Weird, decadent, or both?

[gerisullivan]

Driveways Guys are shoveling washed-out gravel off my driveway as I type. It's a job I've done myself a couple of times this past week -- whenever it rains, down comes the sand and gravel from along the edge of the drive. Why, yes, it has been raining rather a lot here of late. All I can say is that it's a heck of a lot easier to shovel and sweep gravel from a paved driveway than it is to haul gravel back up the hill when it's washed away on an unpaved one. The erosion problem is also now confined to a narrow edge along the drive, less than a foot, rather than the width of the drive itself. The paving solved 90% of the problem, now it's down to solving the last little bit. Here's hoping it doesn't turn into the second 90% in terms of effort and expense.

When Kevin was here this morning to look at the problem, he said he'd clean up the aftermath of yesterday's downpours. That was very kind of him as well as demonstrating that extra edge of professionalism I've liked all along about both him and his employee who did the grading work. It was weird having other people do something I can easily do myself, but I'm merely observing, not complaining.

Plan A is to dump loam along the edge of the drive; add grass seed, fertilizer, and straw; and hope the seed takes before it rains a lot more and all washes away. I can see myself shoveling loam from the drive and replenishing seed for the rest of the summer.

If Plan A doesn't work, Plan B is to put in a blacktop berm/curb along the edge of the driveway that's washing out. Much as I hope Plan A works, I'm glad we have a Plan B.

Hmmm...I wonder if the ferns have enough of a root system to provide erosion control. Or maybe some Canadian bluegrass along the most erosion-prone parts, with ferns scattered in the less erosion-prone areas? Canadian bluegress and sheep fescue seem to be the two native grasses that are most popular for erosion control out west, and I like the part in the description that says, "North American native adapted to poor, dry, shallow sites as well as shady, wet, clayey ones." But I should probably talk with some New England landscape folks, too. There could well be something that will work better here. Something a bit on the native and wild side will blend with the plantings on the hillside better than ordinary lawn grass will. I'm holding out hope for the ferns -- there are a gazillion around that I could transplant. I didn't think of the possibility of the ferns while talking with Kevin; I'll check on it when he calls back with loam info from a landscaper he's worked with.

I'll be up early again tomorrow -- Septic Guy is coming to pump out my tank. I'm looking forward to knowing precisely where the D-box is.

And so the joys of home ownership continue....

Edited to add: Speaking of New England erosion-control grasses, perhaps it's time for a short trip to Amherst..

Comments

[kip-w.livejournal.com]

Sounds like things are moving in the right direction. Your phone service is restored, right? Tomorrow, the squirrels!

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Yep. Phone Repair Guy, aka Bruce, showed up right on schedule last Friday. He ended up switching me to another line at the junction box most of a mile away.

As for the squirrels...don't talk to me about squirrels!

Okay, okay, I suppose I could at least take the live trap out of its box and see if catching one or more of the beasties convinces them my garage is not a friendly place. I looked for likely entrance points when I was up on the ladder cleaning out the gutter on the side of the garage over the weekend. Didn't see any, I know they're somewhere. The little red squirrel isn't transporting its way inside!

I also need to call Roof Guy again, and find out whether he can deal with my dangling gutter out back, or whether I need to call...Mr. Gutter!

[huladavid.livejournal.com]

What's a d-box? Is it related to either a g-spot or a 10-spot?

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

I supposed I could claim its a gaming system for those who have learned only the first part of the alphabet, but that would be Wrong.

It's a Distribution Box, IIUC. I have a map suggesting that it's in two different places, I made sure neither one was paved over, and I even made sure that the outlier location wasn't paved, either, even though the map pretty clearly says the D-box isn't there. I just made sure that we didn't pave over any combination of the distances given on the map.

Fingers crossed....

[papersky.livejournal.com]

Dandelions. They grow fast, they'd work for erosion control and they'd give you bright yellow borders.

[cogitationitis.livejournal.com]

Ferns do not transplant well. Grass is your best long-term bet.

Too dry for ferns?

[lesliet-ma.livejournal.com]

Most ferns would not do well along your driveway, I think, because it's a fairly dry and sunny location (recent rains nothwithstanding). The exception might be hay-scented fern, which can take a dry location and which spreads fairly rapidly, rather than growing in clumps. (I have a lot I'd like to get rid of, so let me know next time you'll be in the Boston area and I'll dig some up.)

