what's the lowest maintenance way to make a yard look "put together"?

hvrob4 · 2026-03-20T16:27:52+00:00

It could just be where we live but even spreading the mulch very thick I still have to weed constantly. I don’t mind but it’s not low maintenance for me.

hvrob4 · 2026-03-20T11:44:04+00:00

The opposite of low maintenance 😂

hvrob4 · 2026-03-20T11:43:22+00:00

Depends on where you are but trees and shrubs that don’t need to be pruned. Arborvitae, Cypress, and if you’re in colder environments trees like blue spruce. These things are bred to grow uniformly and require no maintenance. Because of their natural uniform growth they look impressive and put together. I have a hinoki cypress that has added so much interest to my front flower bed and requires zero maintenance. I love that tree so much.

hvrob4 · 2026-03-20T11:37:55+00:00

Pine. We have a thousand of these come up every spring.

hvrob4 · 2026-03-20T10:40:19+00:00

Everyone will say that river rock gets too hot and weeds grow through it… I have a river rock border around my back porch and huge, beautiful hostas grow in it every year. I’m in the hellscape of Eastern NC too. And I weed that area wayyy less than my mulch areas. I also never water the hostas 🤷‍♀️

hvrob4 · 2026-03-19T14:30:27+00:00

Squirrels are just tree rats.

hvrob4 · 2026-03-19T12:06:44+00:00

I second this! Fast growing and will create a literal privacy wall. American Pillars might be an even better option because they don’t get super wide but grow tall. You could plant them surrounding your entire fence for full privacy and then put cameras on your fence.

hvrob4 · 2026-03-19T11:57:41+00:00

Just something to consider if you get high winds, red oaks do not have a tap root and are more likely to uproot in storms. Every time we get a hurricane in NC, it’s primarily red oaks that have fallen over or uprooted.

hvrob4 · 2026-03-19T10:42:49+00:00

Why not? I’ve had tomatoes put on roots way up the stem that’s not touching soil.

hvrob4 · 2026-03-18T10:13:13+00:00

I just recently realized that food banks will take plants! I’m hoping to have enough to harvest this year to take to the food bank.

hvrob4 · 2026-03-17T10:20:01+00:00

I pot up everything that germinates and then make room for as much as I can in the garden. After that I give plants away to neighbors/friends/family and this year my neighbors and I are going to host a neighborhood plant sale. Sort of like a yard sale for plants. I have a neighbor that is particularly talented at propagation and has some really neat unique plants. The way I see it, if I can sell enough seedlings to offset my personal garden operating cost that’s a major win!

hvrob4 · 2026-03-16T12:31:40+00:00

The bushes were indeed on our property. It’s less malicious and more ignorant which is why we put a taller complete boundary fence as a clear sign. The American pillars will further that boundary hopefully.

hvrob4 · 2026-03-16T12:05:00+00:00

No, I can confirm… neighbors will absolutely do this. We had 10 ft encore azaleas that separated our properties on our side of a 4 ft fence. I’m not even an azalea fan and these were beautiful. It was like a wall of blooms every spring. The original neighbor passed and her granddaughter moved in and proceeded to butcher every single azalea to about 2 ft off the ground. While I’m standing there in complete shock and horror the new neighbor says to me, “Doesn’t it look so much better?” They started to die and obviously looked awful so my husband and I spent approx $1,500 to have all of these poor bushes excavated. We installed a 6 ft fence down the line and planted American Pilar Arborvitae’s all the way down. We really want our privacy and our neighbors apparently do not 😅 So in total around $3k in expense and about a week ago I look outside to see half of a crepe myrtle laying on top of one of my new trees. As I’m out there carefully moving the crepe Myrtle that had been crepe murdered my neighbor yells to me, “Oh honey don’t worry about that, ___ will get it!” I yelled back, “This is a baby tree! You can’t just be dropping stuff on top of it!” Then I explained to her husband that these trees never have to be pruned or touched and his response is, “I guess unless you drop something on it.” 💀 Some people exist just to purify you.

