| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
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| Weeds in flower beds | 7/22/2008 | Russel Ray |
Q: I bought my house in June 2007. The back flower beds were very overgrown with healthy perennials. I ...
A: Hey, Judi. Without the weed cloth, the mulch will eventually simply decompose and turn into nice ...
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| Weeds in flower beds | 7/22/2008 | Russel Ray |
Q: I bought my house in June 2007. The back flower beds were very overgrown with healthy perennials. I ...
A: Hey, Judi. There's no need to wait at least a year because weeds have a very short growth cycle. ...
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| My Front Yard | 7/18/2008 | Sean J Murphy, LA |
Q: I live in Baton Rouge, La. We recently purchased a home that has a 60 ft.wide front yard, 45ft of ...
A: If you move any tree it will hurt the tree. If you are asking will it hurt the live oak, that ...
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| Dwarf Japanese Maple Tree Problem | 7/18/2008 | Jonathan Radford |
Q: I purchased a dwarf red japanese maple tree in April,2008. I live in Kenosha,Wisconsin.The tree is ...
A: Japanese maples prefer a semi-shaded position. Therefore the south-facing position that your's has ...
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| surrounding well with stones | 7/16/2008 | Jonathan Radford |
Q: We have an old covered well in our backyard that sits above ground about 12". I'd like to encircle ...
A: Yes, unfortunately you will need to construct a footing for the stones, especially if they are ever ...
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| landscaping | 7/16/2008 | Russel Ray |
Q: I live in SoCali in the high desert (Antelope Valley) we have desert conditions and high winds. The ...
A: Hey, Darleen. If I were in your area, I would get some boulders and rocks that can be carried by ...
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| Walkway | 7/15/2008 | Sean J Murphy, LA |
Q: Design / Color question...We are in the process of having an interlocking brick walkway / patio done ...
A: This is not an objective question with any right or wrong answer. The question is what would you ...
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| Desert landscape | 7/14/2008 | Sean J Murphy, LA |
Q: We had new landscaping installed around our stucco home. When thet put the D.G. in to finish it ...
A: Most codes require 6 to 9 inches of distance between the top of the finished grade and the bottom of ...
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| Backyard Privacy - creative help needed | 7/13/2008 | Kathy |
Q: My husband and I recently purchase our first home and now we are in desperate need of some backyard ...
A: A quick and relatively inexpensive way to gain privacy is to add 3-5 (keeping them at an odd number) ...
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| Re: Meandering Tree Roots | 7/13/2008 | Sean J Murphy, LA |
Q: I was recently cleaning a planting bed behind the house. It is not well maintained presently. I ...
A: There are two things you are confusing, one a moisture barrier and two a weed barrier. A moisture ...
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| drainage problem | 7/12/2008 | Russel Ray |
Q: We live in a 1900-sq.ft. split level home. We were a bit desperate when we were house hunting 10 ...
A: Hey, Amy. I think there are some workable solutions to your problem that won't be overly expensive. ...
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| Catch basin, French drain or both? | 7/12/2008 | Sean J Murphy, LA |
Q: Like the question posed at ...
A: If you have lots of trees with larger leaves then clogging may be an issue. If you don't have trees ...
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| Retaining wall repair | 7/11/2008 | Jonathan Radford |
Q: Is it possible to repair a 2x12 wooden retaining wall without taking it out and starting afresh? ...
A: I would say that this a great time to get rid of the wood and either place some large rocks or build ...
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| yard and garden design | 7/11/2008 | Kathy |
Q: we live in a double wide mobile on a 1/2 acre lot. The owner before us planted NOTHING, which is ...
A: I would love to help you out, but, since you have a pretty general design question could you please ...
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| backyard privacy - creative help needed | 7/11/2008 | Sean J Murphy, LA |
Q: My husband and I recently purchase our first home and now we are in desperate need of some backyard ...
A: There is no way to attach a picture to this posting so I did not get one, however, it sounds like a ...
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| proper way to put out river rock | 7/8/2008 | Sean J Murphy, LA |
Q: I have an area in front of my house that I want to cover in river rock. The area is about 12x10 ft. ...
A: River rock is generally rounded and composed of mixed sizes of small rocks from egg size to ...
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| Drainage question | 7/7/2008 | Marc Chapelle, ASLA |
Q: Hope you can help me with a drainage question. My home site slopes from back to front. I am trying ...
A: Yes - If done with care. You are talking about a 1% slope, so silt in the pipe will accumulate more ...
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| I need help selecting a tree | 7/7/2008 | Marc Chapelle, ASLA |
Q: I have a raised deck, which looks onto our neighbors back yard, and live in a zone 3 climate. I ...
A: Here is the link for this tree: http://www.jfschmidt.com/articles/swedishcol/ Thank you for ...
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| Garden Statue Placement | 7/7/2008 | Marc Chapelle, ASLA |
Q: We want to place an antique zinc garden statue (previously was a fountain, but the bottom/base has ...
A: Here we call it decomposed granite, or D.G. It is an inexpensive material (about $18/ cubic yard ...
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| Sealing | 7/7/2008 | Sean J Murphy, LA |
Q: i have just had a patio laid with a natural stone. The landscaper used an acid wash to brinfg out ...
A: Sealing is ALMOST always a good idea if the stone is mortared in place. It will make the colors much ...
