Murky ~ You hit the nail on the head. I do not want to be that neighbor!! I"ll take small steps and see what spring looks like here then decide and until then I will take one plant at a time and ask for help if needed and give each one the right amount of attention to make sure it survives. Then this will also give me time to work my way into the community and say hey, you want a plant or two or three and a good well gesture. Then I might be able to manage a few things on the property but I know as it stands now it's way to much for me to handle. My magnolia tree is around 45' tall and just as wide so you know how many leaves come off this thing and all those babies growing under it needs to go.
I'll post pictures as soon as I can figure how to get them from phone to laptop.

This forum has been a blessing!!

Welcome to the site! With people asking you for flowers and such, maybe the beginning of an additional source of income. Youngest is getting married, the cost of flowers is insane!

I have a 50+ year old magnolia in front of my house, I know the mess they make. But when you see the flowers all over it in spring, you'll immediately forgive it for any messes. When all the flower petals fall off (your entire grass will be completely covered in white/pink petals, it's also beautiful), they just dry up and I run the lawn mower over them when cutting the grass and all cleaned up. Same with the leaves in fall... wait until they all fall, then you can rake just once, use for mulch where you need, or again, just run the lawn mower over them to chop up the leaves and either bag while mowing to dump them, or leave the chopped up leaves on the grass for nutrients. Either way, very easy to take care of. You're going to have leaves from trees in the neighbors' yards, you won't avoid them just by clearing all trees from your yard.

Established trees and shrubs usually need very little or no maintenance. Maybe a trim here and there to remove dead wood on bushes and easy-to-reach shrubs, I do that in spring before they leaf out. I give a dose of fertilizer in spring to a few shrubs (hydrangeas that aren't too old) and perennials by just mixing it into the soil, but the older trees are just left alone. No watering at all, very minimal maintenance that can be divided up into weeks over spring and then fall as you have time.

Edit: I should add that I'd love to have your type of lawn that only needs mowing 4-5x a year! Here I probably mow roughly 20x a summer, starting in late April or very early May, ending as late as the end of October. It needs to be done every 7-10 days, sometimes if there's a period with little rain I can get by with every 2 weeks.

Regarding the slow growing grass, I wonder if you have Zoysia grass?
If that is the case, it is indeed a slow growing grass. We have it and cut it in Summer only every two weeks, since even in active growth it stays short.. It is the last grass to turn green in the Spring, but it never needs raking or fertilizing and forms a sturdy thick lawn, choking out any weeds. It grows best in the sun and warm temperatures. Maintenance free for over 50 years here.
If not, dismiss my post please.

Rachel1010 said: my plans I have for the property is utilizing it for my art creations. This home was perfect for allowing me covered space and workshops for CNC lazer cutters and large scale art pieces.

I never really noticed the yard because I never grew plants. Of course I want a nice yard just not all the maintenance of plants.

If these plants require intense maintenance... Something is wrong.

When the plants are suited to the environment... They should be care free.

I agree with Murky... The guy that refused to do anything did you a service.

I see no reason why you couldn't be out there running lazers and creating works of art with all the nice plants shielding your efforts from the public.

As previously mentioned,,, I want to see pictures!

If it's a southern Magnolia, they are evergreen but do drop leaves all year, and a bunch of seed things annually. Both of those things are too big to mow over. Once one gets to around 35+ years old, the roots can become so big that they are humping up out of the ground, so they can cause a tripping hazard over time. By then, the grass should be long dead, so as long as it's not too close to the house, there should be no reason to walk around much under there except to rake occasionally. Aside from raking the leaves and seed things up when mowing is needed, or aesthetics require, and trimming any limbs that hang too low (if it has already been limbed-up to walk under), that should be the only maintenance needed - for any tree planted where it will not bump into things. If your tree has foliage all the way to the ground, there's no reason to not leave it that way, and not worry about debris that is on the ground "inside" the tree.

However, as you may be describing, those seed things do have viable seeds inside and babies will show up around the yard. As long as they are mowed before they get too tall, they can't keep growing. If one gets too tall to mow down, it can be dug up. Digging up baby trees is most of the maintenance I do in our yard.

Many trees never have anything done to them at all beyond periodic clean-up of whatever debris they drop. Many shrubs also require no maintenance at all, unless they are bumping into something or were put where they must be prevented from reaching their potential height.

Rachel1010,
Some great advice here for someone that wants to learn. Yes, photos please. You can send them from your phone to yourself by email and then drop them into One drive. Then do the choose file below and find the file on your computer. It sounds like you don't have the phone and computer sync. More to learn!

Personally, I want to see some of your artistic creations when you have time. From one artist to another, that excites me! I now paint with flowers in the yard for our landscaping!

I think one nice way to look at it, if you are an artist, is that a garden is also a medium to create art. Through flowers, leaves, textures, shadows. A living masterpiece that changes with time.

I always envision my yard as a fireworks show in slow-motion (and without the bangs). Sounds like you will have quite the adventure.

I'm also interested in seeing pics of the property for what's there and what art you'll be creating as well. There's a Garden Art forum here, might be a good place you can post images when you get all set up.

With established trees and shrubs, you'll also get wildlife visitors to your yard, maybe they'll help your imagination when creating new art. Watching the birds and animals in my backyard and their antics is a huge part of my summers that I really enjoy, something my neighbor misses out on completely with everything gone. Woodpeckers and other birds will go up in his last tree in back, but too far up that he's never aware of them (I have a good zoom lens on my camera so I can find them).

My Magnolia is a type of saucer magnolia, it definitely drops all its leaves, and it's a ton of leaves for sure. On Halloween kids were playing in the deep piles of leaves, I didn't rake them into piles, there was just that much there all over the front. Then we had a huge windstorm that blew the majority of the leaves away. I still had to chop up what was left with the mower, but I didn't even have enough for mulching a few new plants I wanted to protect. I don't get seedlings growing, but only little suckers at the base of the trunk that I trim off every now and then, a 2 min job once or twice a summer at most.

