Your Slab is Showing

"I see your slab!" How embarrassing! Having an exposed slab is not only an unsightly scene, but it can also cause long term damage to your foundation.

(Exposed slab...no shame.)

 

Usually an exposed slab like this one is caused from erosion of the land. Basically, over time, the weather causes the ground to slowly wash away from the house. This process eventually exposes the concrete footing of your foundation.

(The ground slowly erodes away from the foundation.)

(More slab exposing itself.)

(Even more slab exposure! Cover your eyes!)

 

A good way to fix an exposed slab is to cover it with some type of landscaping. In this example, the homeowner requested decomposed granite adjacent to the house. To hold the decomposed granite and keep it from pouring out, we built a small retaining wall using landscape lumber. Since the granite wasn't going to be too high, we stacked only two rows of landscape lumber. A small trench was dug two feet away from the house. The first row of wood was then placed into the trench.

(First row placed down.)

 

After the bottom layer of the lumber was in place, we put the second row on top of the first. To secure the two rows together, we used 1/2" dowel rods that were 18" long.

 

(1/2" dowel rod, 18" long, just like what was mentioned in above.)

 

A hole was drilled through the wood to make the dowels go in easier through the lumber and into the ground. 12" of the rod is the ground to make it secure, while the other 6" of the rod are in the lumber to hold them together (see illustration below). This method of staking the lumber down was preferred since the dowels won't be seen when they're drilled into the wood. 

(A fancy illustration of how the dowels were placed. A picture is worth a thousand words.)

 

After the lumber is secured, landscape fabric was laid out where the decomposed granite was going to be. This barrier prevents any weeds, plants, etc. from growing through the decomposed granite. After the fabric was placed, the real work began. The granite is poured, spread out, and compacted to prevent it from being loose and washing away.

(Decomposed granite on top of the landscape fabric. The water bottles aren't part of the materials for the job, but they sure do help!)

 

After many, many wheel barrow trips of loading the decomposed granite, spreading it out, and compacting it, the job is complete.

(The exposed slab is finally covered up.)

 

The exposed concrete footing is now a thing of the past. No more embarrassing looks and whispers from people walking by. The home owner now has a nice, decorative walking path next to their house.

(No more slab exposing itself.)

(You can open your eyes now.)

 

Other decorative options of covering exposed concrete footings are: making a vegetable garden or planting shrubs and flowers. Doing this not only adds value to your home, but it also it also creates a nice-looking piece of landscape to enjoy.



To Bag, or Not To Bag

Admit it, we've all neglected our yards at one point or another.  Sometimes we get lazy and sometimes we're just too busy.  You know the drill: you get the gusto to get up, you put on your "yard work" clothes and you take out the lawn mower.  Then you stop and think to yourself, "Is my grass too high to leave the clippings?  Should I put on my lawn mower bag?  Hmm..to bag, or not to bag?"  Well, you probably don't really think that in your head, but for this post's sake, let's say that you did.

Leaving grass clippings behind is great for your yard.  First off, it acts as a natural fertilizer.  The nitrogen that is in the cut grass blades get sent back into the soil, fertilizing it as it breaks down.  Secondly, the clippings will also act as a mulch for your yard.  This can greatly help to reduce the growth of weeds.

However, if your grass gets too long, then leaving the clippings behind will actually hurt your yard.  The cut grass will be too thick and clumpy as you mow.  Leaving these clumps in the yard will actually smother your grass.  Your grass won't be able to get any light from the sun and will start to slowly die off.  So if your grass is considerably long, then you should bag it.  The good thing about bagging your clippings is that you can use it as a mulch somewhere in your landscaping, or it can be put in a compost pile.

So now you're probably thinking, "How long should I let my grass grow before I have to mow it?"  I'm a mind reader, I know...I've been told that before.  Ideally, your yard should be cut once a week.  But we all know that this doesn't happen.  Letting it go for two or three weeks is ok.  But what happens if you let it go for a month...or two...or even three months (that's basically almost a whole season)?  If that's the case, then you can call Colorful Yards Landscaping and we'll take care of it for you!

Here is a picture of a yard that went a little too long in between mowings:

This grass needs to be bagged!  If you look closely, you can see a bicycle that went missing some time ago.  Just kidding, there is no missing bike...at least I hope there isn't.

Here is what the yard looks like after it had been mowed and bagged away:

 

Afterwards, some residents came by to check on the work that had been done.

They were probably wondering where their meadow went.


Here is some grass that doesn't need to be bagged:

This grass is long, but not too long where it will leave clumps behind.  These clippings will be perfect to be left on the ground.

So hopefully this answers the age-old question of whether or not you should bag your clippings.  Stay tuned for the next post, which will be about mulching.

Patriotic Project

With Independence Day upon us, I thought I'd share my Patriotic Project with you. For about $25 and 15 minutes, you can show your love of the red, white, and blue through flowering plants. You can do this project as early as May as a festive way to celebrate Memorial Day, Flag Day, and Independence Day.  It is also a great gift idea for a soldier returning home.

For this project I used three different plants, a terracotta container of my liking, and potting soil. All of these materials can be found at your local home and garden store. 

To represent the blue, I used a plumbago plant. It is a perennial, meaning it will endure year after year without having to reseed or replant. It also thrives in summer heat, which is a plus for south Texas.

For red, I used another perennial called a firebush. It is very tolerant to heat and drought.  A really cool feature is that its tubular-shaped flowers resemble fireworks popping in the sky!

For the last color, I used a white vinca, another drought and heat tolerant plant. These are annuals and will only live for one growing season. These are the plants I chose to represent the colors of our flag.  However, if something else strikes your fancy, by all means go with it.  You should personalize your landscape and/or garden to your taste and style.

Now the "how-to." First, pour a little bit of potting soil into your chosen container, approximately 1/3 full. Remove the tallest plant from its plastic container, break up the soil and roots a little bit, and place into your container on top of the potting soil. If the top of the soil from the potted plant pretty much aligns with the top of your container, you're good. Add or remove potting soil under the plant as needed.

Do the same for the next two plants, starting with the next tallest, and ending with the shortest. Place them where you see fit. You may want to do a little adjusting, just to get the plants where you want them. Next, water them in their new home, just enough to make the soil moist. Last step is to step back and admire your beautiful work!

This quick and easy project is an inexpensive way to bring color to your yard while displaying your patriotism.