Backyard - Done!
For ages we've been trying to get the backyard landscaped.
I resisted for several years. The previous owner did some really insane things involving rebar and sheet metal and concrete, and undoing that was going to be a chore. We knew that we were going to need someone with heavy equipment to do all of the work required to fix it up, and that was going to cost money.
What we hadn't anticipated was the difficulty in just getting someone to come out and look at our yard. Landscapers seem to like big projects, and our yard just didn't qualify. It's an older section of town with smaller lots than the big McMansion burbs, and we had to try several times before finally getting someone to agree to give us an estimate.
Anyway, last summer we finally got someone out to do the work needed. He ended up coming far later in the year than we anticipated, but it was finally done relatively late in the summer. So this summer, we're determined to make the most of our new yard.
Before and after photos, and some explanations, after the cut.
Here is the backyard before we had the work done. As you can see, I'd totally given up on the garden, and the whole thing was consumed by quack grass and bindweed. It was sort of horrible to garden in anyway, since the soil had lots of clay, and the weeds were awful. The landscapers ripped out that bush (it was a haskap bush) but I kept a cutting from it that I will be planting in the yard (I think.)
Here is the yard right after the work was done. What a huge difference! We have a patio, and chips where I wanted to place raised beds. The fence was also a huge improvement, since now we had plenty of privacy from the alley. It's very surprising how much traffic there is up a residential alley at any time of the day.
Anyway, we mostly just left the patio as is last summer. I dragged our loungers out so we had someplace to sit, but other than that we waited until this summer to bother getting anything else for the patio.
A few weeks ago I had a week off work as part of my purchased vacation time, and I used part of that time to put in raised beds and fill them with soil. It was a several-day job, but I got it all done all by myself! (*preen*) I bought corner kits from Lee Valley tools, wood from Home Depot, and soil from a local soil service. So I now have two 4' x 6' beds that are a foot deep. We'll see if that's enough room... I think it will be for now.
We also got a new table and chairs, and an umbrella. I want to hang some old Christmas lights we have along the edge of the garage, and then I think we'll be set. It is so nice sitting out there for dinner. :D
Plonq has already planted his herbs in pots, and tomorrow I'll finish planting the rest of my stuff in the raised beds. This year I'm growing sugar snap peas, carrots, four kinds of summer squash, a cucumber, three cherry tomato plants, and pole beans. Overall it's all come together really well. It feels like a miraculous transformation compared to what we had. :)
This entry was originally posted at https://atara.dreamwidth.org/623446.html. Please leave any comments there.
I resisted for several years. The previous owner did some really insane things involving rebar and sheet metal and concrete, and undoing that was going to be a chore. We knew that we were going to need someone with heavy equipment to do all of the work required to fix it up, and that was going to cost money.
What we hadn't anticipated was the difficulty in just getting someone to come out and look at our yard. Landscapers seem to like big projects, and our yard just didn't qualify. It's an older section of town with smaller lots than the big McMansion burbs, and we had to try several times before finally getting someone to agree to give us an estimate.
Anyway, last summer we finally got someone out to do the work needed. He ended up coming far later in the year than we anticipated, but it was finally done relatively late in the summer. So this summer, we're determined to make the most of our new yard.
Before and after photos, and some explanations, after the cut.
Here is the backyard before we had the work done. As you can see, I'd totally given up on the garden, and the whole thing was consumed by quack grass and bindweed. It was sort of horrible to garden in anyway, since the soil had lots of clay, and the weeds were awful. The landscapers ripped out that bush (it was a haskap bush) but I kept a cutting from it that I will be planting in the yard (I think.)
Here is the yard right after the work was done. What a huge difference! We have a patio, and chips where I wanted to place raised beds. The fence was also a huge improvement, since now we had plenty of privacy from the alley. It's very surprising how much traffic there is up a residential alley at any time of the day.
Anyway, we mostly just left the patio as is last summer. I dragged our loungers out so we had someplace to sit, but other than that we waited until this summer to bother getting anything else for the patio.
A few weeks ago I had a week off work as part of my purchased vacation time, and I used part of that time to put in raised beds and fill them with soil. It was a several-day job, but I got it all done all by myself! (*preen*) I bought corner kits from Lee Valley tools, wood from Home Depot, and soil from a local soil service. So I now have two 4' x 6' beds that are a foot deep. We'll see if that's enough room... I think it will be for now.
We also got a new table and chairs, and an umbrella. I want to hang some old Christmas lights we have along the edge of the garage, and then I think we'll be set. It is so nice sitting out there for dinner. :D
Plonq has already planted his herbs in pots, and tomorrow I'll finish planting the rest of my stuff in the raised beds. This year I'm growing sugar snap peas, carrots, four kinds of summer squash, a cucumber, three cherry tomato plants, and pole beans. Overall it's all come together really well. It feels like a miraculous transformation compared to what we had. :)
This entry was originally posted at https://atara.dreamwidth.org/623446.html. Please leave any comments there.