desperately seeking landscaping help!!

last year

We bought a house that had been left for a while so the woods are totally overgrown, poison ivy and vines all over , dead trees and also a tornado knocked a bunch down in 2018. That being said we have a big portion of the property ( in the back) that is unusable as is. We have about 1.5 acres of side and back property. I’ve had trees taken down that were dead but obv more still needs to be done. That all being said I need ideas for what to do with a sloped property like this. It’s steeper on one side and levels out a little toward the side with the grass( side property ) the back is a high school and in the summer you can see neighbors of school, but I want to clear some of the land to make it more useable. Any ideas are welcome. I do have tree people coming in to clear out the 6 or so massive oaks that fell.

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nickel_kg

last year

last modified: last year

Interesting property, looks like great bird habitat! I don't know if you're total newbies with regard to managing a woodland area or not, but here's some considerations.

Poison Ivy - make sure you identify it and removing it safely. Small-ish vines can be squirted with Round Up; larger vines you might need to cut off near the ground and use the Round Up as new leaves come out. Once you've gotten rid of it, you're not done. Birds will bring seeds in and new poison ivy plants will spring up, so once a month or so walk your property and look for baby poison ivies -- easy to get rid of when they're only a few leaves high.

Other invasive vines - honeysuckle and english ivy are the most common. Persistence is the key -- cut near the base, pull out what comes easily, do it again in a few weeks. English ivy laughs at Round Up so don't even try that.

When your tree people come, see if they'll cut some of the trunks into 5 or 6 foot sections and leave them for you. They'll make good edges of pathways, and can help prevent erosion if you place them across the slope. Maybe they can mulch the rest of the oak branches and scatter it in your woods. And if you can get a tree expert to walk your woods with you and identify species, that's great -- you'll enjoy it a lot more if you know what you own.

As to clearing areas ... yes that's likely to cause erosion, so have a plan in place before you start. A stop-gap measure could be to plant Winter Rye on any bare soil -- that stuff sprouts very easily, but it won't over-winter so it's only a temporary fix.

If that were my woodland, I'd clear out the invasives, plant more natives, add a bird bath near the house, make a few rambling paths through the woods. Leave most of it as "woodland" complete with undergrowth; don't try to make it into a park. You'll have more interesting wildlife, and you'll have a place to easily rake leaves into each fall instead of having to bag them for the trash.

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Comments (19)

User
Original Author
last year
There was a typo. In the summer you cannot see neighbors or school.
beesneeds
last year
Till you have a plan for what you want there, don't clear too much off the slope. A bunch of that stuff like the brush is what's currently anchoring your slope. Too clean without plans and you could see erosion on it.

What are the tree people doing? Removing things entirely, or might you plan on potentally using some of that wood for landscaping?
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User
Original Author
last year
Thanks for replying. For now I have them coming to simply cut up the huge fallen trees. We have chainsaws but these trees are massive. We want to go in and clean the vine like things and branches all over. Would removing that stuff cause erosion problems? There will still be a bunch of very large standing trees that we won’t cut down. We will landscape around that. Just can’t figure out if we want to make garden steps or steps down with stones . It’s hard to tell in pics and j do t have exact dimensions but once it gets flat there is a good piece of level land
beesneeds
last year
Hard to tell how much you can remove with just pics. Depends on what your soil is made of, how much rain you get, how stable the slope is or isn't currently. If you are new to this property and haven't seen it outside of winter, you might want to wait and see what grows in before you start bigger cleanup. You might also get a landscaping pro in that deals with your kind of situation- they can help you plan in your steps, help with plantings, and so on.
User
Original Author
last year
Thanks so much for this detailed response. There is so much poison ivy. My father frequently comes through and cuts it. It’s gotten so bad many of the trees are already strangled ( if that’s the correct terminology. ) I like the idea of pathways through the woods. It would be a beautiful view. Mulching would help it look cleaner as well. I need to look into winter rye as well. I has thought about backfilling and leveling it a bit but I imagine I’d need a lot of dirt for more than half an acre that’s about 6 ft deep haha
nickel_kg
last year
Poison Ivy is a native that supports so much wildlife but yeah, it needs to grow somewhere that people aren't, not in our yards!

Have you been able to identify what other plant species you have? A house near me has a sloped woodland I salivate over each spring -- tall trees, understory of dogwood and redbud, and they've plants tons of daffodils, bluebells, peonies etc under it all.
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
last year
Taming it should not be the goal unless you like working outside. It sounds like you have started down a path that is going to be expensive in terms of time, effort and $$$. Are you really sure that's the direction you want to go?

