Show us your Problem Areas

[Josue Diaz]

I was just thinking today that just about every gardener I know has a part of the yard that for one reason or another just never seems to be everything they hoped for. I've got one. It's the back corner behind my garage. It's an awkward spot, not really appropriate for hanging out due to the proximity to phone and electricity lines. There's not nearly enough sun for growing veggies or fruits, or fruit trees - even weeds don't grow here. My neighbor's huge oak litters the ground daily, so it's constantly in need of raking/sweeping. To top it off, this area has no irrigation set up. Every time I think about doing something to spruce it up, I'm overwhelmed and end up putting it off. The fact that this space is out of sight only helps me to continue to push it off. The only plants that I think may actually do well here may be clivia and perhaps some neglect-tolerant chamaedorea like radicalis. 

 

Anyone care to show their trouble areas? Maybe that spot where you pile all your green waste? Or where palms/plants go to die? Please show us pics! And if you've overcome, show us what you did! I, for one, could use the inspiration. 

[Stevetoad]

This area for me sucks. No direct sun light due to the fence but super hot because the house reflects the heat. Been very hard to get anything to grow well here. The double foxtail is looking the best it ever has and even then looks not great. 

[Josue Diaz]

20 minutes ago, Stevetoad said:

This area for me sucks. No direct sun light due to the fence but super hot because the house reflects the heat. Been very hard to get anything to grow well here. The double foxtail is looking the best it ever has and even then looks not great. 

Man, I feel ya. Those long, narrow side yards are difficult to work with. 

[Stevetoad]

Just now, Josue Diaz said:

Man, I feel ya. Those long, narrow side yards are difficult to work with. 

My north facing side yard is great. Lucky it’s much wider too. Impossible to take a photo of but it’s a jungle. 

[Palm Tree Jim]

Looking forward to seeing this thread progress. 

 

[nachocarl]

Any area I plant a Dypsis.

[Tracy]

My problem area is burdened by my neighbor's Brazilian pepper tree, which I attribute the problem to.  I try to keep the Brazilian pepper trimmed so that it isn't dropping the little seeds all over my yard, but when we get Santa Ana winds our of the east, it blows them right into my yard to the west.  I lost a Ravenea sambiranensis in this spot, and replaced it with a cycad (Encephalartos sclavoi), then added another sclavoi on the other side of an Encephalartos longifolius I brought from another garden.  Neither of the E scalvoi's have flushed, and the E longifolius didn't push a normal flush the last time it did actually flush a couple of year's ago.  I added a root barrier along the fence line about 3 years ago as part of replacing my rock driveway with pavers.  I also removed plenty of running roots from the pepper tree at the same time.  These are the three plants last winter, about 6 months ago, and they haven't changed a bit.  Meanwhile I have filled my green garbage bins at least 3 times trimming the Brazilian Pepper over that period.  It is such a weed tree!  I even dug out soil and replaced it about a month ago, to try to address any problems from all the red seeds dropping, but no response yet.

[Missi]

The ground in my far-back lot is sugar sand covering marl (limestone clay). On top of that, it is also the area that gets the most frost each winter. Pseudophoenix sargentii, Sabal mauritiiformis, and Copernicia baileyana are doing well back there though.

[kinzyjr]

Sometimes even the best laid plans generate poor results.  The cactus went into decline, the purple fountain grass has become a maintenance issue, and some weeds are creeping back in.  The good news is that October is right around the corner.  As soon as the caladiums call it a year, the machete and the shovel are coming out and some different plants are going in this spot.  Thankfully, the hedges hide most of it for now.

The ugliest area of my garden by a mile:

[Missi]

On 9/17/2018, 7:17:45, kinzyjr said:

Sometimes even the best laid plans generate poor results.  The cactus went into decline, the purple fountain grass has become a maintenance issue, and some weeds are creeping back in.  The good news is that October is right around the corner.  As soon as the caladiums call it a year, the machete and the shovel are coming out and some different plants are going in this spot.  Thankfully, the hedges hide most of it for now.

The ugliest area of my garden by a mile:

My purple fountain grass looks just the same most of the time 

[kinzyjr]

3 hours ago, Missi said:

My purple fountain grass looks just the same most of the time 

At one point, I used rope to keep the clump tight together.  That helped a little, but it still lays over anytime we get a hard rain (everyday this year).  I'm over it.  Probably going to go with understory palms when I rework this area.

[Really full garden]

This is a problem area for me at the beach. It is an interior garden and it is next to impossible to get the right mix of plants.I has a small pool and waterwall that has to be accesed. It is a small space and eventually most palms grow too large. I am happy with this space at this time, but it is a challenge.