I recently installed a GeoThermal furnace and in the process trenches were dug to lay the pipes. But now I have a 100 X 30 of lawn space with just clay on top !!! I DONT'T want to grow grass back. And after the furnace install, I have no money left !!! Can you provide some suggestions for cost effective methods to cover up the mess. One of my current thought is to just cover up with sand and make it a volleyball court !!! Somebody stop me before I dream up even more crazier solutions ...

Thanks for your time...
Mahesh

You need to lead the design.... don't let circumstances take the design initiative away from you.

Maybe part of this area should be in grass and others in beds or hardscape... don't know unless a plan is in place.

"I have no money." and "I DONT'T (sp) want to grow grass back."

The mulch idea would certainly cost far more than the bag of grass seed. I guess that leaves only magic fairy dust. A prerequisite is that posters must also be reasonable.

IronBelly

So the easiest cheapest thing would be to be sure it is reasonably levelled/graded, seed with something not too invasive, and mow for awhile until you figure out what you want to do, and then kill it later in places you are planning something else.

Maybe the grass forum would have some ideas if you specify zone, sun/shade, how easy to water. You would also know best whether you are likely to make this space over in a few months, a year, or several years, and whether you want a temporary solution (like winter rye grass) or more long-lasting, and that also would influence your decision.

But rhodium is right--you likely won't be happy unless you give SOME thought to thinking and planning at least some aspects of what you want to happen in that area eventually---for example, if it's in the sun, and you think you want to have a big vegetable garden there next year, then a big load of mulch or shredded leaves, to start breaking down, will get you closer to good garden soil.

Or, if the area needs to serve several purposes, you can do a rough "bubble diagram" of what you want in that area, which might lead you to mulch part, seed part,lay a temporary rough path of some flagstones or pavers just to keep out of the mud, etc., and then work on the details a bit at a time.

Thanks for all the responses ....sorry for not providing all the relevant information ....

Background :

a) I am originally from India and even after 10 years of living in this wonderful country, I still don't get the point of a lawn. I guess this emotion is prenatal! I don't like it -- pure and simple. And for the same reason, I am not very aware of all the possibilities out there.

b) I have a strong urge to completely concrete the whole yard or some kind of hardscaping with gardens.

c) The lot size is 1/2 acre ( in Michigan) and the house is 1600+ sq ft. This year alone I paid $35 a week for mowing and that is approx $700+.

d) The geothermal furnace installation took out 80 % of the side lawn. There is still 30 x 30 sq ft of grass left ( from the road ).

e) And as mentioned before, I can't afford to implement this -- maybe next spring is a possibility.

f) But in March 2008 , my 5-year ARM ends and I have to do the unpleasant task of refinancing. But before that I am thinking I have to do something about this to get a decent appraisal.

So here is my predicament -

a) I prefer to hardscape/garden the side lawn.
b) But I have to wait till april/may timedframe to do this.
c) But I want a temporary solution before March due to the appraisal( infact before it starts to freeze out here).
d) I would PREFER the temporary solution to be in the hardscaping/garden direction.

The idea about mulch is something I will definitely consider. How about gravel -- would that be of help with the future hardscaping plans ?

Thanks again for all your time and suggestions ..

Most of us posting would be at a loss learning the culture and context of the use of landscape, space, gardens in another culture. I'm still "training" my husband, who grew up in an apartment in Vienna, austria. The American suburb thing is, well, weird in some ways.

That being said, you seem to share some of the issues that many others have brought to this forum:

1. In your first post, at least, you were very uncertain about what you wanted. There are plenty of posts here that start out that way. You've come back with more info and I'm guesssing that people are going to ask you more questions. It's kind of a back and forth to see if the problem can be more clearly defined.

2. You also come with your own inner vision of what you want. You've let us know that it may have roots in your cultural background. Getting clearer about that picture will help your ultimate goal even if it doesn't much change the short term solution. Everyone who posts here comes with their "inner garden". For one person it might come from an idea of what's "right" for an American home. For another it comes from wanting a garden "Just like my grandmother's". For someone else it's cottage garden, or being unconventional, or…
For me there's this garden from my childhood in Melbourne, Australia. Space was understood and used differently than is common in the suburbs of the midwest, and I have to struggle with what I'd like to achieve from that favorite garden and what is practical in my garden today.

