Landscape Problems: How To Solve Most Common Problems

Does landscape problems limit your outdoor plans and dreams? Is that slope in the backyard limiting your usable space?

Does water pooling in your yard make it a soggy, unusable mess?

Here’s how to solve common landscaping problems with your property.

Table of Contents

How To Solve Most Common Landscape Problems

Rocky Terrain

Does your landscape have an area of rocks that’s just about impossible to clear? Is your soil so rocky it makes lawn maintenance impossible?

Turn your rocky terrain into a favorite part of your landscape.

Today, rock gardens are a popular addition to landscaping. In fact, many people spend lots of money bringing in rocks and boulders to enhance the natural-looking landscape you already have.

A rock garden can be a low maintenance, low-cost lawn substitute. It can cover a large or small area of your landscaping or decorate a troubling slope.

Find low-maintenance plants of different textures and colors to fill in spaces between rocks. Plan for different flowering seasons and your rock garden will delight year-round.

If you have rocky soil, you can:

Build raised beds for plants and flowers
Select plants that grow well in rocky soil
Add several layers of good topsoil

Sloping Property

A sloping property can ruin outdoor space, but there are fixes.

Create a rock garden on the slope. It will add interest and help prevent soil erosion.

Or create tiers in the slope for several levels of flat, usable spaces.

A meandering path or stone staircase flanked with potted plants will add accessibility and interest.

Your sloped property can be the perfect location for a dramatic landscape waterfall. Try creating that in a level backyard!

You can cut into the incline for a larger area of level property. Then install an attractive retaining wall. Plant some popular garden flowers behind the retaining wall for extra color and beauty.

Erosion

Wind, rain, and storms blow and wash dirt away, causing unwanted landscape erosion.

Soil erosion isn’t just annoying—it can be dangerous. It threatens the structural integrity of nearby trees since roots can’t grow deep into the soil. Grass won’t easily grow either.

Rocks and boulders can prevent erosion while adding atmosphere and a feeling of permanence.

Planting ground cover also prevents soil erosion. Many attractive ground cover perennials require little maintenance. Also include ornamental grasses and self-seeding annuals.

These ground cover plants thrive in Minnesota:

Wild ginger
Periwinkle
Heartleaf Bergenia

Create retaining walls out of stone or brick. Install plants and ground cover behind the walls to further prevent erosion.

Drainage

Poor property drainage is damaging and dangerous. If your property develops puddles after a storm that take forever to go away, you have a drainage problem.

Standing water keeps the yard soggy—attracting unwanted insects, killing grass and plants, and even threatening nearby structures.

Poor property drainage causes root rot and threatens the stability of nearby trees and plants. This creates potential danger to people, pets, and structures.

Soil can’t drain well if your property is poorly graded. It’s only a matter of time before you have an overwhelming problem. Water consistently gathering at your home’s foundation will cause serious damage.

Installation of an underground French drain can redirect water away from poorly draining areas or your home’s foundation.

Meet with a landscape engineer who can talk to you about different drainage solutions, including re-grading your property and/or a drainage installation.

Other drainage solutions include:

Adding absorbent soil into your landscape
Creating a landscaped pond to give water an attractive place to gather
Lengthen and redirect downspouts
Remove non-permeable hardscaping and replace with permeable solutions

Too Much Shade

Everyone loves to relax in the shade on a summer’s day. But when it comes to shade on your yard, there can be too much of a good thing!

Too much shade makes it difficult to grow a lush lawn or certain plants and flowers. If you’ve always wanted to grow lilac bushes—that need six to eight hours of full sun—you’re in for a frustrating time.

Unfortunately, there often isn’t much to do about this problem. You don’t want to move your house or destroy a stately maple tree.

It may be best to accept and embrace the situation. In Minnesota, there are many colorful shade-loving plants to choose from, including:

Azaleas
Hydrangeas
Hostas

Too Much Sun

Too much sun can make you want to run inside on hot days. It can also wreak havoc and destroy some plants and lawns.

But there are ways to deal with this problem.

If you want to keep your backyard green, plant fast-growing trees and plants that offer shade for other plants and flowers.

Select other plants and grasses that thrive in full sun.

Pavilions, gazebos, and pergolas keep people and pets comfortable on hot, sunny days.

No Privacy

Do you wish your yard had more privacy?

This is an easy one to solve.

A latticed screen, covered with ivy, provides privacy and greenery.

You can install a permanent fence. Just be sure to follow all municipal or community guidelines.

If you hate the look of fences, create a living wall of bushes or fast growing trees.

Pest Damage

Outdoor insect pests damage property, plants, and people!

At Green Grounds Landscaping, we are licensed and certified for applications of pesticides and fertilizers

In Minnesota, two destructive pests are the spotted lanternfly and grubs.

The spotted lanternfly damages trees but is harmless to people. Homegrown treatments include spraying vinegar or insecticidal soap anywhere you see signs of infestation.

Late summer is the ideal time to treat your property for grubs. Springtime treatment is helpful but less effective.

Deer and Small Critters

While many of us enjoy seeing wildlife, we don’t appreciate watching it destroy our flowers, plants, and vegetable gardens.

Local services offer deer repellent treatments that will not harm deer but keep them away. Deer love to munch on trees and flowers and can do thousands of dollars’ worth of damage a single season.

Some deer resistant plants are: