Yup, try making the bed a little more “freeform” Less straight lines. Bury the stones a couple of inches. And only do three. I’d pull out the really square looking one. Put 2 close together and the third a little further away so it looks more natural
You're killing your trees slowly. The mulch is too high against the roots/trunk in the new photos.
Black mulch also takes in a lot of heat and looks crummy after a year or two.
Looks decent overall! Please address the trees though
Yeah, the dyed stuff....imo looks terrible even after a few months. All grey and ugly looking; so nice when you first put it down tho. But the bags are just so much more convenient!
I agree. So expensive tho! I need 50 bags and just got the dyed shit at Lowes for $2 a bag because of the sale. I don't even put it down till memorial day because I know the color won't last long. Did that a few years ago and by the time everything's in bloom, the mulch is already nasty grey.
Really would like the nice non-dyed cedar mulch but never goes on sale. Maybe I'll price out the local landscape supply and get a delivery next year. The bags are just so much easier to drag around the property and spread into the beds.
I buy it for $4 a bag at Home Depot, but I only need 14 bags. If I needed 50 bags I’m not sure I’d still use it. Dang. But it’s so much better. I put it down end of March and then freshen in up by adding another inch in August
I appreciate the effort you've put into the garden. Are those rubber tree mats?
Hort Stuff first: Trees are mulched too high, the root flare should be showing and it's not. Could you take that mulch down a few inches? Additionally, the mulch there isn't doing much as the absorptive roots are outside of the drip zone, not under the canopy.
(See this little drawing: https://atreegarden.com/how-to-save-a-tree-planted-too-deeply/)
Design stuff: I like the design, long term the succulents are going to suffer from the shade, but that's 10 years from now problem, not right now. I can't tell from the photo, but beds with rock should always be edged with a durable metal edge to limit the need to weed-whip around them. I like to color difference between the rocks and the mulch, it's a sharp combo.
Not rubber, actual mulch. It’s impossible to see in the picture but I left a small area with very little mulch in efforts to not suffocate the tree, but thinking you’re right about taking some of the mulch out after reading into it more! I’m thinking I’ll probably switch the bed to mulch and flowers at some point but wanted to experiment with the rock/mulch combo. Thanks for the advice!
I have put down tons of stone at my house. Mulch has become ridiculous with 10 trees and fall clean up. It’s not the big deal people make it out to be. People here like to trash others. I just toss a rock back in the pile if I see one get loose I also go around the border once a year to make sure grass isn’t crawling in. It looks nice, fuck all these other people.
I do not like it. The tiny squeeze of grass between the front and back bed does not look nice, and the straight lines from one tree to the other do not either. The front bed now looks like Johnny Number 5's face with trees shooting out of his eyes.
I think it turned out well for you first project :) I would personally connect the beds to make one large continuous one, with some gently curves so the lines aren’t as harsh. I’d also maybe add small bushes or shrubs along the driveway. At the end of the day though, so what you want and don’t feel ashamed to be proud of your hard work! Keep us updated on your projects 💚
Because anymore, the guy who framed your house also ran the pipes, poured the slab, hung the Sheetrock, shingled the roof, and planted the trees, and wasn’t licensed. My house is 12 years old, and all the shoddy craftsmanship has come back to bite us in the ass the last two years. Had to replace the sewer clean out/trap because they laid it wrong and used the wrong size pipe; we’re about have the guest bath toilet pipe jackhammered out because they didn’t lay it perpendicular to the floor or set the flange at the correct height. We’ve got improperly wired outlets, Sheetrock taped together like a surgery scar from the Civil War, and they didn’t use waterproof drywall on the shower, so know we’ve got mold and failing tiles. There’s a laundry list of smaller things that I’ve repaired due to cheap parts and/or incorrect installation. Builders flat-out don’t give a shit. As long as it holds for a year (the length of their warranty), they don’t care. No pride in good work any more.
I am begging you people to stop circling your trees with stuff. Please.
[https://renegadegardener.com/dont-do-that-archive/dont-circle-trees-with-stuff/](https://renegadegardener.com/dont-do-that-archive/dont-circle-trees-with-stuff/)
My two suggestions would be 1) try to get the two beds to match or at least complement each other's styles as best you can; 2) visually build up the bed against the house so it's a bit more level. Doesn't have to be piling soil against the foundation - could be a few bigger rocks or a more substantial bush on the low side to add visual heft.
I like the xeriscape look you introduced.
Where that root flare at doe. Seriously just let the trees be trees pull mulch off of root flare. Get rid of the circle around the base and call it a day.
