What do I do with this part of my yard now?

Yesterday I spent a good portion of the afternoon doing this. I wish I had taken a before-photo, the weeds were knee-high and a few random flowers, but mostly just an eyesore. It's also a sizeable patch, if the photo doesn't show it.

Ex-SWMBO started to mess with it but didn't get far, except plant the Japanese bush on the left side (I left it). I'm not a gardener. I have no interest in doing much with it that takes upkeep like flowers. What can I do with it? I thought colored stones but heard they were expensive.

Any ideas? (And how do I keep anything from growing back? Plastic? Weed killer? Other ideas?)

Pave it and paint it green, never mow again

Weed killer, plastic sheeting, rubber mulch (expensive, but a one time event), rocks as features. One and done, but should look presentable for years with little/no ongoing maintenance.

Dwarf trees. Just mow underneath.

Could be as expensive as a Japanese maple, or something cheap that produces fruit. We got a dwarf peach for $30.

needs some car yard art

Looks like a nice spot for a BiTurbo

Plant a fruit tree. Whatever is tasty and grows well there.

Do you actually want to have a garden of some type, or do you want to pull up the stones, and just make it more lawn? I ended up doing a bit of that at my Moms house while I was in college, houses previous owners seemed to love putting pointless bushes in the middle of the yard, chainsaw, yanking decorate rock, and a touch of grass seed had it in order pretty shortly.

You could also plastic sheet it and put mulch (or pea gravel) over it, but is that what you really want?

Wall-e wrote: Pave it and paint it green, never mow again

I'd also say, pull all the rocks, till it under, plant new grass seed.

Ditch the rocks (unless you want to amp it up and get more to make it more of a feature) plus throw a couple of hostas around the light pole in about a 3' radius. Can't kill em.

kazoospec wrote: Weed killer, plastic sheeting, rubber mulch (expensive, but a one time event), rocks as features. One and done, but should look presentable for years with little/no ongoing maintenance.

I like this so far. But car art does intrigue me. I want to leave it sectioned off (not part of the lawn again, it is easy to mow around since it's on the edge of my yard). That's my neighbor's house on the hill, I'm to the left of the photo.

No real garden. No flowers. Really nothing that grows, except the Japanese thing I like (she kind of bought it because I liked it).

R/C car race track

Grtechguy wrote: I'd also say, pull all the rocks, till it under, plant new grass seed.

+1. If you don't want to deal with maintenance, turn it back into lawn. I wouldn't even plant grass seed. Just pull the rocks out and then mow it as you would the rest of the yard. Nature will take care of the rest.

If you plant you want Hostas and Ornamental grasses.
Sample:

These require no maintenance and can grow about anywhere.

I suggest tethering a goat to that lamppost. It classes up the joint, and the goat will likely keep the future growth well-trimmed. Another option is chickens. I know for a fact that they will keep that patch of earth scratched down to bare dirt.

Half a load of gravel and park a trailer on it?

1988RedT2 wrote: Another option is chickens. I know for a fact that they will keep that patch of earth scratched down to bare dirt.

She actually wanted to do that for a similar section in the backyard. But we checked the local ordinances, no go. (Although backyard out of sight probably not a big deal.)

I'd return it to grass if you didn't want it to be a flower bed.

Or the goat thing so every time you see it, it reminds you of that time you went to Jamaica. At least it would for me, there were goats everywhere.

Low colorful ground cover.

Jerry wrote:

1988RedT2 wrote: Another option is chickens. I know for a fact that they will keep that patch of earth scratched down to bare dirt.

She actually wanted to do that for a similar section in the backyard. But we checked the local ordinances, no go. (Although backyard out of sight probably not a big deal.)

Yeah, the backyard chicken movement is pretty popular. Unless you have a HOA, in most municipalities you will not have a problem if you're keeping half a dozen or so and keep their quarters tidy. Who's to say you can't have a few chickens as pets?

Edit: Please change all instances of "chickens" in the above to "hens." Roosters are noisy.

JohnRW1621 wrote: If you plant you want Hostas and Ornamental grasses. Sample: These require no maintenance and can grow about anywhere.

I need this. Can it cover a acre or so?

Do you hate your neighbors?

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2013/05/phony-tombstones-used-as-scarecrow-for-vagrants/

Just need to find some "blem" tombstones from the local engraver.

mondo grass