My backyard is currently covered with grass and weeds and has two large tree stumps on it. It's about 25' by 25' and on a fairly steep hill. Ideally I'd love to remove the grass and stumps and put down some bark and add some bushes. From what I've read, it sounds like this would be a pretty big project. I'd really rather not pay a contractor but I don't know if it's feasible for me to do this by myself.
Does anyone have a sense of whether I might be able to make a dent in this myself? If so, any tips on stump or grass removal? FWIW, it's not turf grass but more of a tall, reedy grass (don't know the exact name for it).
I know it is hard to mow grass on a hill, but bushes and mulch will mean your soil will erode fast. If you don't want a ground cover that holds soil well, you are going to have to terrace your hillside. Do you really want to go that route?
Re the tall reedy grass, if you keep it cut short and sow regular lawn seed (including clover) into it, you should eventually end up with a fairly decent lawn. Not golf course quality, but decent.
Come to think of it, steep slopes are actually a good place to use the wifi lawn mower everyone is bitching about in another thread. ;-)
Re the stumps, if you chop out some wood in the middle to make a depression, so it can hold a bit of water (not enough to encourage mosquitoes to lay eggs in it), that will encourage rot and make the stump easier to remove later.