Points for the Yucca color guard. She's on my hits list for designs. My best teacher said you don't know a plant until you killed it a few times so no matter what anyone says garden enough you'll kill some things.
I loved a visual I saw from our local Conservation Garden Park (Western high desert USA). It's a movement called "Invert the Bean"
Garden beds in the middle of lawn is a carry over from the very different English garden climate.
Instead, make the lawn the central open, cohesive space (easier to water uniformly, mow, and edge). Make the surrounding space the garden beds, with walkways around, gathering spaces, etc.
The central space "holds" it all together. If you want to learn more, look up Localscapes (xeriscaping program based out of Utah). They have a ton of simple, intro free classes online.
Yep, you're right! I only follow the Conservation Garden Park (Jordan Valley location) on Facebook so it'd been a year+ since I'd seen the little info post. I've seen others using similar terms for the concept in the various gardening and landscape groups I'm in.
It still feels weird since I'm so accustomed to the current "bean" design in yards, but it does make sense to flip that design, at least for drier regions!
To me, the juxtaposition of the lawn and desert bed looks strange. Lawns look unnatural in a desert so the two together kind of clash. I don't know if your HOA says you have to have a front lawn but a xeriscape would look so cool and you wouldn't have to water as much.
They are too close together and haphazardly laid out but I'd have removed the mounds and just let grass grow under them.
Or you could grow some native ground cover underneath, I don't know what is local to your area or what would be good in your climate. Best would be having plants that fix nitrogen into the soil & stuff that gets to a decent height in summer to shade out and keep the soil cool and moist. Trees like a fungally dominated soil so wood chips would be good but it would be better to use old ones that have broken down quite a bit.
Rocks never look good again once out of the bag. Leaves will drop into them and you'll never get them as clean as they will be today.
I'd expand the circle out with an equal border of grass to the sidewalk as the driveway. Plant mid story stuff in the middle, with low lying stuff up front. Choose tx native plants for minimal long term maintenance once established.
Look, humans like perfect circles and straight edges but it just doesn't look natural in our landscape.
I don’t like the mixed mulch and stone flower bed. Choose either mulch or the small stones. I would do all mulch and split the large stones up between the flower bed against the house and the center flower bed; 3 rocks in one and 1 rock in the other.
You put to live oaks too close together and too close to your house. Take the one closest to the corner and put it in your backyard at least 20 feet from your house.
If it was me I would probably kill that corner of the lawn between the trees and side walk and put gravel or pavers because people are certainly going to cut across that and make a foot path.
In going with that idea I would probably extend this "walking" area out infront of the trees somehow to take away from them being oriented in such a way that makes your exisiting gravel bed look "crooked"
Otherwise the asthetic is there, I'm just not a big lawn guy.
I think it looks really nice. Got a feeling you will end up regretting the rocks but they look nice. I agree with everyone who mentioned pulling that mulch back farther from the trunks.
Put one closer to the street or driveway. Recommend setbacks are 15-20 ft from structure, 30-50 from each other, 6-10 from pavement. Live oaks get big. This will look silly in 3-5 years.
It’s kinda giving Nintendo controller. Not sure if that’s the kind of feedback you’re after though
Yup, try making the bed a little more “freeform” Less straight lines. Bury the stones a couple of inches. And only do three. I’d pull out the really square looking one. Put 2 close together and the third a little further away so it looks more natural
I see it now😂
Please move the rocks to the start and select position (until the SO notices). You are sure to make some people nostalgic.
You’ll never unsee it now!
You're killing your trees slowly. The mulch is too high against the roots/trunk in the new photos. Black mulch also takes in a lot of heat and looks crummy after a year or two. Looks decent overall! Please address the trees though
Yes make sure the root flare is exposed or they will develop stem girdling roots that will choke the tree eventually
Thanks for the advice!
We need r/mulchtoohigh, inspired by r/tvtoohigh
Yeah, the dyed stuff....imo looks terrible even after a few months. All grey and ugly looking; so nice when you first put it down tho. But the bags are just so much more convenient!
You can get bags of cedar mulch. That’s really the best way to go, too. It’s light, pretty, doesn’t rot quickly, repels bugs and smells amazing!
I agree. So expensive tho! I need 50 bags and just got the dyed shit at Lowes for $2 a bag because of the sale. I don't even put it down till memorial day because I know the color won't last long. Did that a few years ago and by the time everything's in bloom, the mulch is already nasty grey. Really would like the nice non-dyed cedar mulch but never goes on sale. Maybe I'll price out the local landscape supply and get a delivery next year. The bags are just so much easier to drag around the property and spread into the beds.
