Restoring Overgrown and Unlevel Lot

I just purchased a very old house with a large, overgrown lot. The lot is perfect for the large garden and lawn I have always wanted, but I am not quite sure where to start.

The lot is very uneven, with 3-4’ changes in elevation in spots, and also has a large amount of undergrowth. I think the first step is trying to level the lot and clear out brush to make a clean slate, and hopefully a nice sloping lawn. However, I am not quite sure how to approach this.

Does anyone have any suggestions? Is it possible to rent a bobcat / skid steer to try and level the lot? I would assume I need to first clear back the undergrowth, but it isn’t possible to bring any large equipment in without going through multiple neighbors lots, etc. Any suggestions on where to start would be great.

Thank you!

What an awesome potential you have! That will be a fun project. If you haven't lived there long you may want to be sure how the "unlevel" areas affect the water run-off. You may want to leave a slight "wash" area for run off.

Also, before clearing the brush make sure there are not some hidden gems in there that you want to keep as part of a woodland area. ..interesting trees and shrubbery.

Happy gardening!

You say there are 3 to 4 foot changes in elevation in spots. If you remove that much from parts of your land, you will likely remove most/all of your topsoil and growing future plants there will be difficult without major soil improvements.

I'd probably leave the slope as is. Grading is tricky, as NatureLover said you'll be removing all your topsoil, and also if you don't know what you're doing and don't do it properly you could end up with water where you really don't want it, either going on the neighbor's property (in many areas it's illegal to divert water onto your neighbor's property), or against your foundation, or puddling up around trees that don't really want wet feet, etc. And it looks like you've got a lot of trees there, you'll either have to take them out, or grade around them which is more likely to lead to problems with water collecting where you don't want it. It's also a lot of work to level a large area, and personally I don't think you'll have any trouble growing things with the elevation changes you have so I'd leave it alone.

As far as clearing things out and planting--I'd work on small sections at a time--develop an overall vision for what you want, but only work on clearing things out and replanting things on small areas at a time. Otherwise if you try to do it all at once, the project is going to take long enough that you'll find yourself having to re-clear areas that you already cleared out since the weeds will have grown back. So take it one small area at a time, that way you can get the weeds cleared and new stuff planted before the weeds take over again.

It's beautiful - I can imagine a wild flower field (forefront of the photo) and I'd tame just the area around the house. That is a wonderful photo - congratulations on your new house.

I'd leave it unlevel for all the reasons mentioned but especially because it will provide more interest when you plan your garden space and extended areas. I am always playing with the idea of bringing in some dirt and rock so that I can have different elevations and berms.

I totally agree with the leaving it uneven. So many people would love to have that yard. I see people adding "hills" to their gardens all of the time.

First step get a drawing of what you have. If you go onto the Internet you should be able to get an areal view of your yard to help you out.

Next what hard scape do you want? That comes first. You have the potential for some wonderful garden rooms among the trees.

Go to the library and look at books. If you want an open grassy area you can have that down the middle. It doesn't need to be level to enjoy it. You can clear some of the underbrush be careful there are probably some nice shrubs hidden away in there.

Is there anyone that has lived in the area long enough to remember if there was ever any gardens? They might be able to help you to figure out what might be hidden in there. I would recommend waiting for a year and watching what is out there. You will have a much better idea of what to do. It is hard to wait, but well worth it in the long run. I did that when we bought the house we are in now and it made a big difference on how I have planted it. I would not have done as good of a job planning it.

Zen - good idea about checking with the neighbors about overgrown and long covered gardens.

can you post some more pict from multiple angles and what it looks like from the house? Also how much you want to spend will play a big part. I look at you house with those rows of trees and I think southern plantation house so you may want to go with a cottage look. I also would not recommend leveling it.

I agree with giving an overgrown property at last a year to show itself to you, as hard as that may be. The property we bought was way overgrown with many invasives. But given some time, it also showed many keepers. When you're dealing with slopes and layers, it's best to keep in mind drainage, mainly away from the house. Nothing is worse than a swamped basement, especially when it's avoidable. It costs big bucks to have someone come in to solve your wet basement problem.

Great advice from everyone. I have a similar lot where I built my house and that is what I have been doing, is slowly working on areas from most important ( closest to house and most visible), to the areas that will be nice to have done, but not top priority. If you bite off too much at once, you might find yourself getting frustrated. Large landscape projects can be very overwhelming. Bringing in a dozer/cat can be overwhelming too. Sometimes, I don't think people don't realize how destructive they are, and how long it will take for those scars to heal. You might have big weed problem too from it bringing lots of seeds to the surface.