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| Plants to grow on the western exposure to reduce cooling needs of my coastal Texas home. | 7/6/2008 | Marc Chapelle, ASLA |
Q: We live on a small lot south of Houston, Texas (USDA Zone 9a). The bedrooms on the western side of ...
A: A shrub isn't going to get as high as required to screen out the sun from beating into these ...
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| Brick laying | 7/6/2008 | Marc Chapelle, ASLA |
Q: I currently have bricks layed very nicely on a layer of compacted sand ontop of a concrete patio by ...
A: Without pealing it all back, or talking to the previous owner, its hard to say why the sand was ...
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| retaining wall | 7/6/2008 | Marc Chapelle, ASLA |
Q: I have leveled my front yard which leaves a 3-5' deep area near the house in need of a retaining ...
A: Depends on which way the slope is...AWAY from the house is the ONLY way to go. Water still flows ...
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| exterior front stairs | 7/6/2008 | Jonathan Radford |
Q: Help I have two questions and I truly how you answer back. First I'm having my in desperate needed ...
A: I think that a black coloured flooring would be great against a white-framed house. Try to find a ...
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| concrete, dirt & weed barrier | 7/6/2008 | Sean J Murphy, LA |
Q: We have a rock area whose weed barrier failed, so while preparing it for new we discovered there is ...
A: See my previous answers about weed barriers. I don't believe in them. They are gimmicks that always ...
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| Can you help me whit my lawn? | 7/4/2008 | Jonathan Radford |
Q: Ciao, Parli Italiano? I donot know if you can help whit a problem whit my lown. We're in Maryland ...
A: Fertilise with Potassium in the fall, when the leaves drop as it is only absorbed in this period. ...
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| Can you help me whit my lawn? | 7/4/2008 | Jonathan Radford |
Q: Ciao, Parli Italiano? I donot know if you can help whit a problem whit my lown. We're in Maryland ...
A: Its unlikely that the lawn is actually dead. You can't water a lawn during the heat of the day as ...
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| Hummingbird garden around pools | 7/4/2008 | Kathy |
Q: I resently installed a pool. I want to put a hummingbird garden right next to the pool. I live In ...
A: I apologize for the delay in my response. I was set for "vacation" and you are my first returning ...
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| Can you help me whit my lawn? | 7/4/2008 | Jonathan Radford |
Q: Ciao, Parli Italiano? I donot know if you can help whit a problem whit my lown. We're in Maryland ...
A: Ciao Mirella... si, parlo anche l'Italiano Vediamo cosa possiamo fare... I think what you need to ...
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| MAJOR water retaining | 7/2/2008 | Jonathan Radford |
Q: I am ready to move back in with my mother. I purchased a house this winter and with snow melting and ...
A: You need to install a french drain and a suitable soakaway area, made by digging a hole, filling it ...
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| Raising existing flower beds | 7/2/2008 | Marc Chapelle, ASLA |
Q: I'm interested in sprucing up my backyard. I currently have areas on each side of the yard for ...
A: Generally, yes. Depending on the plant types in your beds, the best time to do this "bed-raising" ...
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| leaky waterhose connections | 7/1/2008 | Russel Ray |
Q: Why is it that almost ALL waterhose connections leak? They leak at the faucet, they leak where ...
A: Hey, Ray. It is amazing that this is 2008 and we can't stop those leaks. They were leaking 43 years ...
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| areca palms | 7/1/2008 | Russel Ray |
Q: I have planted 3 areca palms outside of a window to create a privacy/light filter.....can I control ...
A: Hey, Kristi. I think the only thing that topping will do is kill the main stalk and force more ...
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| Red Apple Ground Cover | 7/1/2008 | Russel Ray |
Q: This may not be your area of expertise but here goes. I have red apple ground cover in a large ...
A: Hey, Kathy. Red apple, as well as the other ice plant varieties, are usually very easy to get to ...
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| areca palms | 7/1/2008 | Russel Ray |
Q: I have planted 3 areca palms outside of a window to create a privacy/light filter.....can I control ...
A: Hey, Kristi. Generally you don't want to cut off the top of a palm tree. However, I have seen areca ...
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| bamboo | 6/30/2008 | Jonathan Radford |
Q: Any advice for eradicating bamboo? We live in Northern Virginia and have an uncontrolled patch near ...
A: the only really effective way of eradicating bamboo is to first dig up the root systems (to almost a ...
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| walkway materials | 6/30/2008 | Russel Ray |
Q: We live in N. Virginia and want to have a 4' walkway installed to our front door that is stable for ...
A: Hey, Jesse. I actually would use a combination of those two methods. Pour a concrete base of about ...
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| backyard | 6/29/2008 | Jonathan Radford |
Q: I have a small backyard in NYC, for the last few years I simply covered the ground (earth) with ...
A: The first solution that springs to mind is a gravel garden with an Italianate feel. However, I guess ...
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| removing sand from rocks | 6/28/2008 | Russel Ray |
Q: Recently the liner in our above-ground pool collapsed,water went between the sides of the pool and ...
A: The easiest thing to do would probably be to get that screen mesh or shade cloth and some pails or ...
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| removing sand from rocks | 6/28/2008 | Russel Ray |
Q: Recently the liner in our above-ground pool collapsed,water went between the sides of the pool and ...
A: Hey, Linda. I'm not totally sure that I'm understanding what happened. Did you have sand in your ...
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