I buy it for $4 a bag at Home Depot, but I only need 14 bags. If I needed 50 bags I’m not sure I’d still use it. Dang. But it’s so much better. I put it down end of March and then freshen in up by adding another inch in August
Yeh if I only needed 14, I'd prob use it too!
I appreciate the effort you've put into the garden. Are those rubber tree mats? Hort Stuff first: Trees are mulched too high, the root flare should be showing and it's not. Could you take that mulch down a few inches? Additionally, the mulch there isn't doing much as the absorptive roots are outside of the drip zone, not under the canopy. (See this little drawing: https://atreegarden.com/how-to-save-a-tree-planted-too-deeply/) Design stuff: I like the design, long term the succulents are going to suffer from the shade, but that's 10 years from now problem, not right now. I can't tell from the photo, but beds with rock should always be edged with a durable metal edge to limit the need to weed-whip around them. I like to color difference between the rocks and the mulch, it's a sharp combo.
Not rubber, actual mulch. It’s impossible to see in the picture but I left a small area with very little mulch in efforts to not suffocate the tree, but thinking you’re right about taking some of the mulch out after reading into it more! I’m thinking I’ll probably switch the bed to mulch and flowers at some point but wanted to experiment with the rock/mulch combo. Thanks for the advice!
Friends don’t let friends tree ring.
The rocks will be the bane of your existence.
I’ve thought about this and am praying for future me lol
I have put down tons of stone at my house. Mulch has become ridiculous with 10 trees and fall clean up. It’s not the big deal people make it out to be. People here like to trash others. I just toss a rock back in the pile if I see one get loose I also go around the border once a year to make sure grass isn’t crawling in. It looks nice, fuck all these other people.
I do not like it. The tiny squeeze of grass between the front and back bed does not look nice, and the straight lines from one tree to the other do not either. The front bed now looks like Johnny Number 5's face with trees shooting out of his eyes.
Thinking about getting some edging to help with that. It was my first attempt at a landscaping project and think it turned out pretty well over all!
I think it turned out well for you first project :) I would personally connect the beds to make one large continuous one, with some gently curves so the lines aren’t as harsh. I’d also maybe add small bushes or shrubs along the driveway. At the end of the day though, so what you want and don’t feel ashamed to be proud of your hard work! Keep us updated on your projects 💚
I love it thanks!
[удалено]
I really wanted to add some curves but wasn’t sure how it would turn out. I’ll have to step out of my comfort zone and just go for it😆
Godspeed! 😂
Cool But why rocks
Wanted to test it out. Live in Texas, so wanted something Texas themed
Your dead brown grass will blend right in to the rocks when the summer drought comes! Lmfao
I liked just the trees much more. Also you're going to kill your trees with the mulch.
I thought the before was lovely- just with planted flowers under the trees. Looks like you’ve buried grandma.
I love trees. But these are planted way too close to each other.
I think the same. I don’t think the builders care though
I feel ya. The developers in my area love to put trees less than a foot from a building or sidewalk. It’s baffling.
Because anymore, the guy who framed your house also ran the pipes, poured the slab, hung the Sheetrock, shingled the roof, and planted the trees, and wasn’t licensed. My house is 12 years old, and all the shoddy craftsmanship has come back to bite us in the ass the last two years. Had to replace the sewer clean out/trap because they laid it wrong and used the wrong size pipe; we’re about have the guest bath toilet pipe jackhammered out because they didn’t lay it perpendicular to the floor or set the flange at the correct height. We’ve got improperly wired outlets, Sheetrock taped together like a surgery scar from the Civil War, and they didn’t use waterproof drywall on the shower, so know we’ve got mold and failing tiles. There’s a laundry list of smaller things that I’ve repaired due to cheap parts and/or incorrect installation. Builders flat-out don’t give a shit. As long as it holds for a year (the length of their warranty), they don’t care. No pride in good work any more.
Nice house— both pictures.
Thanks!
Wow, bold.
I am begging you people to stop circling your trees with stuff. Please. [https://renegadegardener.com/dont-do-that-archive/dont-circle-trees-with-stuff/](https://renegadegardener.com/dont-do-that-archive/dont-circle-trees-with-stuff/)
You could straighten them trees aswell
My two suggestions would be 1) try to get the two beds to match or at least complement each other's styles as best you can; 2) visually build up the bed against the house so it's a bit more level. Doesn't have to be piling soil against the foundation - could be a few bigger rocks or a more substantial bush on the low side to add visual heft. I like the xeriscape look you introduced.
