low maintenance backyard landscaping ?

Question

Hi, we are working on rehab a SFR(4bed, 1800 sqft, split level house, built in 1960s) which has large (approx 3000 sqft) bakyard with a downword slope from the house. Currently, the yard is messy with grown up weeds although it was originally lawn bedded.

The front yard is a decent size (1000-1500 sqft) with lawn (also lots of weeds).

Can anyone suggest how to landscape the backyard (low maintenance and low cost, and nice looking!) ???

Account Closed · Answer

I think lawns are really the easiest.  Then, include a gardener in your rent and require the tenant to let the gardener take care of the backyard.

With a lawn, it's just a matter of mowing and weed-eating the edges, & leaf-blowing leaves into piles in the fall.  And a sprinkler system.  The gardener shows up, runs the mower, weed-eats the edges, uses the blower to blow debris onto a plastic sheet that they roll up and haul off, and they fix any sprinkler heads that aren't functioning correctly.  Fast and easy.

Anything else would be more maintenance for a yard that big.  If you try putting in bark or mulch, then you have to weed it, and you can't let the leaf blowers near it, or it's all gone.  Plus, they'll blow all the top soil away, too.  Any kind of flower plantings will have to be pruned, headed, weeded, edged, etc.

If it was a small yard, I'd just cover the whole thing with concrete and tell the tenants they can grow plants in pots.

Hisashi N. · Answer

Nancy, thanks for your suggestion ! I just saw your posts today ! John this is a rental. Any suggestion ?

Nancy Curran · Answer

I put in a row of evergreens and then put down plastic and covered it with stones. Weeds still pop up but easy to pick or spray weed killer.