Please help my ugly driveway!

[patandchickens]

Oh, ah, ok -- well if there is no livestock in those paddocks now, your task is... I was going to say 'easier' but that is not the right word, 'very doable' is closer.

It looks to me from the pix like you have no real soil left, and basically need to add large quantities of organic matter. Even composted stall cleanings would be *something*. Because nothing much can grow there, though, you will have trouble with it just washing away. If it is possible to scrape some shallow swales across the hill, accurately on-contour (so the swale itself has no slope), it'll slow down runoff some, and catch some of what wants to wash downhill. It'll be a difficult job, though... good example of why people (meaning the previous inhabitants) have no business letting land get in such a state, because it is FAR easier to avoid than to fix :/

I'd suggest a soil test, fertilize as prescribed, add any and all organic matter available, then (probably next fall) reseed with a shade-tolerant mix, preferably with a light straw mulch (again, pin it down with netting if you can).

If there are any tree services in your area looking for somewhere to dump their chippings, tell 'em boy have you got a solution to their problems

Good luck,

Pat

 

[ninjapoodles]

My husband suggests digging a long the fence and installing a french drain system to control in what direction the run off goes. It will give you a chance to absorb more water under the top soil causing less top soil erosion. It quite a simple system to do... we are putting one under our lavender bed so no water sits until the plants. '

Its an underground ditch lined with gravel and then run PVC pipe through it with openings to let water in. I suggest screening the openings. You can find ready made drain systems... but they are kinda pricey when you need a lot!

The gravel and pvc pipe with joints is much cheaper.

I also wanna suggest some rain garden plants! I know Creepy Jenny and several other ground cover vines that LOVE the moisture. I think Native plants for your area are the best way to go. I'm also going to throw in that there are WONDERFUL and TONS of hostas out there that should thrive well along the fence line.

Hostas? REALLY? I have lots of hostas behind the house, amongst the rocks, but it never occured to me that they could do well out front, especially in the drive!

We had French drains at our last place, but what's been hanging us up as far as doing that here is that we'd pretty much have to tear up our asphalt and run it underneath, and we can't afford to do that. Otherwise, the drains would just empty onto the asphalt...ARRRGH, I need a consulting engineer and a budget of several thousand dollars!

 

[ninjapoodles]

Oh, ah, ok -- well if there is no livestock in those paddocks now, your task is... I was going to say 'easier' but that is not the right word, 'very doable' is closer.

It looks to me from the pix like you have no real soil left, and basically need to add large quantities of organic matter. Even composted stall cleanings would be *something*. Because nothing much can grow there, though, you will have trouble with it just washing away. If it is possible to scrape some shallow swales across the hill, accurately on-contour (so the swale itself has no slope), it'll slow down runoff some, and catch some of what wants to wash downhill. It'll be a difficult job, though... good example of why people (meaning the previous inhabitants) have no business letting land get in such a state, because it is FAR easier to avoid than to fix :/

I'd suggest a soil test, fertilize as prescribed, add any and all organic matter available, then (probably next fall) reseed with a shade-tolerant mix, preferably with a light straw mulch (again, pin it down with netting if you can).

If there are any tree services in your area looking for somewhere to dump their chippings, tell 'em boy have you got a solution to their problems

Good luck,

Pat

Thanks so much for all the help, everyone. This forum is stuffed full of so many experts, I just love it!

Yeah, we've talked about having some 'dozer work done, but we need to find someone who knows what they're doing, so they don't make it worse.

Honestly, I would plant some kind of creeping viny ground-cover, even, just to have something there.

I will admit to having an adversarial relationship with this property. We moved because my husband was obsessed with getting a bigger house (my "single gal" house was only about 1,000SF), and I left behind 10 acres of gorgeous Tifton 44 Bermuda, a large pond, and a 5-stall barn with paddocks. I am still bitter about it, I think, and I've not done the work that needs to be done on the "new" place, largely because I still resent the property.

I'm hoping to improve my attitude a bit with some "garden therapy." If I can make my home more inviting, I think I will like it more, and be happier there. My husband has put up with a lot, animal-wise, over the years, so I'd like to learn to love this place, and make the best of it.

 

[ninjapoodles]

This may be a stupid question, but what do you think would happen if I dropped a few sedum plants here and there along the drive, in the areas that don't get heavy water runoff? I did that at my last place, along with creeping thyme, and it self-spread really well in a stone walkway, but that was a wetter environment.