3. Getting realistic. That's another thing that you probably share with the rest of us. You need to be realistic about the money and the learning curve needed to understand and develop your property wisely. That steep learning curve is what you pay for when you locate a good landscape designer to help you implement what you want to do. Otherwise, you're the one who has to learn what will work, what will add value to your home, what will detract or help you if you ever have to resell this property.

I can't really say anything about the appraisal issue that is pushing your short-term decision, but it's harder than you may think to achieve any good result in such a short time. (Unless you're willing to use big bucks to achieve a well-planned design. Of course, you would have to have a clear idea that a landscape designer could achieve for you.)
For now, I'm guessing that the appraiser will be more interested in your furnace than in whether or not you've put down mulch, grass seed, or something else. Make your choice based on your long-range goal for landscaping your home.

I'll close with a question. Can you describe what you mean by "hardscape"? I'm not that fond of grass, but I tend to replace it with flower beds, shrubs, trees, etc. It almost sounds like you want to turn your lawn into concrete? The immediate thought of many Americans to that solution would be "prison yard". You also use the expression "hardscape / garden", but I don't know what you mean by that. Can you clarify?

Wellspring

Could you plant yourself a little forest along that strip? Or carpet it entirely in spreading junipers with pathways inbetween?

KarinL
PS where is that old thread in which INK asked about designing a ZERO maintenance garden?

I think concrete or mulch or something similar might be the best idea BUT it has to look like it is there for a reason. Here are some ideas to make it into:

a) Area for parking. Extend the driveway so you have parking around the side. (If you don't have a garage or if it is small, you could build a carport which would help with resell value. However, I'm assuming you have a normal garage in Michigan.)

b) Basketball court. That would only cost for concrete, a basketball hoop and the pole to put it on plus a few painted lines. Think of the homes that have basketball hoops in their driveway - yours would be on the side of the house. (If you have a REALLY big yard, you could do a concrete tennis court, although that would look a little strange in Michigan.)

c) Playground, swingset, or playhouse with whatever it is they use on the ground for a soft landing for kids, but not the expensive rubber stuff. It would help if you can build it yourself. A new playset is expensive but you could get lucky with a used one on Craig's List.

d) A patio. This would need a door from the house that opens onto it or you would have to wrap the patio around the back of the house, too. The nicest looking ones would be made with brick or stone. If you have plain concrete, it would look a lot nicer if you had a short wall about 2 feet high made out of brick or stone on the edge of the patio closest to the front. From the front yard, you would see the nice looking short wall which would hide part of the concrete patio on the other side. You would need to get some patio furniture. Some planters with evergreens or something would help a lot but are probably too expensive.

e) Hide it with a fence. Fences do help sell a house if people have pets. You could not do anything or you could put down bark or something and put a doghouse there so it looks like the dog's area.

Whatever you do, DON'T LET IT LOOK LIKE YOU JUST PAVED OVER THE YARD! It is much better to leave it like it is than do that. Otherwise, the buyers will be thinking about how much money they will have to spend to tear it out.

Which brings up another point: Unless there are a lot of other houses with geothermal systems, the people who buy your house are going to be so happy they are getting it that they won't care about the yard. It may not hurt your resell value as much as you think. Just cover it with something that will help the soil (somebody mentioned some kind of bark) and let the new owners do what they want.

f) Make some raised gardens. You would need some boards to make the sides about 2 feet high. Then you would need some dirt in them. I see people on Craigs List offering free dirt but I don't know how it is in Michigan. However, the appraiser will have no idea whether your dirt is any good or not so the quality doesn't matter. Plus, it will look normal that your vegetable garden is bare in March.

f) If you are handy, build a workshop out of lumber you find in the trash (my father seems to be good at this but finding free boards is a lot of work).

g) See if you could borrow things from relatives, friend and neighbors to cover most of the area just during the appraisal. 100x30 is a lot, so you would need several large items, such as: an empty wading pool, an empty above ground pool (it would be hard to move but it would take up a lot of yard for you), swing set(s), outdoor aluminum shed(s), etc. Depending on how your yard is set up, you could park some NICE cars in the front part of the area.

The point is that is would look like you are using your side yard for something useful and it would distract the appraiser from the fact that your side yard is bare dirt.

Mahesh if the you're still out there let us know what happended!! Grass, volleyball court, or weeds!