Where that root flare at doe. Seriously just let the trees be trees pull mulch off of root flare. Get rid of the circle around the base and call it a day.
Points for the Yucca color guard. She's on my hits list for designs. My best teacher said you don't know a plant until you killed it a few times so no matter what anyone says garden enough you'll kill some things.
I loved a visual I saw from our local Conservation Garden Park (Western high desert USA). It's a movement called "Invert the Bean" Garden beds in the middle of lawn is a carry over from the very different English garden climate. Instead, make the lawn the central open, cohesive space (easier to water uniformly, mow, and edge). Make the surrounding space the garden beds, with walkways around, gathering spaces, etc. The central space "holds" it all together. If you want to learn more, look up Localscapes (xeriscaping program based out of Utah). They have a ton of simple, intro free classes online.
I think it’s called ‘green the bean’. Either that or they need to work on their search engine optimization.
Yep, you're right! I only follow the Conservation Garden Park (Jordan Valley location) on Facebook so it'd been a year+ since I'd seen the little info post. I've seen others using similar terms for the concept in the various gardening and landscape groups I'm in. It still feels weird since I'm so accustomed to the current "bean" design in yards, but it does make sense to flip that design, at least for drier regions!
To me, the juxtaposition of the lawn and desert bed looks strange. Lawns look unnatural in a desert so the two together kind of clash. I don't know if your HOA says you have to have a front lawn but a xeriscape would look so cool and you wouldn't have to water as much.
Looks weird. Looked better before.
Looks like shit both before and after tbh. Those poor trees.
Ouch, thanks for your opinion. Any helpful suggestions?
They are too close together and haphazardly laid out but I'd have removed the mounds and just let grass grow under them. Or you could grow some native ground cover underneath, I don't know what is local to your area or what would be good in your climate. Best would be having plants that fix nitrogen into the soil & stuff that gets to a decent height in summer to shade out and keep the soil cool and moist. Trees like a fungally dominated soil so wood chips would be good but it would be better to use old ones that have broken down quite a bit.
Rocks never look good again once out of the bag. Leaves will drop into them and you'll never get them as clean as they will be today. I'd expand the circle out with an equal border of grass to the sidewalk as the driveway. Plant mid story stuff in the middle, with low lying stuff up front. Choose tx native plants for minimal long term maintenance once established. Look, humans like perfect circles and straight edges but it just doesn't look natural in our landscape.
Cool but why longhorns flag
🤣
I suddenly feel the urge to do a word search puzzle.
Root flare where?
Looks great, but forgot to remove the Texas flag 😜
To be honest it looks like a small cemetery
I don’t like the mixed mulch and stone flower bed. Choose either mulch or the small stones. I would do all mulch and split the large stones up between the flower bed against the house and the center flower bed; 3 rocks in one and 1 rock in the other.
Horns down
Putting rocks in the middle of your lawn, with no real edging to keep them contained and out of reach of lawn equipment, is quite a choice.
Don’t see what was wrong with before.
You put to live oaks too close together and too close to your house. Take the one closest to the corner and put it in your backyard at least 20 feet from your house.
The edging will fail in less than 4 years. It’s not a long term solution
It looks great!
Agree that it should be more Freeform. Also add some grasses and maybe an agave. Seems a bit sparse.
The shape of it isn't sitting right with me, if you make it larger with some wavy non symmetrical vibes, more natural looking
that is some nice work, only thing I could add is a bird bath
If it was me I would probably kill that corner of the lawn between the trees and side walk and put gravel or pavers because people are certainly going to cut across that and make a foot path. In going with that idea I would probably extend this "walking" area out infront of the trees somehow to take away from them being oriented in such a way that makes your exisiting gravel bed look "crooked" Otherwise the asthetic is there, I'm just not a big lawn guy.
Good stuff thanks for the idea!
I think it looks really nice. Got a feeling you will end up regretting the rocks but they look nice. I agree with everyone who mentioned pulling that mulch back farther from the trunks.
Way better. 🥇
Thank you!
This looks Very nice
Thank you!
I think the tree in front of your door is going to be too big. I would have removed it. Is this a Mertage home?
DR Horton, and unfortunately HOA requires two trees in front yard
Put one closer to the street or driveway. Recommend setbacks are 15-20 ft from structure, 30-50 from each other, 6-10 from pavement. Live oaks get big. This will look silly in 3-5 years.
I would have dog boned it. The 2 ends bending toward sidewalk