Use this as an opportunity to create a peaceful retreat in either the Spanish or Japanese style.

First, address the drainage issue.

I would do a meandering hardscape path that leads to a Japanese maple with ferns underneath. Add pots for shade-loving annuals. One area should have a different hardscape (flagstone?) for a bistro table and chairs. Also, consider adding a water feature and/or metal/stone art.

AI can be your friend here to help with the design. Add in the dimensions, shade requirements, garden zone, include likes and dislikes. It also might be worth having a landscaping company come out and draw up a design (a few hundred$ perhaps). You can do the installation yourself.

Good luck!

Astilbe is another good shade option flower.

NO FAKE GRASS. Jezus.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the advice. I'm not opposed to all hardscape, but I do wish for some color.

Clover = soil = weeds and mud. Too much maintenance and still so muddy.

We could possibly section off a part for hostas or something that is shade-loving, but again, we want low maintenance. And honestly, less bugginess. I'd be happy with bees but I'm tired of gnats and mosquitos, which is what we have now.

If the hostas like the area, they grow big and are low maintenance. They require one time clipping of flower spikes per year and cleanup of dead leaves right before winter. They don't need to be trimmed like a shrub. They aren't a particularly buggy plant.

Another option could be heuchera (coral bells). Also pretty low maintenance and a good range of colors. Some of mine - in more protected areas - have retained a lot of their leaves through the winter, so we get a bit of visual interest all year long.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the advice. I'm not opposed to all hardscape, but I do wish for some color.

Clover = soil = weeds and mud. Too much maintenance and still so muddy.

We could possibly section off a part for hostas or something that is shade-loving, but again, we want low maintenance. And honestly, less bugginess. I'd be happy with bees but I'm tired of gnats and mosquitos, which is what we have now.

If the hostas like the area, they grow big and are low maintenance. They require one time clipping of flower spikes per year and cleanup of dead leaves right before winter. They don't need to be trimmed like a shrub. They aren't a particularly buggy plant.

We also had a small shady backyard and ended up mulching all the area other than the hardscaped sections. Pros: It looked nice and allowed water to drain. Cons: we had to add more Mulch every year + our dog tracked a lot of it into the house. Gravel Might have worked out better except that we didn’t want our dog To have to walk on the stones.

I would think that you’d still have drainage/mosquito issues with astroturf, and it might even be soggier than what you have now if you don’t get the drainage perfect. I’m not intrinsically opposed to small sections of astroturf, but I also don’t think that it’s an easy answer - you need to manage the water.

For small yards, every square foot counts! Recommend really carefully thinking about your design and maybe even purchasing design/landscape visualization software, if you’re not going to work with a company. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend and her neighbor installed it alongside her front driveway two years ago. She loves it and it looks real.

Please. It never looks real, unless you're blind.

They went with the mid-grade artificial turf. My BIL had the premium grade installed in his backyard of his $6 mil home two years ago. Both yards look nice.

I hope you're joking. What a loser polluter. He could have been able to afford so many sustainable, environmentally friendly solutions, but no, he buys crap that's going to fill our lungs with microplastics.

This. Plus truly wealthy people enjoy actual gardens...not necessarily the work that goes into it, because we can afford to hire that out, but for strolling and having garden parties, and of course humble bragging about.

Yes, I'm curious to know what sort of culture these people are coming from. No one I know would even think about doing this. Sounds like an ignorant Nouveau Riche type.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks for the advice. I'm not opposed to all hardscape, but I do wish for some color.

Clover = soil = weeds and mud. Too much maintenance and still so muddy.

We could possibly section off a part for hostas or something that is shade-loving, but again, we want low maintenance. And honestly, less bugginess. I'd be happy with bees but I'm tired of gnats and mosquitos, which is what we have now.

You're going to get mosquitoes from other people's standing water anyway, OP, so you won't be able to decrease bugs by that much.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My friend and her neighbor installed it alongside her front driveway two years ago. She loves it and it looks real.

Please. It never looks real, unless you're blind.

They went with the mid-grade artificial turf. My BIL had the premium grade installed in his backyard of his $6 mil home two years ago. Both yards look nice.

I hope you're joking. What a loser polluter. He could have been able to afford so many sustainable, environmentally friendly solutions, but no, he buys crap that's going to fill our lungs with microplastics.

This. Plus truly wealthy people enjoy actual gardens...not necessarily the work that goes into it, because we can afford to hire that out, but for strolling and having garden parties, and of course humble bragging about.

Fake turf is so tacky and horrible for the environment. How about raised beds surrounded by pea gravel or something along that line.