shade and part shade parts of your yard. Also suitable for full sun, it requires 30% less water than traditional bluegrass with its roots reaching down 3-31/2 feet deep into the soil. 'Bella' stays green into late fall and greens up in early to mid-spring.

This grass doesn't need mowing; it's a dwarf variety that completes its upward leaf growth by mid-June with grass blades only to 2" - 3" in height. Grows in most soil types including clay (but not soggy clay in low areas).

Sold as a flat of 70 jumbo plugs (grown in 72 plug tray allowing for 1 or 2 empty plugs). Space plugs 6" apart; one flat covers 17 sq. ft. A detailed planting and maintenance instruction sheet is provided with each order.

*Catalog and Website only.*

*Ships All Summer!* 3" deep standard


 
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bluesteelapd

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WOW, awesome guidance and great pictures. Thanks ya'll - I'll post pictures *after* we get the front done.
 

Vicaroo1000

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So yeah, I'll post this picture. Yes, the bushes are still tiny, but hopefully next year or the year after next, all the bushes will start to fill in.
View attachment 41199

Wow. It looks great! Those bushes will fill in before you know it. Give em a nice thick mulch at the roots to keep that water in the ground and they'll thank you for it with blooms up the ying yang.

- - - Updated - - -

i love grass im sorry but i do. my yard is well hm. i am going to make an effort this year to get my 2 places for flowers done. will see how it goes. my attemps arnt very good thus far. lol i should get some tips from [MENTION=2614]Vicaroo1000[/MENTION]. seems shes poplular round here for her garden lol :)

You did some gardening last year. I have the proof on my phone. LOL
 
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bluesteelapd

bluesteelapd

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Yippeee, the gentleman next door has someone working on his brick walkway and he also did his yard. He's gonna measure our yard and give me a quote on sod and possibly an irrigation system. I don't want an irrigation system as I think it's: 1. More money and 2. more things to break down, but Linnet wants one...so we'll see. *any thoughts on this?* I don't mind setting up the hoses to water the front yard all the time....

I guess it's a Virgo thing but I'm hesitant to start planting a bunch of stuff because if I do something it's at 100% which means I have to learn about the plants, watering them, taking care of them, etc. I'm just not into that kinda stuff but I guess I'll have to be in order to have a nice yard.

This guy has a little boy with him, supervising Daddy's work I guess. He met Mona and fell in love with her. Mona did very well. She's usually behind my legs but she let him pet her and feel her ultra soft ears. Then we went for a walk.
 

anatess

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Yippeee, the gentleman next door has someone working on his brick walkway and he also did his yard. He's gonna measure our yard and give me a quote on sod and possibly an irrigation system. I don't want an irrigation system as I think it's: 1. More money and 2. more things to break down, but Linnet wants one...so we'll see. *any thoughts on this?* I don't mind setting up the hoses to water the front yard all the time....

I guess it's a Virgo thing but I'm hesitant to start planting a bunch of stuff because if I do something it's at 100% which means I have to learn about the plants, watering them, taking care of them, etc. I'm just not into that kinda stuff but I guess I'll have to be in order to have a nice yard.

This guy has a little boy with him, supervising Daddy's work I guess. He met Mona and fell in love with her. Mona did very well. She's usually behind my legs but she let him pet her and feel her ultra soft ears. Then we went for a walk.

My 2 cents (I have no green finger nor toes at all...). The irrigation system frees us from being slave to the grass. Here in Florida, you water at least 3x a week or your grass is dead by next month. So, we got an irrigation system... it's a set-it-and-forget-it type of thing that allows us to chase after our dogs and kids and go to the beach without having to remember to take out the hose... or turn on the hose and forget to turn it off until Tuesday.

When we redid the yard, the irrigation was part of the design. So, it went in first - matching nozzles and pipe heights to the plants it is designed to water. That way, there is not much risk of running a sprinkler over with the mower or lopping it off with the whacker which are the 2 main causes of irrigation problems. We installed a well and made sure the irrigation matches the water pressure and all that junk. And we installed a rain-sensor. So it's completely set-it-and-forget-it as it is right now.

We bought our old house with irrigation already installed. We lived there 5 years and never had to do anything to the irrigation system. Not a single thing. So yeah, if done right, they don't break easily.
 
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bluesteelapd

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[MENTION=2874]anatess[/MENTION] thanks for your insight and post! I never even thought about the sprinklers sticking out. I am such a klutz I'd probably run over all of them with the lawn mower or, more likely, trip over them.

So, at the risk of sounding like a total idiot...how does the sprinkler system work? Does it get hooked into your electrical system?:crazy:
 

anatess

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@anatess thanks for your insight and post! I never even thought about the sprinklers sticking out. I am such a klutz I'd probably run over all of them with the lawn mower or, more likely, trip over them.

So, at the risk of sounding like a total idiot...how does the sprinkler system work? Does it get hooked into your electrical system?:crazy:

No worries! I did not know anything about them either until we installed one last year. Okay, the sprinkler nozzles are positioned flush to the ground (under the grass). The water pressure pops the nozzles up and waters the grass. So, the height of nozzles need to be adjusted to account for the height of the grass (some grass are cut higher than others - like St. Augustine is cut higher than Bermuda). The nozzles that feed the bushes are piped high up the ground so that when the bushes get to their mature height, the sprinklers sit right at the leaf line so the water is not blocked by branches getting to the other bushes.

