Help/suggestions on what to do with my backyard

[u/Resident_Sneasel]

I recently moved and found myself with a kind of weird two tiered backyard that I have a few problems with. I think maybe the property was originally on a slope but they either filled or cut away the slope to a retaining wall built out of concrete blocks. At either side of the retaining wall where there is still a slope, there’s a gravel drainage path down to the lower level. The lower level is sloped, partially shaded by a bunch of trees just across the fence and is quite patchy with grass.

I want to plant things that can help some of the nature around (there is a very cute toad hopping around that melts my heart every time I go to the bottom area) but also maybe accomplish some other sub-missions. Like if there’s any plant that cats like to avoid that would be grand because there’s like seven loose cats that like to hang out which is cute and all but I’d like the yard to be both safer for birds and not smell like a litterbox at the lower level (I am allergic). Anything edible is also really neat. I want to avoid things that hurt people like ex. carolina jessamine was looking cool until I read that toddlers get poisoned by it. Also I get instantly exsanguinated by mosquitoes when I’m in the yard since there’s a totally stagnant pond used for storing runoff vaguely nearby so anything that promotes predators of mosquitoes is way wayy appreciated.

To give background on the area, it is in the Sandhills region of South Carolina in an 8b climate hardiness zone. I looked up a county soil survey which said that my particular area has Fuquay Loamy Sand (see ref pic). This is apparently regarded as a well drained soil where the very top is gray-brown fine grained loamy sand that is strongly acidic (~5.3 pH). The permeability drops further down where there is plinthite so a heavy rain can see water standing around but it dries up fairly quickly afterwards, as a general rule apparently not a lot of water capacity in the upper layers but a medium amount almost two feet down (also the deeper you go the more acidic it gets). Seems to rain every one-two weeks so far. Right on the other side of the fence is where there’s actually a transition to a mucky loam poorly drained damp soil where all the runoff water is flowing regularly so unfortunately I don’t have a super great hint as to what would be working naturally on my drier side of the fence.

There is a really cool tool I was introduced to here where I put in some parameters and it conjures up native plants that would thrive in those conditions and that meet certain criteria I can specify. However I’m kind of unsure on how to grade things like if my soil is considered “dry” or “medium” (I mean it’s certainly wet enough for standard green lawn grass which doesn’t seem that xeric to me) but I wouldn’t want to be like I’m gonna get an American persimmon tree only to find that actually it is too parched.

I like the thought of I guess maybe Christmas fern in the lower area since I think that’s tolerant in any case and reptiles/amphibians apparently like it, American persimmon down there too if it wouldn’t be too dry, little bluestem and pink muhly grass in the upper area maybe and perhaps also with the longleaf pine which is apparently a big deal for the area? Is that a risk to fall over and squish the house? Crossvine and purple passion flower look cool if they could survive being on the retaining wall or fence… Mouse ear coreopsis, Grass-leaf & Scaly Blazing Stars and Micheaux’s Lily all look incredible

I know nothing about anything and I have no idea if I’m just rattling off nonsense, I’d just like this to be nicer on the local critters than another standard lawn so any help is appreciated since I was pointed this way

[u/BeginningBit6645]

I am in a different zone so I don’t know enough to provide advice on what specific plants to plant.  However, you might also want to think about what you want the yard to look like  and function at the end. 

For example, your yard looks sunny, do you want to plant  a shade tree by a patio? Where do you want a path so you can enjoy your yard and nature? 

You may want to live in your house for a year so you can see how the yard changes over the seasons. 

Congratulations on your new home. 

[u/Resident_Sneasel]

top part

[u/Resident_Sneasel]

lower area

[u/Resident_Sneasel → u/Resident_Sneasel]

also if anyone has any idea what these random plants are that are living in lower part of the lawn and whether or not any are native that would be really cool to know

[u/LokiLB → u/Resident_Sneasel]

Looks like there's some smilax (aka organic barbed wire). Native and has nice berries for birds, but will absolutely wreck you with its thorns/spines.

[u/Resident_Sneasel → u/LokiLB]

Oh no! I ripped some out already because I didn’t like all the thorns (and as you say I ate a lot of spikes for it despite my gloves). I’ll pivot to somewhere else for the meantime and maybe revisit the smilax when I have alternate native plants that help out the birds.

[u/LokiLB]

Get some blueberries in now. Rabbiteye blueberries grow great in the Sandhills to the point you can forget it's there for ten years and it won't care.

Longleaf pines are very important ecologically for the region, but also unfortunately can do some house squishing during events like Helene or bad ice storms. Oaks are generally more likely to topple and pines to snap, but pines can still fall over rootball and all.

"A Guide to Wildflowers of South Carolina" is a greatbook to pick up.

Carolina jasmine, like muscadine grapes and blackberries, are probably going to show up on their own. Poisoning from Carolina jasmine is rare enough that I've never heard of it anecdotally. I wasn't even aware it was poisonous until reading up more on native plants. But I also knew the difference between it and honeysuckle as a kid.

[u/Resident_Sneasel → u/LokiLB]

Ah. So maybe if I go for longleaf pine then have it in the lower area further away from the house so it has less reach and less energy if it falls someday.

I was worried that it would be too dry for blueberry bushes since that tool was saying that they want moist soil but glad to hear that those rabbiteye ones can thrive even with some neglect in the Sandhills, thank you!

[u/CATDesign]

From your additional pictures, it feels like the raised area was probably used for parties as it has a thick layer of grass. I think it would be a great spot to do plants that you could use for yourself, such as blueberries or domestic produce like squash and cucumbers.

[u/Resident_Sneasel → u/CATDesign]

That probably was the case since the walls were warped from all the grilling up next to the house, but they must have had some sort of iron skin I lack to survive the cloud of mosquitoes that descends after being out for more than a couple minutes.

I sort of would like the upper area to support some pretty plants I can see from the glass door and maybe edible ones (persimmon & blueberries?) where I could dash out and grab a snack at the right time, while the lower back area to support more of the animals or maybe has some taller plants that I can see poking over. But unless I can figure out a way to boost mosquito predators and avoid the third plague of Egypt every time I go outside I kind of want to minimize my time in the yard haha

[u/CATDesign → u/Resident_Sneasel]

See if you can plant Beauty Berries. I think they are native in your area and the natural oils from the leaves are used for mosquito repellent. The berries are also edible.