I am clueless and need some suggestions

[calico2222]

Hi everyone. I'm Hope and I need help! We just built a house on 5 acres of land which was mostly clean cut. So, right now, we have a house in the middle of a mud pit. We're getting ready to put down top soil and plant grass but I have NO idea about plants. We live in West Virginia with woods all around us. I want something natural looking and low maintance, but still looks nice. I've never had a yard before (not to mention 5 acres) and I don't have any idea where to start! Any suggestions, links, websites, anything would be appriciated! Thanks in advance.

[neetanddave]

Welcome to VF Hope. I'll have to think on some ideas for you.....

[LokisMum]

Wow - 5 acres! I wouldn't think you would want to put all of it in grass - it would be a full-time job mowing the lawn! :lol3: Anyway, some areas for naturalized plants such as decorative grasses, naturally some trees and shrubs would be good! Flower beds naturally, go for perennials that will multiply and come back every year. My God - a blank slate - every gardener's dream! Not sure which plants are good for your neck of the woods, but a local nursery could tell you what would do well there.

[calico2222]

Yeah, 5 acres is too much grass! Mainly the grass would be in the front where its fairly level. The back is on a pretty steep grade, so I was thinking about maybe doing a rock garden or something..at least in part of it. If I can figure out how to post pics I can show you what it looks like. Wish me luck!

[neetanddave]

Azaleas would be good to use on a bank, as well as some shorter evergreen shrubs. Daylilies hold up well on a bank as well.

Pics would be a good thing to start with! :D

[Anakat]

Sounds as if you are going to have lots of fun. Posting pics here is the same as TCS, if that is any help.

[calico2222]

Sounds as if you are going to have lots of fun. Posting pics here is the same as TCS, if that is any help.

LOL...not really! I haven't figured it out on there either! I know it has something to do with photobucket and I used to know how to do it. Of course, I haven't really read up on it again. Guess I have a project for this week.

[LokisMum]

Yup, just go into photobucket and sign in. Once you're in, you'll get an area for uploading pics. They only put one space but you can add more by selecting "Add more images". Just hit the browse and it takes you to the directories and folders on your computer and you just select the picture you want to upload. Once you've finished selecting pictures, just hit the upload button and you're there! To put into forums, just copy the IMG code (each picture will have 3 codes - it's the last one) into your post and your picture will be there. Have fun! :SmilieDaisy:

[Steve]

Yeah, 5 acres is too much grass! Mainly the grass would be in the front where its fairly level. The back is on a pretty steep grade, so I was thinking about maybe doing a rock garden or something..at least in part of it. If I can figure out how to post pics I can show you what it looks like. Wish me luck!

Welcome to the forum, Hope! 5 acres is an intimidating amount of area, lol. West Virginia is very similar to Kentucky where I grew up. It has 4 seasons, very distinct, lots of hardwood trees and lots of possibilities!

Here's a weird fact: A person could order big old rocks (and I mean big ones) and hire a contractor with some sort of bulldozer or trackhoe to place rocks on that slope at your back yard for less money than you might think. Granted, it aint free, lol, but just because machines are large does not mean they cannot get enormous amounts of work done quickly. I have done this for others many times. The larger machines get a lot of work done very fast. Typically, for example, they rent out for, say $100/hour (perhaps less), I'm speaking of a large excavator/trackhoe. Get one with a "thumb" that can grasp the rocks, rotate and place them, they can pick up a two ton rock like nobody's business and have it snuggled in the ground in nothing flat. Someone with a good eye and efficient working manner can probably place over 100 good size rocks in a day. That's only 12 rocks an hour. I am not sure what rocks cost there, but here, I can get about 20-25 rocks for about $20-30 apiece when ordered in bulk. You might want to ask a quarry if they deliver directly.

Having said that, bear in mind one other fact: This is something you only do once. Landscaping can be expensive but it does have the "one time" factor: Once you've done it, all you do after that is tweak it and have less expensive fun with your own land.

For plants and such, the odd tree is a great idea, shrubbery is a must, I suppose, but the idea of perennials is superb, in my estimation. You can buy them small and watch them grow. Not many things supply the lasting bloomage and expansive growth rate of perennials. Black Eyed Susans, Daisies of all kinds, yes, the grasses (great idea!), Lupines, Jeez, the mind reels. You will probably have deep shade areas, too, but full sun works just as well. Get with the pictures and let'c check it out!