Question
zip:30350,low budget,functional style:The southside of our very high 2-story house is just 10 feet from our neighbor's house and continues for over 50ft from the front to the back fence.  Both houses have 2-4ft beds with a 3-4ft space left that was once covered by Bremuda grass. The grass was thin when we bought the house this summer, but after painting the house, removing a hot tub and building a deck which required a lot of dragging of heavy stuff and traffic over the area for months, the grass has been almost completely destroyed. The path from the front of the house to the fence gate goes down a decline and our neighbor has three drains visible, but when it rains it's like a downhill river.  Our neighbor next to never walks on this area, but we need it to access our back yard with the mower and other lawn care.  Some people have suggested planting a more shade tolerant grass like El Toro Zoysia.  Others say there is just not enough sun even for that.  I would love to just put down bark or pine needles or gravel, but am afraid of washout/runoff.  Should we invest in a path of pavers?  We have been having a drought here with severe water restrictions so we need something drought resistant and shade loving that can handle the traffic of pushing a lawn mower back and forth every week or so.  I don't want to waste money on a useless choice, but we can't afford anything spectacular and noone ever really sees this area.  Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hi Ann,

I would like to ask you a few questions.

You said there are two fences. Is there a fence at the front of the house and also at the very end of the house (before entering the backyard)? Is this 3-4 foot area a shared space?

You said, "The path from the front of the house to the fence gate goes down a decline and our neighbor has three drains visible, but when it rains it's like a downhill river." Where exactly are these three drains visible? Are they meant to be hidden in the ground and they are now exposed? Are these drains used to route water from their yard? Also, approximately how steep is this incline?

In the meantime, here are some of my thoughts. Unless you really want to care for a lawn in this area I wouldn't bother. The other option, then, is stone. I would suggest a combination of paving stones and crushed gravel. Use landscape fabric if you feel there maybe an issue with weeds (with little sun, I doubt it) or if there is a possibility you will change your mind about the stone one day (with landscape fabric underneath it's easy removal).

As far as what type of gravel you need will depend on your budget which you mentioned was low. Can you get oyster shells in your area? I heard that these do very well. Another option I've heard of is RCA or recycled paver base. You may want to call a few concrete businesses to see if they will offer you any for cheap. Otherwise, you may need to shop around at stone/gravel businesses to see what the best deal you can get. You are looking to fill approximately a 150 square foot space assuming you use pavers.

I recommend using large pavers because it's not easy pushing wheels over gravel. You will need a flat surface. If you are industrious and really want to save money buy or make a form and create your own concrete pavers. If you use wood forms you can make them as small or as big as you want. Then surround the pavers with your gravel of choice.

As for bark, you will need to replace this yearly, which will add to your expense. Gravel you will pay for once.

I'm not a hardscape expert so this is the best advice I can give from the information you've shared with me. I hope this has helped you out some :-)

Namaste,
Kathy