Help me with my backyard

[ides]

We arrived yesterday at our house we are renting in Abq. The backyard is nothing but dirt & is not useable. As well, since its very dry & windy here the dirt blows into the house, which I dislike. I would like to hang clothes out to dry as well but am affraid they will just get dirty. The home owner doesn't want to spend any money on it but has agreed to take a small amount of money out of our rent if we do something to the yard. I'm at a loss for what we could do. My dad said we could put in some pavers for around $100 to make a patio but that still leaves the dirt issue for the rest of the space. It would have to be a xeriscape type project since a lawn or lots of plants would be too expensive water wise to maintain. Anyone got some cheap ideas? Later I'll post a pic of the yard so you all can see it. I really don't want an useable dirt patch for a yard.

[alison]

Hmm, I'd say not to invest too much into it. I'm sure your landlord's idea of a "little money" will be different than yours.
Pavers can be a bit of work, because you'll have to make sure the area is level. If you want to get a little fancy, and make sure that water doesn't collect, you might want to grade it slightly. I don't know -- it seems like a bit of work to do pavers, and there is some hauling involved, BUT it could be a good solution, since you don't want to have to plant the whole thing. It'd give O a place to play, too.

Perhaps you can have a look around your neighborhood and see what other people have selected to plant in their yards?

[Vanquisher]

How big is the space? Do you have pictures?


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[Momo]

Lay down black out sheeting. Go onto Craig's list & see who has free gravel for whoever wants to haul it away. When folks do projects they often will offer up their old gravel,crushed granite or pea gravel free to the 1st come 1st serve. Pick an area that's convenient to the nearest exit to the backyard and instead of putting pavers down get some artificial turf. Think of it as an area rug . Make it large enough to accommodate a patio set with an umbrella& necessary seating , to enjoy outdoor eating on occasion. You can use broken chunks of flagstone for stepping stones. Put a bench in a corner or two. Get a bird bath and some shepherd's hooks to hang humming bird feeders on or hanging plants.. you can also Add color by doing potted plant clusters in strategic areas. These are just some ideas for a
"dirt to something better project!". Good luck!

[ides]

Here is a pic.

[ides]

It was my dad who suggested the pavers & I assumed he would help me do it since he's done them before, but I'm not sure he will be back down to visit until winter and its not something I could do myself. The ground is definitely not even. There was a dog out there before & he had fun tearing it up a bit. I like the idea of crushed rock just to cover it up.

[MDPhDWife]

Lay down black out sheeting. Go onto Craig's list & see who has free gravel for whoever wants to haul it away. When folks do projects they often will offer up their old gravel,crushed granite or pea gravel free to the 1st come 1st serve. Pick an area that's convenient to the nearest exit to the backyard and instead of putting pavers down get some artificial turf. Think of it as an area rug . Make it large enough to accommodate a patio set with an umbrella& necessary seating , to enjoy outdoor eating on occasion. You can use broken chunks of flagstone for stepping stones. Put a bench in a corner or two. Get a bird bath and some shepherd's hooks to hang humming bird feeders on or hanging plants.. you can also Add color by doing potted plant clusters in strategic areas. These are just some ideas for a
"dirt to something better project!". Good luck!

This is what I was going to suggest. We actually did the craigslist idea earlier this year to cover up an area where we once had grass. It's a lot of work so we offered the guy a couple hundred to haul the gravel over and shovel it out. Just a heads up though, unless your surrounding neighbors have done landscaping to their backyards, you still won't be able to hang clothes outside, have dirt collecting onto your windowsills, etc.

[Pollyanna]

Eh, I would leave it. You are only there for a year and like Charlene said, even if you landscape you will still have dirt/dust all over the place. It's just how things go in the desert, lol.

[ides]

Thanks for the suggestions. I'm definitely not up to manual labor in the heat and we really don't have money to invest/throw at the house. Our windowsils on the inside are full of dirt. When my vacuum arrives I'm going to vacuum them out & see how long it takes for it to collect again.

[alison]

Is it dirt or sand? Could you plant some tall grass to help keep the wind from picking up the dirt?

[Pollyanna]

My guess is that you won't make it a week without more dust.

[ides]

It's super fine dirt. It's red/brown in color.

[alison]

Wow, that would drive my dh insane.
What have your neighbors done?

[ides]

Not sure what our neighbors do. All the houses have walled backyards so I can't see in.

[Pollyanna]

No matter what the neighbors do, or what you do with your yard for that matter, when you live in the desert your home will be dusty. Certainly you can do things to decrease the amount of dust but it will always be there. I can't imagine that Albuquerque is that different than Tucson. It's just the nature of the beast. I really could do a full and complete dusting once a week minimum and we are landscaped as are our neighbors but the areas surrounding our homes is desert. I'm not suggesting you don't try something I just don't want you to be disappointed if your main goal is to cut down on dust.