Help with front yard

[9ftdrop]

My front yard has a nine ft drop from the front porch to the side walk. I don't know wha the slope is, but I do know it is very difficult to mow. The side of the house is even more difficult to mow. I want to have the yard landscaped so that the slope is safe to mow, preferrably with a riding mower. I know the drop from the front porch to the side walk is 9 feet. My driveway is sloped so one landscaper is suggesting to match the slope of the yard to the drive way, but I don't know if that will be a safe slope to mow. I have talked with other landscapers who are suggesting that I put in two three foot retaining walls, but the projected costs are $25k+. Is there a group that I can work with to determine if it is possible to put a manageable slope in this yard so that I don't have to invest $25k and still achieve the goal of reducing the level of mowing difficulty?

Thank you.

 

[Sprinkler Buddy]

I would landscape with some ground cover on all areas your not comfortable mowing and save yourself some money. Sounds like the slope is too steep for the size of your yard to do much else without spending some big bucks.

Good Luck!

 

[Briana]

Hey there - WELCOME to LMF!

I moved your thread to the Lawn Care & Landscaping Forum. :smile:

 

[djrussell]

Those are some expensive retaining walls! Is that the going rate? I've never priced them. I put one in my backyard though that was maybe 20ft long and 3 ft high. The only real cost was $300-400 for the blocks. It took quite a bit of my labor though.

 

[mowerbeast]

Because of the sidewalk, theres not much you could do. Your best be is a retaining wall against the sidewalk.

 

[LandN]

i also favor the ground cover idea like sprinkler said. what was not mentioned was how many feet from the front porch to the sidewalk for the nine ft. drop....i have seen brick retaining walls along sidewalks that have cracked and broken from the higher 'leveled' yard putting pressure on the wall.also will a wall affect or hinder winter time shoveling/blowing.

 

[benski]

+2 for a low maintenance ground cover. Anything past a 10* grade is getting pretty exciting on a mower, especially if you've got a long drop to the concrete sidewalk below..