Green thumbed experts needed please...

[stealthmagic27]

Need some help everyone...

As you can see from the picture, the small embankment from my neighbors to my yard is full of junipers. They're terrible, weeds grow in between them and to me they are just simply ugly. The picture doesn't do justice because now they are spotty and some are dying.

I would like to remove them however, I'm worried about the run off of water and erosion. You can begin to see the roots of the bushes on the right. The dirt from heavy rains/water run off is eroding the land little by little.

What the heck do I do?! Id love to chop the embankment and build a retaining wall but that is not in the budget right now. Any recommendations?

 

[kaymccampbell]

Be patient. Leave them there. They help hold the crown of the bank. Buy a little sod and use it to protect the bare spots. Save some money and next spring you can put in the retaining wall.

 

[TommyD]

Woodchips or mulch.. I woodchip everything, I live on a terraced hillside and have run off issues and the woodchips hold the dirt as well keeping the dirt and roots below watered and sheds rainwater.

Where I live we grow rock for fun and profit, I have walls and patios all over my yard to redirect the water away from my house. I mulch the ground in back of the walls after putting down landscape fabric, keeps the weeds down real good.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... Rip it all out, 'n cover it with stones, 3x's, or 4x's larger than the stone by the driveway,....

A Rock garden,...

 

[stealthmagic27]

Thanks for the replies fellas! I did think about ripping everything out, then laying down some chicken wire then weed blocker material then rocks on top.. Most people tell me to just do rocks like you mentioned Bondo..

 

[machsnell]

I can't believe with the ground cover juniper tha there is erosion. Usually that stuff works like a charm. It looks like juniperus Chinensis. The moles or voles are tunneling and killing the portions most likely. I think rocks would look like a bridge embankment and nice stone would be costly. I would put in liriope or pachysamdra ground cover. Liriope spicata is a fast spreader but would still need weeds maintained. If you let weeds grow tall just go over desirable plant with plastic gloves and soak a rag in roundup solution and wring it out so it doesn't drip. The simply grab taller weed with rag and it will die and desire ables will be left. Myself I would leave and saved some loot and get bank cut back and install a wall. Decorative and would give you some flat space. Good luck.

 

[stealthmagic27]

Thanks Machsnell, very informative! It looks like the junipers should have been planted a little higher or something. But the majority of the erosion is right at the base of the neighbors bushes. I think I may end up doing just that, save, and then throw up a retaining wall. I'd love the extra flat on the side...

 

[Kevin54]

I hate those junipers. We ripped ours out for the same reason. They spread, and then thistles would come up through them.

If it were me, and I had that hill which isn't really huge, but I'd budget a little bit for it. And it won't cost all that much, but would involve some manual labor mainly.

Remove the junipers. Go to the box store and get some of the stackable wall blocks. I think they are like $2.00 each through Lowes or HD. Get ones that come as close to possible in color to your existing wall. Or you could get split faced concrete blocks close in color, and learn to mortar them together, then cap off all of the wall.

Next....you have the ideal small hill to put a nice water feature in. Get a few large boulders to place around here and there. If you live in an area that has stone all over, that is a plus. Find a flat stone for a waterfalls shelf. Dig down a hole at the bottom for a catch pool, add a pump, and run a line back to the top. And I could go into detail but won't right now.

The other areas of the flower bed, add some larger stone to use as a mulch, or just use mulch. Add a couple of Weeping Cherry trees in. BTW....put the pond to the right side of the bed you show, so people walking up the grass path can see it up close. Around the Weeping Cherry's, plant some of the vining annual petunias, and maybe plant some sort of ornamental grasses here and there. Those come up every year.

You have a dozen different ways to landscape it, but you need some grasses, and a couple small weeping ornamental trees.

All in all, you could do it for less than $1000, and maybe close to $500 depending on how much work you want to do and how resourceful you are.

 

[Greasymofo]

Yeah rocks are most maintenance free and look good. And you can always lay down some flag stone and put potted plants on them or some homemade yard art.. Just an idea. Good luck!

 

[stealthmagic27]

Good Stuff guys! I actually will have a small bobcat over this summer to do some digging so this could be doable. Id love to extend the grass area on the side and back, cut the hill back almost to the bushes. Would stackable block hold if I build that high? It would be approx. 5'. I would prob put a single step.

 

[Kevin54]

What about something like this?

 

[stealthmagic27]

I like it Kevin! I don't think I would do the pond but I love the weeping trees.... heres what I am thinking...only with more trees or plants...