A Gardeners Forum Forums Gardening Reference Gardening in 2004 Wooded landscape problem

Hi! We are moving into a house, that has be empty for over year. Our lot is also an odd shape. I need help with our partially wooded lot, which has been overgrown. The house is on a hill with a walk out basement. The front yard is level and the backyard slopes down to a wooded area. Before the wooded area is a curved row of evergreen bushes. About in the middle of the wooded area, hidden behind the bushes is a drainage area with a makeshift bridge across it. The wooded area then goes uphill. There are several fallen trees. The area is overgrown. At the side and edge of the bushes and wooded area is an old fenced in area, that is also overgrown. My husband looked over to the neighbors yard and kind of wants to clear most of this out, but I want it to remain more natural. What can I do with this area, that will make it attractive and keep my husband from clearing it. I'm new to East Tennessee (zone 6b) and have red, rocky soil. I need help soon. Thank you.

Hi Kaleidascope,
Congratulations on your new home. It sounds lovely. My first suggestion would be not to do anything before you know what is there. Most native wildflowers are ephemeral and will bloom and then totally disappear by early summer. If you just indiscriminately clear away everything, you could lose those plants. If it were my property, I would get in touch with the local native plant society and either ask them to do a plant rescue before you clear away or to help you id what is there that would be worth saving. You may find some wonderful ferns too. Often, neglected woodlands have lots of foreign invasive plants that cover the native ones.

I don't have links to these, but you might be able to contact them direct.

TENNESSEE
Tennesse Native plant Society
c/o Department of Botany, University of Tennesse
Knoxville, TN 37996-1100

The Wildflower Society
Goldsmith Civic Garden Center
750 Cherry Road, Memphis, TN 38119-4699

Here's some links that should be helpful.

http://www.se-eppc.org/states/TN/landscape.html
http://www.lib.utk.edu/agvet/agriculture/native_plants.html


For ideas on what to plant you might want to visit the below link for The Garden Helper. There are several guides that should be helpful.

http://www.thegardenhelper.com/

You also mention that there are lots of downed trees. These offer protection for certain plants and animals, so you might want to consider leaving some there as a more 'natural' area and just clean out areas around any paths and for a pretty view from either the house or a sitting area. Having wildlife will give your garden more life, help to control pests and something entertaining to look at in winter. Dead trees called snags are also beneficial for wildlife. You will want to be certain that they aren't close to buildings or where people walk so there isn't any safety risks if they fall, but you already knew that.

http://www.fs.fed.us/r6/nr/wildlife/animalinn/goodtree.htm
http://www.nwf.org/backyardwildlifehabitat/

Hope this is helpful,
Newt

How old is your house? I ask because when we moved into this house it had been empty almost 2 years and the yard was a mess. As I started cleaning it up, I found, buried under much debris where there had been flower beds. We've been here over 3 years and I'm still finding stuff.

Yep, you've got to watch out for those "dam" builders....

At least when i bury my trash, i hide it somewhere far away from the house...

I'm glad Bob didn't recommend Kudza,
Just kidding with you Bob!!!

Any hints for kaleidoscope Bob.....

I do know Nikkal's from that area, and
she probably could give you some pointers!!!!
she cruises there here every so often,
hang on someone will be through in a bit!!

Weezie

Hello, to my new neighbor from Tennessee!
U are not too far from me... i'm in Upstate,SC, zone 7, but close to zone 6b ;-).

Generally, when people in this area want to leave an area sort of natural, they eliminate all the unwanted foliage first (such as weeds, brush, vines,etc). Then they decide what kind of shrubs, small trees, and various flowering plants or vegetation they want. It's up to u to decide what u want, but i can tell u want is most commonly grown and does quite well in the soil u have. We have that same red clay soil here...
The soil is very acidic; so, azealas, rhododendrons,magnlias, gardenias do quite well here... providing it's not too sunny of a location. They would be my #1 pick if u are wanting natural. Impatiens is one flowering plant that does quite well in the shade. I would throw in plenty of daffodils and tulips for early spring flowering.
Those are the common ones that do quite well here if u want natural. There are others, but those are the ones that grow well here.
Kill your undesirables, prepare the soil in the areas where u want to plant, set out your plants, water them, and spread your mulch (pine needles or pine bark mulch are most popular). It does take some planning and some hard work, but it's worth it. I like natural too.

Hello to all! Your suggestions are very helpful, thank you! Our house was built in 1943, it was a duplex, but someone turned it into a single family dwelling. I will try to keep it as natural as posssible and wait and see what comes up first. I welcome all ideas. Maybe I can get help with another problem. Our house is built into a hill with a walkout basement. The ground slopes down the sides of the house and then into the patio area. The ground is eroding on the one side. I would like some sort of steps going down this slope. It has that red, rocky soil. What else can I do with it? Please any help on this and the previous problem will be appreciated. Thanks again for the previous suggestions.

One thought would be to come out from the house where it slopes down on the side and make it level... One way to do this is to build a retaining wall with the top of the wall being level all the way around. On one side of the retaining wall u have level ground and on the other side it will follow the natural existing grade (which is already sloped). Of course, between the retaining wall and the house u are going to have to add dirt in order to make the surface level.
What would u say the total fall is from one end to the other?
Beside the retaining wall (where it's following the natural grade), u could do your steps.
Retaining walls can be formed and poured with solid concrete, or they be built with concrete block, rock, or a combination of block and brick, or block and rock.
I've seen steps made with landscaping timber, concrete, brick, and even rock.
That hard red clay (when it's packed) can provide a stable surface on which to do these projects.
Hope i made some sense... It's hard explaining without diagrams and pictures!

On one side the grade is steep and the top of the grade is about 4 1/2' up the wall of the walkout basement so it will probably be best to build a retaining wall to hold back the dirt. The other side is lower maybe 1 1/2' to 2' high and is the worst as far as erosion. I think a retaining wall with steps will be good or just a retaining wall. There isn't anyway to even these side out because of side doors and existing side porches. I could then put plants in. With the rocky soil it would have to be a rock garden. Thanks for the suggestions. Any other ideas for either of my problems?

Thank you,
Cindy

I forgot something, thanks Newt for the links to the sites you gave me. I will leave the fallen trees where they will not cause a hazard, how could I take away an animals home. I will also wait and see what is growing first before anything is cleared out. With the help of the internet, books and pictures and drawings, I should be able to find out what plants I have. If there is an area to clear away (like where the fence is), then I will rescue the plants that are growing there and move them to another area.

Thank you floweraddict for your help with the soil and what to plant and the help with the erosion problem.

I am open to all ideas,

Thanks,
Cindy