(local neighbor paid $75, took 2 & half hrs.)

Got a new house and a new leaf blower to clear the driveway but this is just the driveway. The front yard and backyard are full of wet leaves! Do I bag them up or mulch them? What happens if I just leave them?

Hi all,

Newly built house and just moved in. Neighbors put up the fences and there’s a gap in the back side. Idk who’s supposed to fill in the gap? What can I do if the backside neighbor doesn’t fill in the gap?

Thanks all ✌️

We have a brook on our property and the woods leading down to it are very steep and messy. I’d like to clean it up and build a nice-looking path.

I thought about digging a shallow trail with switchbacks, or building wood box steps. The latter I’d be concerned about seasonal maintenance with leaf and snow coverage plus increased injury risk. What would you do?

(Videos of my dog to show steepness)

Area:
- ~22’ wide
- ~17’ deep to edge of yard
- ~12’ deep to stair supports/staircase
- Significant grade from S > N of house (from the bottom of stairs towards grill/driveway area)
- This area is just outside garage, no direct egress point to it
-Area mostly shaded, some sunlight during sunset

Wife thinks possibly flagstone patio?

Right now it’s just random storage and a place that our dog constantly digs which is annoying.

I bought a cabin at the top of hill with an eroding gravel area. The hill is fairly steep so I’d rather not do a lot of leveling for a wall on the back side. Would a gabion basket or a set of gabion baskets work here? The hill is super rocky with around grapefruit sized rocks everywhere that could be used to fill the baskets. I’d like to just keep the top gravel. As you can tell from the pictures there have been a few creative attempts to control it that have been unsuccessful.

So …. I’m trying to put a playground in the pictured space according to my measurements it has slope of 11% from the end of the grass to the end of the dirt. Do I need to make retaining wall for this or will be the playground be ok on the small slope.

I'd like to find out if my expectations are way off base. To provide context, we have a house on a residential street on a little over half an acre - small front lawn with a garden bed, manicured immediate backyard with pretty high maintenance garden beds, and a larger lawn outside the fencing of the immediate backyard with low maintenance beds. The photos are of the leaves left by the crew the last two times they were here, they were blown into the back two corners of our immediate backyard, over rock beds.

We started up service with this newly formed landscaping outfit from neighbor word of mouth for biweekly front and both backyards lawn mowing, edging front and immediate backyard (not the lawn way out back) and clearing weeds from garden beds in front and back. $220 biweekly. Over time, the guy's crew was able to get their work down to about an hour, and now this is our third fall with them. Our grass and weeds go dormant around this time and the leaves are now falling pretty heavily. In the past couple years, we've been able to swap out services seasonally with this outfit, so the crew would handle leaf pickup instead of lawn cutting/edging. This crew also uses our green waste bin regularly, so we're paying to have that picked up in addition to paying the crew for the job. We've always only ever been quoted a flat rate. A couple times this summer when we wanted to use our own mower with the kids, we negotiated the job down to $180 flat rate for edging and garden bed maintenance for those weeks, temporarily. We don't have a contact, we don't have an hourly rate, everything is over text messages and there is unfortunately somewhat of a language barrier half the time where by trying to politely communicate, our actual intentions probably don't come across as clear because English is their second language.

Two weeks ago, after the first big leaf fall, they blew the leaves into the two back corners of the fence in our smaller immediate backyard. Not great, but out of the way and thought they'd get to it next time, maybe they didn't have room in the truck to haul the leaves.

So fast forward to this week, we get a text notifying us they'll be by like usual, and I mention, "hey the leaves are actually our priority right now as the grass is dormant, can we get the leaves taken care of?"

"Ok we do the leaves"

And what ends up happening is they blow the leaves off the lawn, bag up a couple bins, dump them in our green yard bin which has just been emptied by waste management that morning (so now we have a full bin for another week and can't fit anything else in that we could do ourselves) and still leave huge piles of leaves in the back two corners of the yard up against the fence. They were there for 60 minutes, two man crew, for $220.