Rachel I sent you a private message ma'am.

Rachel1010 said: Murky ~ You hit the nail on the head. I do not want to be that neighbor!! I"ll take small steps and see what spring looks like here then decide and until then I will take one plant at a time and ask for help if needed and give each one the right amount of attention to make sure it survives. Then this will also give me time to work my way into the community and say hey, you want a plant or two or three and a good well gesture. Then I might be able to manage a few things on the property but I know as it stands now it's way to much for me to handle. My magnolia tree is around 45' tall and just as wide so you know how many leaves come off this thing and all those babies growing under it needs to go.
I'll post pictures as soon as I can figure how to get them from phone to laptop.

This forum has been a blessing!!

The wise people here have said take time and find out what you have before taking the: -- Its MINE and I will do as I damn well please -- avoiding that is the best way to not turn you life into hell and wishing to leave as soon as you can.
Find local horticulturist/s, and person who new the former owner well; have long talks with them of how you can manage the property till the old residents will see you as the new owner adapting to the area, NOT, the outsider who is a cancer.

Godspeed, remember measure twice, cut once.

Korean lawn grass
Zoysia japonica
Also known as: Japanese lawngrass, Zoysia, Shiba
For a lush lawn in high traffic areas, korean lawn grass, or Zoysia japonica is a solid choice. Also used for sports fields, golf courses, and commercial lawns, this grass is thick and lush. It is typically planted as sod, although some varieties will grow well from seed. Korean lawn grass needs to be mowed short and its soil needs to dry out between watering so that it can develop a more drought resistant root system.

Chinese Tallow trees, grrrr. They ARE invasive, and as far as I know, no self respecting bird eats those zillion seeds, trash trees the older they get, brittle, die easy even here where the temp is warmer than Tuscaloosa.
Many of we older retired folks take our property and tend plants that we love to share - it is a source of social reactions and togetherness that brought the community together. His property was used as a different purpose when he was a different age I would bet. Plants grow: plants change and are flexible, or they die. Lay out a plan for your shop, just as we lay out our summer gardens while sitting in dreary winters. I have found that most folks grumbling at change were freely benefitting from someone else's labors and money, and retirement boredom. After all, having a plan can keep away bad health (chuckl), but it won't hurt to incorporate what you have.
I have this forum in my phone, makes it easier to upload pictures!

I applaud your generosity in trying to work with the community and hope someone steps in to help manage the plantings. After a few rounds of giveaways, you can honestly then see what may be accidental trash.. Chinese tallow and heavenly bamboo.. and discreetly thin the herd. I hope

First congratulations on your new home. I think if word gets around that you are more than willing to share your plants you won't have any problem clearing them out where needed. Take care

You may want to learn the plantings a bit before you mow them. I sold a place with a huge garden and major income potential for farmers market plant and flower sales. New owners mowed it to death in the first few weeks and threw away an easy 40K a year income stream.

Mow if you decide you want to, but perhaps get an estimate of the value that's growing there first. If it's more than you can handle, look for a landscaping company that might consider providing basic care in exchange for plants.

Rachel, I agree with the others that your lawn/tree guy did you a huge favor by refusing to chop everything down. For one thing, a mature landscape adds value to a property and to the property values of your neighborhood. However, you clearly have other priorities that prevent you committing to intensive maintenance, which is understandable. I'm not sure why your neighbors are being so intrusive and uncooperative, but I'm guessing your property has been considered an attractive landmark in your community and they fear losing that.

What I would suggest is to take some time before spring to make contact with the local Cooperative Extension as well as any area garden clubs and plant nurseries. Once things start growing invite them to visit - I'm sure they will be happy to help you learn what you have and what sort of maintenance it will require to maintain.

Trees and shrubs don't typically require huge commitments of time and care, and their aesthetic value is immense. If the remaining plantings require more care than you want to commit, I am guessing that your local garden club would happily remove them - most of these clubs rely upon plant sales for their funding and they should have no trouble finding a home for any leftovers.

Last piece of advice, don't be in a rush. You may find that you have more of a treasure than you realize!

Wow. That sounds amazing ! I can only imagine how beautiful it will be in spring! I'm in a similar situation after moving to a small town.. except my property is not landscaped at all - and the wooded areas are so full of picker vines .. that you can't even wander ! Very overwhelming.. as I am not an artist/ creative person at all.. but I want it to be beautiful filled with plants ! Lol I actually signed up to take the master gardener classes the month we moved in to try and learn more. I'm glad I did. It didn't take much time , and met some really fun plant people I still don't know what I want to do here ... but that's ok !
Congrats on your new home ! I'm hoping you'll find that the previous owner had indeed made up a well thought out plan for minimal upkeep and beautiful colors and blooms ! Can't wait to hear how this pans out ! Good luck!

Photos of aforementioned grass?

Rachel sent me this pic of her property in a treemail a few days ago, and I have her permission to post it here. Her internet is also in and out due to storms so not sure if shes's able to post.

So much room to do so many things! And it looks like a gazebo just behind the one shrub.

I'm assuming all the buckets of plants are the ones the previous owner was growing to give away? If no one takes them, once you identify that bush and decide if you want to keep it, I'd plant them. You could make a secluded area for where you want to do your artwork, so many possibilities with that much room.

And none of what's there looks to involve any maintenance at all. You'd have to take care of those in the buckets for now until you decide to either give them away or plant or whatever, but you'll find that most perennials are pretty maintenance-free. Maybe some fall cleanup, trim dead branches in spring... those are just done once a season and then forget the plants the rest of the year.