And so then the nozzles are piped with PVC to a controller. This controller has a manifold connected to the water main. The manifold can be manual or electric. The manual one has valve knobs that you manually twist open or close to start/stop the water. The electric one has magnetic mechanism - similar to the mechanism used in the washing machine - that opens/closes the pipe. The electric manifold is then attached to an electronic timing device box that can be programmed for specific days/time-of-day when the manifold will open. So this box is hanging inside the garage so we can easily get to it and it is plugged into an electric outlet in the garage. It is connected to the manifold outside the garage by electrical wire. The water pressure in my house cannot supply the entire yard at one shot. So, we have 4 lines coming out of the controller that pipes to different parts of the yard dividing the sprinklers into 4 zones. So, we schedule the controller to water one zone at a time so all the sprinkler heads will get enough water pressure. The rain sensor is a piece of mechanism that has sponges inside so that when it rains, the sponges get wet and expands and cuts off the electric signal from the control box to the control valves. You can adjust the rain sensor to shut off at certain amounts of rainfall (1/8" to 1").

Now, as far as where to put the sprinkler heads, each sprinkler head has a watering pattern - some go from side to side, others just fan out... each nozzle is designed specifically for the type of coverage needed. The grass is a wide coverage, so we use the side-to-side nozzle. The bushes are narrow so we use the fan. The bushes lining the driveway is even narrower so we use this other type of nozzle that shoots water sideways in a line. So then the water shooting out of the nozzle is thick on the base and thin at the ends due to the water pressure. So, you position the nozzles so it criss-crosses the water pattern so that the area of grass that gets thin water gets another shot from another sprinkler nozzle to compensate.

Okay, I'm not an expert at this and I didn't install the sprinklers. I just watched people do it for me. So, that's just how I understood what was going on.
 
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MamaAndi

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[MENTION=2614]Vicaroo1000[/MENTION] What?! It's slug assassination time again already?!
 
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bluesteelapd

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[MENTION=2874]anatess[/MENTION] Wow-that really was some detailed information. You really did take notes when they put your system in. Thanks for the outline of how it all works, it was very helpful.
 

anatess

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And on the topic of seed versus sod... it's basically the choice between 1.) low cost, long wait, high risk, 2.) high cost, short wait, low risk. The risk - plants are vulnerable during germination until the roots take a strong hold. They are susceptible to non-ideal temperatures and water availability. Weeds may overtake them before they are ready to fight for resources and trump the weed. Sod is already germinated so all they have to do is root to the prepared soil.

Now, there are certain species of grass that you can't start from seed so those you have to either sod or plug.

Plugging or sprigging - this is an in-between option. Lower cost, lesser risk. The problem with plugging is the bumpy result due to erosion. This can be mitigated by sanding all throughout, but this would also make it harder for the plugs to spread.

We used zoysia grass on our yard. We had 3 options - hydroseeding (quite awesome process), sprigging, or sodding. We opted to sod because of the dogs. We did not want to take away the yard from the dogs for months on end while the seed germinates or the plugs take root. Yes, it cost us an arm and a leg.
 

LariP

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you could think about some type of rock/cactus type theme with a small water fountain in the design. that way you wouldn't have to water at all. sedum and succulents are carefree

I'm propogating sedum all over. there will be lots of green year round when I'm done, because the one kind I'm doing is actually a hardy evergreen variety.
 

LariP

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There are a bazillion reasons why folks are choosing alternatives to sod/lawn -- but it's a hard won argument. People like lawns. Up North here, of Seattle, where live, there are expansive SOD FARMS growing grass as far as the eye can see. Clearly folks are choosing a lawn over the alternatives. The only reason the dog meadow isn't turned into flower beds and another patio is I think they should have a place where they can just hang out outside. Fact is, they aren't out there all THAT much. Summer here is short and if it's raining, they're both sitting on the porch anyway. To top it off, Bo is allergic to grass yet his favorite thing in the world lately, it seems, is to graze like a cow whenever we go. I can almost see the spots rising on this tummy after an afternoon spent at the grassy park! Bea and Bo both love to sun themselves in the soft grass -- how can I deny them this pleasure? I can't. So grass it is. And clover. LOL

Maybe you can choose LESS lawn? Bruce and Lari's yard is a testimony to why a lawn-less yard is so awesome. Maintaining extensive gardens isn't for everyone either but there are "trouble free" ways of having an appealing landscape without all the fuss of an English Garden. If I weren't so green thumbed myself, I would hire a landscape designer to help. Choosing the RIGHT plants/shrubs from the start, putting down adequate mulch (no weeding required) is a big step toward a trouble free landscape!

For Bea and Bo you could install a small patch of artificial turf for their "lawn". have a sprinkler handy for them to play in on the days its hot. No mud to contend with then too. :) Then you could plant more pretty flowers all around it.
 

Ftse 100

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("Official" for this effort means that I am dressed in my Slug Assassin Recon Gear: bathrobe, slippers, cigarette dangling from my lips, bucket, garden gloves and flashlight.)

I love this part

Yeah I got a bit of chuckle too reading this and picturing Vicaroo :clap2:
 

Ftse 100

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I have to admit I dont have a green thumb and our garden is not a very pretty one at all, but I have promised myself once I have finished the painting of the house I am going to rip the garden out and start again from scratch and put easy plants in that dont need much taking care of.

Your garden is lovely [MENTION=2614]Vicaroo1000[/MENTION]
 

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