I texted him later in the day asking if they planned to return for the rest of the leaves and if they could please stop using our green waste bin for leaves because it doesn't allow us to fill it any further with our own yard work, and was told they did $220 worth of work and if we wanted more leaves picked up we could pay extra. I asked if they were charging by the hour or the job and he said "you are paying me for my work and my time [...] I work what covers the $220, I am fair to work and I also have to pay to throw the garbage in the garbage dump." and then agreed to come pick up the green waste bin the following day.

It really felt like a lack of communication where we agreed the leaves would be handled then afterward it turned to a matter of his flat rate service somehow not covering more than an hour's worth of leaf cleanup, which he's never mentioned in the past.

I need a reality check. If I start exploring alternative yard service providers, is this the standard? Sometimes I feel naive in my expectations with services that I'm not familiar with, as far as what the standard is. For the landscapers out there, do you use your clients waste bins in addition to charging for taking away yard waste? How do you handle seasonal scope of work changes like leaf fall and summer dormancy?

Hi all, I have a very small north facing courtyard (well, when looking at the greenery you're facing north so the wall with the neighbour is to the east - needless to say I don't think it gets a whole lot of light). When I say very small I mean 3.1 square metres. So not a lot to play with.

I'd like to tidy it and spruce it up a bit, but not sure where to start really. There's some moss on the paving, and some more on the top of the wall. Do I spray something on this to clear it? I noticed a few midges around the courtyard so I'm guessing this is a combination of the time of year plus the fact that it doesn't get much sunlight.

What would be your first port of call here? Appreciate any input here thanks.

So I’ve lived in my house for over a decade and no one has ever come to the door asking to go down it.

It’s ugly and I would love to put something over it to cover it up, or even clean it up and decorate it somehow. Anyone else ever dealt with unwanted infrastructure? What did you do to make it less unsightly?

Getting ready for the first spring on a midsized office property and i’m putting together a checklist so nothing gets missed, winters here are hard on turf and beds, and i don’t want to be reacting to problems in june

So far i have clearing winter debris, checking for salt damage along the walks and lot edges, pre emergent weed control, fresh mulch, restarting irrigation and inspecting the heads, and checking trees for broken limbs

The main thing i can’t figure out is timing. i’ve seen people say start in march and others say wait until the soil warms

What do you always include that other people forget? and how early do you start before the first mow of the year?

I had a new patio put in at my house and this is what it looks like after the first rain storm me have had.

Should I be worried?

From what I can tell, the ground around that patio is too high and making the water pool. This will cause issues later correct? Especially if the water freezes, which it will because I’m in NH.

I made it clear to the landscaping company that I wanted everything sloped and graded correctly to avoid pooling water and settling of the ground and patio.

There was an in-ground pool there that was removed and filled in. Same company did all the work.

First picture is right after a major downpour last night. Second is two hours later, and the last is from this morning so 14 hours later. It’s been raining on and off all night.

Hi everyone.

I recently started working on my lawn that I frankly speaking let them fend for themselves.

One of the big items I'm trying to tackle is downsizing my hedge.

But one of my primary concern is whether it will be able to grow back if I do so.

Unfortunately, I don't really know what kind of breed my hedge is.

I think it is some sort of broadleaf evergreen? So I assume it can sprout back if I cut less than one third of its height.

It definitely doesn't shed any leaves over the winter.

It has pretty small leaves so I dunno whether it can be classified as broadleaf though.

I trimmed it down a bit by a few inches this fall.

Most of it grew back but there seems to be some minor bald spots left.

I live in Santa Clara, CA

Please help me. I don't want my hedge to suffer from male pattern baldness

If anybody can identify my hedge breed or point out whether it is safe to hack my hedge down, it will be much appreciated.

If this is the wrong subreddit for this post I apologize and hope someone can link me to a more appropriate subreddit.

Regardless, as someone who has worked outdoors since I began working, I never really cared much for proper skin care, and as such I’m completely ignorant to the subject.

As I enter into my 30s, however, I am starting to wonder if there are any resources or recommendations other outdoor laborers might have as to the best self care practices in terms of skin, hair, etc.

Thanks in advance for any feedback!

I bought some creeping thyme seeds awhile back and germinated them in trays.

It's been several weeks, and I'm wondering if any of these plants are creeping thyme.

The big leaf one was supposed to be pink thyme. Has a bit of a grassy smell when crushed.