Grass does have the advantage that it will grow from seed, so it's fairly inexpensive to seed a large expanse. Any sort of ground-cover plant would have to be transplanted, and that could get expensive to get enough plants to cover such a big area. But it's really hard to get grass to grow in the summer without watering it twice a day.

Re: Too dry for ferns?

[debgeisler.livejournal.com]

But it's really hard to get grass to grow in the summer without watering it twice a day.

We had our lawn gutted in May...loamed...and then waited out the big rains, while the loam gently (and not so gently) washed down the driveway. When it finally quit for a bit, our landscaper came out and re-raked the loam and topped it off...then we waited some more. They finally hydroseeded the Friday before Memorial Day. (Thank goodness they didn't seed before the big rain, or we'd have a Chia driveway right now.)

The rains have been good to us, and we have the makings of a lawn out there, now. (And wait until y'all see the lighting we put in!)

Re: Too dry for ferns?

[merlinpole.livejournal.com]

Have you removed any of the car-eating pine trees?

Re: Too dry for ferns?

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

The erosion problem is on the uphill side of the driveway. There are already hundreds of ferns on the hill. They're very common, but I don't know my ferns well enough to say, but a quick web search strongly suggests they're the hay-scented fern you have so much of. Pretty stuff.

I'll most likely go with a grass seed mix of some sort or another. The fern thought was that I could dig 'em up from the hillside and margins of the yard. 'Cause you're right -- 275 feet of purchased plants would be significantly more than my budget is up to. Most of all, I want whatever I do to work. On an aesthetic front, it would be nice if it blended well with the hillside, too.

I'll go with regular lawn grass on the bare spots on the downhill side of the drive since there's already lawn there.

[dlacey.livejournal.com]

Thyme, particularly Creeping Thyme grows well here and works for erosion control. At one time we had a border of lavender planted along the driveway but, if memory serves, that took a year or two to become established. It was awfully pretty though.

[debgeisler.livejournal.com]

I love the idea of using herbs for multiple purposes -- erosion control, pretty, salads. :-)

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

When I lived in Minneapolis, I planted flowers nearest the alley instead of things we ate. Here, so few cars come down my driveway that it probably wouldn't be a problem.

[debgeisler.livejournal.com]

Does that mean that if we come to visit more frequently, we kill dinner? (On the other hand, you could use the close-in lavender for sachets & soap and the further-out lavender to make ice cream...mmmm.)

[voidampersand.livejournal.com]

My Dad's been involved with the International Erosion Control Association. They might have some information or pointers. Erosion control is full of subtleties that can come back and bite you. For example, in one case they found that planting bushes on a hillside actually destabilized it because the roots allowed water to penetrate deeper. Checking with a university seems like a good idea.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

I love fandom! I write about a bit of erosion along my driveway, you tell me about your Dad's involvement with the IECA. All knowledge, indeed....

Thanks!

[pameladean]

Crown vetch works wonderfully, but it's a little aggressive.

If you go with grass seed, that landscaping cloth that is sold to keep birds from eating it should help keep it from washing onto the driveway as well.

P.

[gerisullivan.livejournal.com]

Good idea. Thanks. It'll slow the birds down, too.

Proof that I am evil, but in a good way...

[huladavid.livejournal.com]

Crown vetch works wonderfully, but it's a little aggressive.

Crown Vetch? Didn't I see him on WWF recently, or was that Goldberg?

[holyoutlaw.livejournal.com]

Kudzu has done an excellent job of roadside erosion control in the south. In fact, I've heard it said that computers save time like kudzu prevents soil erosion.

Um.

This comment brought to you by too sugary a breakfast.

[alanro.livejournal.com]

Out of the veritable pantheon of superheroes that you have mentioned, I would tend to avoid Septic Guy. Or at least make sure that I'm not home when he shows up at the house...

[redbird]

I'm going to suggest getting a mix with clover seed in it, if possible, but that's more because I generally like clover than because I know how it compares with grass for erosion control. But it has flowers that bees like, and it's a nitrogen fixer.