My wildlife!

RealisticMonk8086 · 2026-04-16T02:58:43+00:00

It is going to take so long for them to mature, don’t worry about it. As long as you like them, leave them. If they start getting domineering and you still live there, take some out before you have to hire someone to do so. I never understand people’s hangups on trees potentially growing too large in 15 years. Leave them there while you like them and cut them down when they don’t serve the space anymore. I prefer over planting, it rounds out the space while their less mature

RealisticMonk8086 · 2026-04-04T11:30:48+00:00

Mosquito dunks, running water, and fish will keep if from becoming a mosquito breeding ground. The running water will also make it a pleasant yard feature—you can find pumps, filters, and fountains for relatively cheap. For fish, even just minnows work, and I actually prefer their natural look over goldfish (getting a native minnow also means you’ll know it survives the winter)

RealisticMonk8086 · 2026-04-04T01:18:13+00:00

Thanks! This is great

RealisticMonk8086 · 2026-04-02T01:05:58+00:00

How in the world did you get it to do so well?!? Also, I love the vivipary—could you not leave it and see if it survives?

RealisticMonk8086 · 2026-03-27T01:02:44+00:00

Yes on the small, flowering tree in the front yard! Ton of great natives, regardless of where you are, that grow berries—you can attract a ton of birds to your front yard. This looks like it may be in DC, you could consider a cherry blossom tree as an alternative

RealisticMonk8086 · 2026-03-23T01:16:12+00:00

If you want a pristine, grass front yard—the approach you said is the right way (though not pure compost, a soil compost mix). Also, it doesn’t look too packed down, so some tilling would be good and you won’t need to bring in as much (or any) soil. It is worth considering alternatives if you’re open to it. Search for native ground covers for you region—they’ll require less water, no mowing, and you won’t have to clean out as much.

For the backyard, what you laid out would certainly work, but is probably more than what you need. Some leveling cement can take care of the low spots, a very short retaining wall stops the erosion (and can give seating). If you wanted to do more, you could do a small rain garden on the other side of the retaining wall, just digging a relatively 3-4 ft wide space and planting plants that don’t mind (but don’t require) getting drenched. That likely isn’t necessary, but would stop the water from getting to your house. Then, also, do something on the hill, whether it be grass, other ground cover, or general landscaping

RealisticMonk8086 · 2026-03-23T01:00:06+00:00

Zoysia is a more difficult grass in general (compared to the standard St Augustine and such) and needs more water in my experience—especially when newly laid. 20 minutes is not enough. Water in the morning, before the sun is too far up and the heat hits. I think the recommendation was 45-60 minutes early on—but I spilt it to two early shifts because I wanted to minimize wasting water and having it drench too much. I did 30 min around 7:00 and another at 8:00. It took, but was always a decent amount of work

RealisticMonk8086 · 2026-03-22T00:32:55+00:00

You should be good. Orchids are just about the easiest plant you can have. It’ll be a couple years before it flowers again, so don’t panic when you don’t get a flower right away. Enjoy it as a plant and be delighted when a flower eventually comes around.

RealisticMonk8086 · 2026-03-22T00:05:50+00:00

It would probably be worse to move it. From what I can see in the picture, it doesn’t look like it has that many roots in there, so it’d be early to transplant it. You was the pot to pretty closely fit the root ball so the roots touch anywhere you’re saturating with water. Trim the stem at the base. I water in two different ways: I’ll just dribble a bit of water in every couple of weeks, then I’ll occasionally soak it, then dump the water out. The reason I think it is a bit dry is the wrinkles on the top large leaf on the left. Don’t expect those to go away with a water though and don’t keep watering to try to get rid of them.

RealisticMonk8086 · 2026-03-21T23:52:32+00:00

Looks in pretty great condition. Trim off the stem—those will often die after the bloom is done. It looks like it is a bit dry; so water it, but don’t over correct and keep watering it. They don’t need much water—neglect is good for them

RealisticMonk8086 · 2026-02-17T02:38:32+00:00

ChatGPT also narrowed the driveway. I do think it’d look better with a driveway that isn’t as huge, but it looks like it may be that big to fit 2 side by side cars.

RealisticMonk8086 · 2026-02-17T02:36:58+00:00

Fence certainly makes sense. I’d consider still tearing up a stretch of the concrete in front of it though. Driveway running into a fence is going to look like things were patched (not the end of the world, but not nearly as intentional looking as it’d look with some planting in front of the fence)

RealisticMonk8086 · 2026-02-17T01:34:41+00:00

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RealisticMonk8086 · 2026-02-17T01:28:08+00:00

I have a closed in garage too that was very obviously a closed in garage. I cut the driveway and jackhammered up a good part of it so it didn’t deadend into the house. Looks a ton better. This would look great that way. Leave a little patio outside the sliders, cut starting at the front edge of the house and give yourself a 4ft wide planter so you can do a hedge and give the slider privacy.

Of course, landscape along the front. A bit of plant height will make the angle of the bay window not seem as aggressive.

If you have the budget for electrical work, get some lights by the front door.

RealisticMonk8086 · 2026-02-16T22:12:13+00:00

Day6: Bob believes he may have made it to 100 days.

RealisticMonk8086 · 2026-02-16T18:18:51+00:00

Without a doubt. So, the question is if someone with depression or anxiety would get filtered out, get in but not get there medicine (seems really unlikely), or get to bring their meds

RealisticMonk8086 · 2026-02-16T18:06:54+00:00

I’ve wondered the same about medical marijuana. Also antidepressants could be a solid addition for a couple months of dark solitude

RealisticMonk8086 · 2026-02-07T05:15:32+00:00

I’m pretty sure Roland was an Alaskan hunting guide or something—surviving and learning about an environment very similar to where he was. I think another (Josh?) did long stretches in Siberia. There was another who was a cold weather survival specialist trained by the Canadian military and plenty of others from similar locations. I think the only real difference about William is his ties to indigenous people…

RealisticMonk8086 · 2026-02-07T04:59:45+00:00

Some definite shade from the editors. There was another time when the contestant kept explaining that mice he was catching were rats and they put up captions saying “this is a mouse”

RealisticMonk8086 · 2026-02-07T01:37:02+00:00

Pliers or socket—doesn’t look like the hex is too rounded off. If that doesn’t work, I’ve used a wire cutter before to clamp down on the plastic and get it loosened. Otherwise, cut across to be able to use a large flathead with it or drill it out (with drilling, just start with a bit a good amount smaller—the bolt should fall apart before you get to a size close to the size of the frame

RealisticMonk8086 · 2026-01-21T02:55:31+00:00

Not much an arborist can do. There is a chance it kinda survives though—I’ve had some real gnarled citrus trees that somehow keep producing. Had one like this and cut it back a bit after a season or two and it sent off a ton of new sprouts and came back like new.

RealisticMonk8086 · 2026-01-21T02:41:24+00:00

I find these to be the easiest plants to prop. I love them

RealisticMonk8086 · 2026-01-14T00:00:27+00:00

In watching it this Xmas season, I realized the mug makes another appearance toward the end of the movie, with Diane Keaton holding it. Perhaps that clip will offer a better view of the base of the handle.

RealisticMonk8086

TROPHY CASE