When you enjoy spending time on the golf green and you want the same thing for your own home, it's okay to be selective with the type of grass on your front lawn. That was exactly the case with this project. A specialty grass for a client with a desire for a quality lawn. Now, before we get to the green grass we have to work out a few details that are very important when it comes to implementing a well put together landscape. For this project we addressed many of the common concerns and finished it out with a beautiful front lawn.
This home was built much higher than the neighboring houses. Also, the home was located higher than anywhere else on the property. Now you might think that the builder did a poor job on placement or choose the inexpensive route on excavation for the foundation and slab. But on the contrast, this foundation height was likely very well thought out. One huge benefit to this is the resistance to flooding. This home is located at the low side of the neighborhood and there are active water issues present in this neighborhood. We will talk about drainage more next but this added height in the foundation created some issues, especially between the neighboring house. The slope in this area was approximately 45 degrees and would be hard to maintain a landscape. Bark mulch or decorative rock in a planter bed would likely slide down the hill. Alternatively, grass would be too steep and difficult to mow. A retaining wall was built in this area of the yard to assist with the slope as well as creating a nice visual appeal and a barrier between properties. For a more detailed look at what goes into a retaining wall check out this article on Building a Retaining Wall with Concrete Paver Blocks.
When you live in a region that receives on average 47 inches of rain per year, drainage should always be a consideration. In this situation it was especially important. Whenever you build a retaining wall you need to be especially mindful of any extra surcharge that may be placed on the wall. Saturated soils above a paver block retaining wall can quickly become heavy and overwhelm the retaining wall. Depending on the soil type this can quickly result in a wall failure. In this particular case we installed the usual drainage aggregate behind the wall and a perforated pipe as well as routed the rain gutter downspouts through a solid pipe and away from the retaining wall. Additionally, surrounding the house we extended gutter downspouts into the yard with pop-up emitter drains to discourage erosion and move water away from the home foundation.
One great way to dress up the front of your home is with the installation of a decorative planter bed. There are many different garden styles to choose from. In this case the client elected to install decorative rock and large landscape boulders for a low maintenance, yet enhanced curb appeal. With decorative rock it is always important to install the rocks at a minimum depth of three inches so sunlight does not deteriorate the weed fabric. We also recommend using commercial grade, 5 ounce weed fabric. Lesser quality fabrics can quickly break down and do not hold up well to the elements. Another element to a clean looking planter bed is the edge or border. In this case we elected to go with a 4” tall metal edging. This will reduce the likelihood of the front lawn encroaching on the plater bed area. It will also keep dissimilar materials separated.
The backyard at this location was larger in size. If you have a large area that needs grass to be installed, it often makes more sense to seed or hydroseed the area. Hydroseed is a spray mulch with seeds. The mulch contains fertilizer as well as helps hold moisture and prevent the seeds from blowing or washing away. No matter what grass installation method is chosen the same amount of care and preparation should still be given. Whether you are doing sod or seed water is an important element. For more detailed information check out this article on: Proper Care and Watering for New Seed or Sod Lawns. In this case we elected to save costs and only put sprinklers in the front yard. But for the backyard we installed temporary irrigation to assist with establishing the new lawn.
For the front yard sprinklers we did a full install. Complete with a WiFi Sprinkler Controller, backflow and head to head coverage with the rotor and spray heads so there are no dry spots. Since this was a new build and the driveway was already in place we had to install the main line and wires around the house to connect water and the controller to both sides of the driveway. If plants were installed in the decorative garden bed we could have also installed subsurface drip to any plants for a low maintenance watering and care. One huge advantage of using drip irrigation in the garden bed is you are only giving the plants that you want to grow water. You're not watering the weeds!
And last but not least, the main spotlight of this project goes to the chosen lawn variety. Zoysia sod was installed in the front yard. It is a popular grass for golf course fairways and tees. One reason for this is it’s self healing capabilities. Additionally, if large bare spots develop due to disease, insects or other factors, patches can be easily repaired with plugs from other areas of the lawn. Zoysia is a warm season grass which makes it more heat and drought tolerant. It is also a very durable variety that holds up well to foot traffic. It can also be cut at a lower height (1-2 inches) which creates a very manicured golf course green appearance. For this project it finished out the front yard nicely and the homeowner couldn’t agree more: “Our yard is the best in the neighborhood!”
We are always looking for ways to meet every homeowner’s vision for what the end result will be and provide the best quality. Every person has a different priority and we strive to identify what that main element is in a project and center everything else around that. This was a fun project to be part of and we think it turned out exceptional as well!
Jasper Ridge landscaping provides “Professional Landscape Services” to the Joplin and surrounding areas; including Carl Junction and Webb City. Our service area is contained within Jasper and Newton Counties in Missouri (MO). For more information about Jasper Ridge LLC please contact us using the contact form.
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