Side hill landscaping

QuestionSean, Our backyard faces a retaining wall and goes up towards our neighbors. This leaves us about 90 X 20 feet of pine straw to look at above the wall - very boring!! Basically, it gets constant sun - they

Tall narrow decorative tree type

QuestionI am looking for a tree that will grow tall (for privacy) and narrow ( 6 to 8 feet wide -between existing pyramidal cedars). It will be planted between a fence and the walkway of my swimming pool. The future

Bradford pear

QuestionI have a Bradford pear tree that is 12 years old. Up to last year it was beautiful until last summer. Then the leaves were a bronze color all through the summer months. This year the leaves are green but are

Landscaping with storm drain

QuestionThank you for your expertise, time and guidance. we purchased a new construction home with a storm drain. The storm drain is located in the back left corner of our lot. We are looking for r

Installing a raised garden bed against an exterior wall

QuestionI would like to install a block retaining wall system on the concrete pad that is my front yard. I am told that as long as the wall is not over 4ft I can just glue the first course to the concrete and then d

design dilemma

QuestionI have a 1935 cape cod style house with an enclosed front porch and no front entrance. Do you have any landscape design solutions for homes with no front entrance to serve as a focal point? AnswerI

Planting shade trees near a septic tank

QuestionHi. I live in CA.,zone 7, foothills of the Sierras. I need to shade the western exposure of my home (it reaches over 100 degrees during the summer) but the septic tank is located about 55 feet from that side

drainage around slab from roofwater run off

QuestionHi Sean. Thanks for your help with this question. We live in the Houston area in a fairly wooded section. Our house has no gutters due to trees and pine needles. The water runs off th

Yucca Cane Plants

QuestionHi Russel, My husband & I were looking for some tropical looking, yet inexpensive plants for 4 large planters in the front of our home and in the rear around our pool. At Lowes, my husband bought 2 large 5 y

backyard beach

QuestionHi Kathy - I live in the northeast (a suburb of Boston, MA) and our lawn is just atrocious with dog bald spots, heat-dried out spots, crab grass and more. We are considering, tearing out the worst section

desert theme

QuestionI did my desert landscape 2 years ago and have recently began a renovation. Some of my original plant choices did not work out so well. The Red Fountain Grass became overwhelming, the dead blades

beach landscape

QuestionHello Kathy, I saw a recent post in which a lady is trying to landscape a beach around her pool. I too am attempting to put a beach in my back yard. The area is currently grassy and slightly slop

Laterals of septic system under garden

QuestionI just discovered that my laterals for my septic system run underneath the garden area (about 40 by 150). Just wondering if you think that will aid in the mositure of the garden substantially or not. T

Patio bricks

QuestionWe have patio bricks outside and the previous owner applied a clear coat to them.The coating has turned very cloudy and milky. I power washed all of them ( 1652 of them). The bricks look like new again, but

Growing Grass

QuestionHi, I just moved into a new home and would like to fix the back yard. What would be the easiest and cheapest way to grow grass? My yard is not leveled and weeds are starting to grow. Thank you.

NATURAL FENCE COVERING

QuestionHi from Daphne Alabama! We have sudo zen garden back yard with a 5 tall wire fence. Not chain link, but square panelled and each panel has 2x8x16 wood board on top. We are wanting to grow Asian/c

fencing in a patio

QuestionI have a very dull concrete slab patio off my kitchen. I would like to fence around it with some type of fencing and landscape inside it. The reason for the fence is that I have a dog in the back yard and we

cutting concrete

QuestionHello Sean. Im wondering how difficult it would be to cut concrete. We have a very wide, ugly sidewalk that runs the entire length of our home. Just straight-edged grey sidewalk. Tear

Growing moss in a container

QuestionIve got this vision in my head of low containers around the perimeter of my balcony, with lush green moss growing in them. I live in New York City. Do you think this will work? Any specific

Natual Fencing

QuestionCharles: My neighbor is moving... While no one is in the house, I would like to plant something that will create privacy between my patio and their back door. What would you recommend for an are