Hillside Yard Clean-up / Landscaping [Pics]

[ikarcuaso]

We want to fix up our yard. For sure, we want to lose the ivy. What to replace with?

Any suggestions on a cost-effective (i.e. cheap) approach to making this semi-presentable? Our first thoughts are to just do a clean up now just to make it look decent, and leave ourselves open to doing something more fancy down the road (terracing, steps, paths, plants, patio, water features, decking, etc).

Of course, we're open to taking it a step further now. It all depends on cost and and if we find something that we decide we will want long-term.

Any ideas and input would be great. Pics of your place would be cool if you have any. Thanks for any help.

[Dan in Pasadena]

Personally, rather than try to get rid of all that ivy which will be difficult on that sloped terrain, I'd design/add pathways and perhaps a deck or two. I can't tell the severity of the slope but a mix of decomposed granite pathways or redwood platforms 7 steps might looks very nice.

I'd augment that in the landscape (since it looks predominantly shady) with shade loving plants. Hosta's, ferns, some shade loving ground covers. Even if you could get rid of all the ivy you're still going to have an extensive maintanence job on that slope with WHATEVER you replace it with. Why not let the majority of the ivy remain and serve the purpose of continuing to retain that slope while adding texture to a landscape design?

[JavaBrewer]

I highly suggest you give this careful thought and get a overall plan in place before a single scoop of dirt is moved. Start with hardscape plans. Patio, walkways, walls, steps, concrete, paver, etc... Once you have that plan done you can locate drainage, irrigation, and electric. A good plan will save you money and fustration down the road - trust me on that.

[ikarcuaso]

Thanks for the reply. We're certainly open to ideas such as yours. We're really exploring at this point.

We've seen some sloping lots in the neighborhood where they've removed whatever was growing there and put this shredded reddish colored stuff down. Some have only that, others have put a few plants as well. That stuff seems low maintenance. Do you know what that is? (I'll try to find a pic.)

[Dan in Pasadena]

The "red stuff" may be redwood mulch. Basically, shredded redwood. As you can imagine, it isn't cheap and it needs to be put on to a decent depth to truly shade the soil below and act as (somewhat) of a weed deterrant. If you're really planning on a major redo, then David is right. Get a plan together before your start randomly doing stuff.

I can tell you that everyone wants "low maintenance" but few people adequately plan landscaping so that it really will be and fewer still actually LIKE what a true low maintenance landscape looks like. Hacking off the top of that ivy without a good kill on the roots and spreading around mulch (of whatever type) is NOT low maintenance....but it'll let you THINK it is low maintence. Until the weeds start coming up through the mulch, you don't get down there and spray or weed them out until after they get a foothold and guess what? You're off to the races again maintaining something that doesn't look as nice as what you could make out of what you already have. Best of luck!

[ikarcuaso]

Thanks for the input, guys. A good plan...yeah, that's it!

OK, at the very least, we still want to do some clean up (w/o removing the ivy) of weeds, etc. We'll be painting the exterior soon, and some ivy has grow up the sides of the house. Pics were taken last summer, and it's much more out of control now. Can't stand to look at it.

[scottmandue]

Ice plant or other succulent ground cover grow slower and requires less water. Plus it will help hold down the weeds and isn't as good of a nesting environed for rodents as ivy. Also won't climb the house or fences.
I like the idea of ferns, from the pics you post I think they would do well there.
YMMV

[nineoneone]

leave the Ivy it's the most cost effective , easy to maintain thing I see on your property. If you start putting down some type of wood chip you will find it down the street after the first rain. Make a nice slate or concrete walkway.

[ikarcuaso]

Alright, I got a quote from a gardening service for $1600 to up-root all of the ivy (there's a bunch more that's not pictured), remove all weeds and other unwanted growth, and trim some large trees.

The biggest problem w/the ivy for us is they harbor rodents. It's a common problem here in the hills. We really want to do all we can to minimize the likelihood of their presence on our property.

[Hugh R]

Ivy=rats, mice and other ground animals.

[Joeaksa]

Originally posted by Hugh R
Ivy=rats, mice and other ground animals.

Also Ivy does a world of damage to buildings. Might look nice but it really destroys things and fast.

[stomachmonkey]

Get a cat. It's cheaper.

[on2wheels52]

Here I thought my backyard (1-10 pitch) was steep. I wouldn't mind some professional help either, mostly re drainage.
Jim

[cantdrv55]

The landscape designer I just hired advised me not to get rid of the ivy alongside our property. Get it trimmed way down in the winter is all it needs and get Clark Pest Control out there. We've got mice and rats under our house because of the ivy but it's the only thing holding up the hill.

[Bob's Flat-Six]

Just keep in mind erosion control. If you haven't experienced a heavy rainy season ( El Nino) in the house you may want to talk with neighbors ( up & down stream) to see what happens in the area with heavy rains.
That Ivy's roots can make the difference between dirt washing out and not in heavy rain. The trees are a good thing too, except getting stuff to grow under them can be a challenge.

I'm a B12 Earthwork contractor and have seen lot's of hillside problems when the rains come.

[ikarcuaso]

Yes, another option mentioned by a yard guy was to remove the ivy withing 5 feet of our house as well as along the perimeter of our property, and just trim the rest down. He suggested we could put pavers, stones, or something else down to create a nice path in those areas.

This perimeter path actually sounds like something we'd want long term, and leaving the rest of the ivy keeps the other options open. One area with ivy (not pictured) is almost level, and we may remove the ivy in just that area while leaving it on the steeper sloped areas.

Then again, I seem to change my mind w/each suggestion, so we'll see...

[Dan in Pasadena]

The perimeter is a good idea. Decomposed granite when rolled makes a very attractive walking path and you can do it yourself whereas you may not feel comfortable doing concrete work. Besides, on a slope like that, concrete will eventaully get undermined by rains.

You can buy pre-cut redwood deck kits from many home improvement centers. How about the perimeter clearing and off the house, paint the house as you said. Then put in the walks which arrive at a couple of carefully placed smaller redwood decks? Perhaps one with a hot tub and one with a nice BBQ and seating? You can do a project like that over time and bit by bit out of pocket. Get the cat too, you need the erosion control. I'd probably still see about a pest control contractor too. Oh and the ferns, get the New Zealand tree ferns, they are beautiful and cheap.

[ikarcuaso]

Dan, now you're talking! Looking at the granite and decking is on my weekend list. I like the decking leading to the paths. And who wouldn't want a hot tub? We'll see. We thought of a cat when we had a rodent problem. It's not out of the question. Fortunately, our interior has been rodent free for over a year, but we still retain the pest ctrl service just in case. Interestingly, the point of entry has been our roof, as our perimeter of our house has been secured. Apparently, trimming back branches that grew close to our roof was a big help.

[JavaBrewer]

I believe the saying is that a rat 16" long can fit thought a quarter sized hole. Good that you removed the overhanging branches - they are rodent highways. Use traps and cats to control rodents - poison will only force you to start cutting sheetrock looking for the stink.

I still stand by by suggestion. Take a coupe months and several cases of wine. Think the plan out with our SO and then pull the trigger. Ivy is a fast growing weed and only suitable in wild landscapes. For smaller yards it's a nuisance. Plan your pathways and steps and go from there. I like the idea of DG (decomposed granite) walkways over concrete but would suggest a one up and go paver stone. Suitable to walk on barefoot and not get dirty, will not crack, at least double the compressive strength of concrete, and easily changed.

[JavaBrewer]

I have experience with pavers. They look great - especially with walkways/paths. Install is straight forward (though I still recommend pros as it's very labor intensive) and they last forever. Here is a portion of our backyard install.