What is the end goal? What does 'more useful' mean to you? A lot of times cleaning up an area like this just makes it easier for the things you really don't want to get a foothold.
User
Original Author
last year
Hi . Responding to you both I haven’t identified anything except we have a bunch of oaks and maples and cedar and some black walnut, pine. We have a lot. We also have a red thorny bush that seems to be everywhere as well.. not sure what it is and tons of root that look like turmeric and ginger ( though I know that we don’t have that growing hahah)
We are definitely not swimming in the money and that’s why I hesitate to start but I’m willing to put in a ton of labor myself ( minus the huge tree cut down and cut up of the fallen ones obviously) . Luckily my parents have a lot of stone on their property that I can transport here to help. I want a solution for the leaves and I know everyone else does too! Wish there weee something we can do each fall instead of blowing or taking into the woods or in our case that slope behind the house

Usable meaning
1. aesthetically not a disaster zone,but we are not planning a huge pool project or anything tremendously expensive
2. our family can actually walk down there without being knee deep in leaves, ticks and possible have a tree limb fall on us.
  3( we also have access to a lot of bamboo that we’d like to plant for privacy from the school and side neighbor ( only one side)
nickel_kg
last year
last modified: last year
Bamboo -- I wouldn't do it, because even if you pick a non-running variety it doesn't fit in with a woodland look ('a lot of bamboo' sounds like a spreading type -- no, please no). A mixed hedge of cedar, holly, deciduous holly, and arrow wood viburnum would give privacy, attract birds, and look nice.

Red thorny bush is likely japanese barberry -- a nasty invasive, grub it all out or cut and keep spraying the regrowth until it gives up.

You're so lucky to have a source of free rocks! Rocks and tree trunks can line a path through the woods.
mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
last year
Find a local park with naturalistic woodland trails, and look at them closely. What you are looking for is trails that are dirt, but somewhat maintained - there may be downed trees used as edging or step risers. I thought I had pictures, but not on this computer. It will give you an idea of what your goal should be for access.

Woodland edges tend to be scruffy. In deeper woods, the shade inhibits the growth of most shrubs, so the area looks fairly clean. Narrow strips of woods, like this, are only edges, and every invasive plant known to your area is going to try and set up residence and create an impenetrable mess.
User
Original Author
last year
I appreciate all of this feedback and info. Are you ( both of you) in the field? So in your honest opinion is it worth starting ? If I am consistent with killing the invasive species can it stay nice or is it something I have to give 100%to all the time?
nickel_kg
last year
Goodness yes it's worth starting! Don't imagine you'll be "done" in a week, or one season, or even one year ... but you will see progress. As you work you'll learn about your soil, your plants, your conditions, and you'll develop ideas. Then tweak those ideas. Then decide the path should go there.... Take pictures as you go along, so you can enjoy how much you've accomplished :-)

Realistically I'd dedicate your first year to going after the invasives (learn about them here: dcnr.pa.gov/fact sheets) and getting a feel for where you could use privacy, where the views are the best, where you get the most sun, the least sun, the wettest, the driest areas, etc. By next fall, you'll have a better idea of what needs to be planted, built (bird baths, owl or bat houses, bird feeder stations ...)

That was a great suggestion by mad-gallica, to go to natural areas near you - parks, arboretums, nature preserves, all to train your eye to what is "right" for your area.

I'd buy hard copy guides to trees, vegetation, birds, and butterflies. Encourage your family to take an interest too. At my previous house (on four mostly wooded acres) we kept an annual list of birds we saw, fun to see how many species, what time of year they came back. (How I miss that house -- I'm not a professional, just a 'nature nut' from birth and lucky enough to have parents and grandparents who encouraged me to explore, observe, grow, and learn.)

There's so many books and websites to help. Here's one I've enjoyed: Humane Gardener.com I could go on and on but that might be enough for now!
Christopher CNC
last year
An annual mowing or chop down between the trees plus picking up all the sticks will go a long way to helping you get rid of the unwanted woody vines and invasives that may be in there. The forest is messy. Clean it up and you are well on your way to nice woodland garden that is habitat for all kinds of wildlife and a place for you to wander and enjoy.
Kelly Jones
last year
Please don't use Roundup!

https://careygillam.com/articles
einportlandor
last year
Contact your state Extension Service and your local Soil and Water Conservation District to see what assistance they might have available. If nothing else they'll probably have educational materials that can help you decide on a path forward. Good luck with your project!
User
Original Author
last year
Thank you all for the feedback. Really appreciate it. I will post pics of progress:)
@nickel_kg great suggestions thanks for taking the time to explain. And how lovely that your family encouraged you and your sharing the wealth:)
Have a great day all. And if you happen to stumble on pic or ideas, keep them coming!! :) I’m also looking to see how I can block the unsightly yard of a neighbor who happen to be Lower than us. It proving difficult bc in order to block the view from our deck we’d need to build a 50ft tall fence haha
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HiiGuru
last year
last modified: last year
Hello ilovecolor2022 ! There are 3 main things to consider:

Invasive plants / weeds: Need to hire professionals to clear them up otherwise the value of the property will be down and it will affect the growth of plants in the future.

Existing trees: If it's possible, can hire people to do tree inspection to ensure what trees are allowed to cut down and which trees need to be kept. The roots spaces will affect where you can change the soil level without impacting the growth of trees

Slope: With deep slopes, your options would be to create a leveled space using either retaining walls or terraces. It's better to have a survey and design confirmed before you start implementing any changes. With slope issues, drainage becomes a sensitive issue, as any water discharge to adjacent properties should be avoided.

Hope this is helpful!
User
Original Author
last year
Thanks so much for the reply. I’ve hired professional! Can’t wait to see what it looks like once it’s cleaned!

desperately seeking landscaping help!!

nickel_kg

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