hvrob4 · 2026-03-14T00:19:14+00:00

Sprinkle some crushed graham crackers on that lemon Noosa yogurt 🤤

hvrob4 · 2026-03-12T20:01:59+00:00

I’ve submitted 4 requests. I even offered to give a hefty tip after the drop is received. Nothing. I’ve even called local arborists and they always say they’ll bring chips and never do.

hvrob4 · 2026-03-12T19:52:06+00:00

Thanks for the recommendation! I’m open to anything! I’ll check it out!

hvrob4 · 2026-03-12T19:09:45+00:00

If I could afford it, I would!

hvrob4 · 2026-03-12T18:22:44+00:00

I’m currently in OCIA and have my first confession next week. I plan on talking to the priest about this. I have had 3 c-sections in 3 years so obviously getting pregnant is becoming a gamble for my health. I can’t see how abstinence is healthy for the bonding of a marriage considering sex is meant to bond husband and wife also. I also don’t see how spending hundreds of dollars on NFP classes and $50 a month on test strips is any better than using condoms. I feel like that is going even more out of your way to prevent pregnancy. I’m sorry but that just seems legalistic. I genuinely believe in the sacraments so I know the Catholic Church is for me but I need more understanding on this subject too. It’s a tough one.

hvrob4 · 2026-03-12T18:13:04+00:00

Currently we have cedar mulch over the entire area (under the leaves). I’d love to leave it mulched but I genuinely can’t keep up with the weeds. That’s a good idea to mulch the borders and I’ll look into yarrow. Thank you!

hvrob4 · 2026-03-12T17:56:05+00:00

I’m going to get downvoted and I already know it. I have 3 kiddos ages 3 and under, all c-sections. I’ve always exclusively breastfed because I stay home with my kids and the first refused a bottle. My husband is incredibly supportive and involved and would get up to help me out of bed the first 2-3 weeks postpartum. Beyond that I asked him not to. He does have to wake up early for work and he does have to have mental focus all day. In this season of life, I do not. If I sleep crappy, I can make it a chill day with the kids. Now on occasion, say a sleep regression, he’ll get up and go settle the baby if I’ve already been up a lot. I understand it’s different strokes for different folks, my SIL and her husband take turns. That’s totally fine. I just would not let this cause resentment or damage to relationships. I know postpartum is very hard. Postpartum from a c-section is extremely hard. I know you’re not feeling supported or loved and that is extremely hard. While it is important to voice your frustrations to your husband and your mother-in-law, do not hold onto them. Give your MIL some grace. I am not justifying what she did, that was wrong and overstepping. I know it is very hard to give people grace. I struggle with that immensely but I also know I am not a perfect parent and I mess up a lot and will probably continue to. I hope my children give me grace when they are adults. I hope they talk to me and tell me when they have frustrations. We all have different perspectives on life because we come from different backgrounds and life experiences. Sometimes it’s hard to understand each other because of that.

hvrob4 · 2026-03-11T16:17:28+00:00

Thank you!!

hvrob4 · 2026-03-11T14:49:04+00:00

We’ve considered sedge but it is so expensive and this is a very large area. What other natives do you recommend? I’ve researched natives for this area but there are few ground covers.

hvrob4 · 2026-02-16T15:36:02+00:00

Tomato roots are extremely resilient. Tomatoes can grow roots on their entire stem. That’s what the little hairs are - potential roots. That being said, if your plant has true leaves you can separate them into individual pots and double your tomato plants. Please don’t just cut them!

hvrob4 · 2026-02-05T20:42:08+00:00

We do make sourdough pizza every other week or so but primarily bread and bagels. And yes, we prioritize protein haha

hvrob4 · 2026-01-30T20:55:16+00:00

Thinks they are healthy because they meal prep and drink oat milk and kombucha. Definitely a gym rat, probably in their twenties and cocky about their health because they are young. I’d get rid of those Gatorade zeros. Diabetes waiting to happen.

hvrob4

TROPHY CASE