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  1. #1
    Senior Dog janedoe's Avatar
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    What would you do with these flower beds?

    I have taken on my neighbor's property. He is getting older and starting to have physical issues and had some tickborne disease a few years ago that he's still having problems with. He told me to treat the property as my own and to use it as if it were a big experiment. Loosely speaking, that means that he has been mowing but hasn't done much else. He has lived there for forty years and has a long history with my husband's family.

    I started with the lawn which had become moss and the new grass is coming in well. Then I trimmed back some of the trees to bring in some more sunlight. Today I started taking out the deadwood on the trees.

    Then I ran across these really odd flower beds. There aren't a lot of flowers left and it's a pretty shady area but I think it gets enough sunlight to bring them back once I take out the saplings that have invaded.

    The thing I'm running into with the flower beds is that two are bordered by brick which is a little iffy at this point. Another, very long one, is bordered by buried sheet metal. I'm having a hard time trying to figure out what to do with these things. They are lined up in a row. I'm thinking that it would be nice to change the borders to stone but my primary issue is what to do with the one with the sheet metal. It's not just unattractive, I think it's unsafe as well. The new neighbors on the other side of his property have a child and a dog. It comes up above ground by about 2-3 inches.

    I keep thinking that I need to pull this stuff up but I don't know how deep it goes. Are there any other options like building up the ground and covering it in stone? What would you do?

  2. #2
    Senior Dog ckfalz's Avatar
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    Could you put in a stone or paver border that is flush to the sheet metal so that it both hides the sheet metal and makes it safer?
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  4. #3
    Senior Dog Jeff's Avatar
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    I would dig down and see how deep it goes, but also ask if there is some reason for it.

    It may actually serve a purpose. Here in Michigan, there is a building code for basement windows that are bedrooms. The windows have to be clear and dry. Now in the old days they had to use steel to help hold back the earth, but as they found steel rusts eventually. Anyway, now they do this with bricks and things and it is a lot safer and last longer but in the old days steel was used for a lot of things usually keeping water out. So anyway, if that is the reason then it could actually go as deep as the foundation of the house and messing with it could cause issues.

    Ok one thing to check out first. If it is just landscaping, I would drill a few holes in it low to the ground. Put a chain through it and back a truck up and pull it out. Landscaping like that usually only went about 4-6 inches deep. Should come right up out of there.

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  6. #4
    Senior Dog POPTOP's Avatar
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    Could you post pictures?

    How far does the metal edging go into the ground? It may be that it is a good barrier for grass invasion. If that is the case, I would work around it, adding something like stone blocks to cover it. Sheet metal is a hazard, it's so sharp. Jeff has an excellent idea for taking it out if needed.

    What's in the garden? From what you describe, hostas would be a good choice (shady/partial shade) and they are very hardy.

    So nice of you to help this older gentleman. We have a similar situation with an older couple. Right now their grandchildren are keeping the grass mowed. I so seldom see them and wanted to talk to them about the little bit of garden they do have, cleaning it up. I've hesitated to knock on the door; he has had a heart attack and is wheelchair bound and she is not in great health either. Know they rest a lot and don't want to wake them up.

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  8. #5
    Senior Dog CraftHer's Avatar
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    I would try to get rid of the metal. We have a couple of places in our yard where the junk over the last 50 years have accumulated from the previous owner and has grown over. Including a piece of metal that I spent a while trying to dig up, with no success. It sticks up out of the ground and I'm afraid it'll hurt someone or Mocha. So I vote for taking the metal out if you can.

    As for plants, hostas would be a good choice. There are many varieties and they grow well in the sun or shade. Shasta daisies and stelladorra and day lillies are nice and not too much maintenance. If there's a sunny area, herbs are nice, too.

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  10. #6
    Senior Dog Labradorks's Avatar
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    Can you post images? I'm having a hard time understanding.

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  12. #7
    Senior Dog janedoe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jeff View Post
    I would dig down and see how deep it goes, but also ask if there is some reason for it.