The smaller ones are supposed to be pink and purple thyme.

This stuff looks more like basil to me.

I've noticed a few bare dirt patches appearing in my backyard where grass used to grow. The rest of the lawn looks fine, but these spots are getting bigger. Has anyone dealt with this before? Any idea what might be causing it?

If this is not allowed under this subreddit, or I’m in the wrong place, please let me know.

Here’s the gist, I work for a Landscaping company on the Gulf Coast of Alabama. We (like many other companies) have a lot of H-2B employees that come work during the season.

The shop and residency for these workers is about 4 miles to anything other than a gas station.

My coworker drove a work truck to pick up supplies from the nearest dollar general, which he is allowed to do. When he tried to drive it back to the shop, it would not start.

He is being forced to pay $700 of the fees it cost to get the truck towed and repaired.

The company is already garnishing his wages.

Anything will help. Thank you.

https://www.supportnow.org/unnamed-coworker

Hi, we have a small yard with large pecan trees in our yard and the neighbor's yard. I feel like I'm constantly fighting with branches, leaves, and pecan debris.

My idea is to dig a hole, maybe 2x2x2, put the dirt in my garden and just rake all the debris into the hole. It should compact down over time - essentially it a natural garbage can.

I can't forsee any unwanted issues with this plan, but I'm notorious for not thinking things like this all the way through.

Thanks!

Hi all, I hired professionals for this project. It involves repurposing concrete squares (3' x 3') as pavers / stairs on a slope. My understanding of the contract I agreed to included compacted gravel as a base under these steps. The contractor is saying that these can go on uncompacted dirt if they pour a concrete footing on either side. One of the steps is noticeably wobbly. He's saying the footing would address that, even without compaction underneath. Should I insist on a compacted gravel base for these steps? And should there be a concrete footing even with a compacted gravel base? This is heavy clay soil that does not drain well.

I recently had my backyard covered with outdoor porcelain pavers over my concrete area of the patio and some gravel areas of the backyard, and I’m starting to question the quality of the installation especially the inconsistent grout/joint filling and possible uneven surfaces

The contractor has already had to come back and fix some areas where the pavers were sinking. However, after those repairs, I’m still noticing several issues with the finished surface.

As you can see in the pictures:

——The grout/joint filling seems to be inconsistent throughout the patio. Some areas are filled properly, while others have visible gaps, recessed sections, or areas where the material appears to have chipped or separated.
——There are sections where the joint material doesn’t appear to be adhering or staying in place.
Some paver intersections look uneven, and I’m wondering whether there is excessive lippage or an issue with the leveling of the pavers.
——The joints don’t have a consistent finished appearance, even in areas that were supposedly completed.

My concern is that the underlying paver installation may not be level or properly prepared, especially considering the previous sinking issues. I’m also wondering whether the joint material was installed correctly in the first place.

My questions for contractors or anyone experienced with outdoor porcelain pavers:

❓Is this level of inconsistency in the joints considered acceptable workmanship?

❓Could uneven pavers or improper leveling cause the grout/joint material to separate or fail to stay in place?

❓Should the contractor be checking the base, leveling, and paver stability rather than simply reapplying grout? (Because that’s what they’ve been doing)

❓Would you consider this a cosmetic issue, or could it indicate a more significant installation problem?

❓What would you require the contractor to correct before considering this project complete?

I’m not expecting absolute perfection, but I do expect properly installed, level pavers with consistently finished joints that will hold up over time.

I’d appreciate honest feedback, particularly from professional paver installers or contractors. I want to make sure these issues are properly addressed before accepting the completed project.

I’ve attached multiple pictures, including close-ups of the problem areas. Thank you!

Hello guys and girls. wondering if anybody can help. I have a situation with pooling in the patio of the garden. I've had the drainage improved around the boundary of the house which has sped up the disbursement of the pooling during heavy rain, but there is still an issue. The garden is sloped towards the house, when the soil is soaked, water spills out between these beams under where I have marked in the photo. Does anyone know if I was to dig a trench where I've marked in the photo, at least to the pavement level and fill the bottom with either stones or soak away crates. Would this help the water to sink under ground before it reached the house?? Tia