    It may actually serve a purpose. Here in Michigan, there is a building code for basement windows that are bedrooms. The windows have to be clear and dry. Now in the old days they had to use steel to help hold back the earth, but as they found steel rusts eventually. Anyway, now they do this with bricks and things and it is a lot safer and last longer but in the old days steel was used for a lot of things usually keeping water out. So anyway, if that is the reason then it could actually go as deep as the foundation of the house and messing with it could cause issues.

    Ok one thing to check out first. If it is just landscaping, I would drill a few holes in it low to the ground. Put a chain through it and back a truck up and pull it out. Landscaping like that usually only went about 4-6 inches deep. Should come right up out of there.
    At first I was going to say that it can't serve a purpose because it's a good 30 ft from the house. Then I realized that this is the area that my husband told me the well used to be when he was a kid. Now I'm wondering if it's not edging so much as a tub of some kind to prevent excessive water from getting to that area or something. I'll dig down a little bit and see. If that's the case, it's beyond the scope of what I'm willing to take on on someone else's property. Thanks for helping me think that through.

  13. #8
    Senior Dog janedoe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Labradorks View Post
    Can you post images? I'm having a hard time understanding.
    I definitely will. It's like someone took a sheet of metal and stuck it in the ground with the edge sticking up by a few inches.

  14. #9
    Senior Dog janedoe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by CraftHer View Post
    I would try to get rid of the metal. We have a couple of places in our yard where the junk over the last 50 years have accumulated from the previous owner and has grown over. Including a piece of metal that I spent a while trying to dig up, with no success. It sticks up out of the ground and I'm afraid it'll hurt someone or Mocha. So I vote for taking the metal out if you can.

    As for plants, hostas would be a good choice. There are many varieties and they grow well in the sun or shade. Shasta daisies and stelladorra and day lillies are nice and not too much maintenance. If there's a sunny area, herbs are nice, too.
    We spent so much money getting rid of that kind of thing systematically over the years on our own property. So frustrating. Every time I tell my husband that I'm surprised I didn't make more progress more quickly, he says, "Remember that trash heap back there? You couldn't even get to it." We even had to get a tree guy to cut down small trees that had barbed wire sticking out of them because they had grown around the wire. I had no idea that was even possible.

    I really like hostas. Another neighbor has so many that I get to look at them all of the time but that would be a great solution for this area.

  15. #10
    Senior Dog janedoe's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by POPTOP View Post
    Could you post pictures?

    How far does the metal edging go into the ground? It may be that it is a good barrier for grass invasion. If that is the case, I would work around it, adding something like stone blocks to cover it. Sheet metal is a hazard, it's so sharp. Jeff has an excellent idea for taking it out if needed.

    What's in the garden? From what you describe, hostas would be a good choice (shady/partial shade) and they are very hardy.

    So nice of you to help this older gentleman. We have a similar situation with an older couple. Right now their grandchildren are keeping the grass mowed. I so seldom see them and wanted to talk to them about the little bit of garden they do have, cleaning it up. I've hesitated to knock on the door; he has had a heart attack and is wheelchair bound and she is not in great health either. Know they rest a lot and don't want to wake them up.
    There's nothing actually there now except some ground vine which flowers purple and is nice but is elsewhere on the property. Half of this particular flower bed has been overrun by grass. He tried to mow it last weekend and I heard the mower blade screeching as he went over the metal edging. I'm surprised he didn't ruin the mower.

    I was amazed that he was so grateful for the help. He used to be so insistent about taking care of the mowing and keeping his property clear of sticks and debris. Now he talks about how old and tired he is but he's only 64 so I'm worried about him. Some of his behavior reminds me of MIL and I don't think his son has figured it out. I subtly suggested that my Cub Cadet would take care of his lawn in a heartbeat and it would really help me out to see if it could handle the hill behind his house and he jumped at the "offer". I'm always telling him and his other neighbors how much fun and rewarding it is for me. I'll bet your neighbors would love your expertise.

    As I was writing this, my husband woke up and told me that he remembers that the well was covered with planks so I think the area is hazardous. I'm going to have to cover the metal with something. Maybe make it a raised bed or something. I want to make all of them match though. It just looks weird now. I'll take pics tomorrow.

 



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