It was gloriously WARM yesterday(it hit 77F degrees here!)and sunny on Saturday so hubs and I headed outside to work on an outdoor project we didn't get to last year.
This is the side of our house. It's the westerly side and doesn't get much sun most days right next to the house.
We cleared it out last year(pulled up lots of tree and bush starts)and dug up a big ugly bush to the right of this photo.
The shrubs flanking the tree trunk are Forsythia. The one on the left is too close to the house and just a spindly mess so we ended up pulling that one up too.
We found what looked like a buried GI Joe in there too but it was just his arm stuck in the ground.
Oh, the things you find years after your children grow up.......
So we got the area raked out of sticks and leaves, leveled the dirt abit and got the edging set and pounded into the ground. Next comes landscaping barrier and then pretty white stones. Once the tree leafs out this area is very shaded. I plan on getting that bench this year to place into the bed and I'll hang my wind chimes in that little tree. It will become a nice cool place to sit outside when the weather gets hot. There may be a bird bath in the future near here, out in the side yard too.
Now we need to arrange for the delivery of stones.
This is what this area looked like last Summer.
It's impossible to get grass to grow over here so this stone bed will be a nice compromise....plus it will be less area to mow for hubs.
I also started cleaning up/uncovering the back garden bed on Saturday while hubs was doing the "down on your knees" stuff....
Lots of dead leaves. It's still too early to plant here but I hope to get at least a part of the bed ready to sow some lettuce seeds soon.
Some onion sets that wintered over in this barrel planter are growing already too.
I need to get proactive this year with the garden.
Maybe I'll keep track of how much I grow this year like I did back in 2010!
We've got the leveled and round place in the backyard now where our above ground pool use to be.
It gets a lot of sun so would be perfect for growing stuff here.
Maybe I'll scrap all the sand off of there and turn it into a garden bed?
Or since it has electricity running back there, maybe I should put in a pond or put a fountain out there?
I don't know about a pond though.....it's a lot of work to maintain and real estate professionals will tell you that putting in too much outdoor/yard stuff will keep some people from buying your house(when we go to sell in 3 years). People are turned off usually by landscaping and "stuff" in that vein since it all needs maintenance. People don't want to spend their days working on their yards. They want simple, nice looking and easy to maintain from what I've been reading. There seems little sense to us to put in time/money into the yard that won't make it more saleable in 3 years.
What do y'all think we should do with this piece of the backyard?
We still need to clean up the front flower bed, get more plants to put in there and then re-mulch. It's too early to plant yet but we can clean it up, probably next weekend. By the time I can see again(after my cataract surgery)College Boy will be home and I can buy plants and have him help me get them put in before we go off on our road trip to Louisiana.
Today we are off to drop a load at Salvation Army, mostly made up of our daughter's cast-offs, and then to Maine Source for some produce and meat.
What are you up to today?
Sluggy
This is the side of our house. It's the westerly side and doesn't get much sun most days right next to the house.
We cleared it out last year(pulled up lots of tree and bush starts)and dug up a big ugly bush to the right of this photo.
The shrubs flanking the tree trunk are Forsythia. The one on the left is too close to the house and just a spindly mess so we ended up pulling that one up too.
We found what looked like a buried GI Joe in there too but it was just his arm stuck in the ground.
Oh, the things you find years after your children grow up.......
So we got the area raked out of sticks and leaves, leveled the dirt abit and got the edging set and pounded into the ground. Next comes landscaping barrier and then pretty white stones. Once the tree leafs out this area is very shaded. I plan on getting that bench this year to place into the bed and I'll hang my wind chimes in that little tree. It will become a nice cool place to sit outside when the weather gets hot. There may be a bird bath in the future near here, out in the side yard too.
Now we need to arrange for the delivery of stones.
It's impossible to get grass to grow over here so this stone bed will be a nice compromise....plus it will be less area to mow for hubs.
I also started cleaning up/uncovering the back garden bed on Saturday while hubs was doing the "down on your knees" stuff....
Lots of dead leaves. It's still too early to plant here but I hope to get at least a part of the bed ready to sow some lettuce seeds soon.
Some onion sets that wintered over in this barrel planter are growing already too.
I need to get proactive this year with the garden.
Maybe I'll keep track of how much I grow this year like I did back in 2010!
We've got the leveled and round place in the backyard now where our above ground pool use to be.
It gets a lot of sun so would be perfect for growing stuff here.
Maybe I'll scrap all the sand off of there and turn it into a garden bed?
Or since it has electricity running back there, maybe I should put in a pond or put a fountain out there?
I don't know about a pond though.....it's a lot of work to maintain and real estate professionals will tell you that putting in too much outdoor/yard stuff will keep some people from buying your house(when we go to sell in 3 years). People are turned off usually by landscaping and "stuff" in that vein since it all needs maintenance. People don't want to spend their days working on their yards. They want simple, nice looking and easy to maintain from what I've been reading. There seems little sense to us to put in time/money into the yard that won't make it more saleable in 3 years.
What do y'all think we should do with this piece of the backyard?
We still need to clean up the front flower bed, get more plants to put in there and then re-mulch. It's too early to plant yet but we can clean it up, probably next weekend. By the time I can see again(after my cataract surgery)College Boy will be home and I can buy plants and have him help me get them put in before we go off on our road trip to Louisiana.
Today we are off to drop a load at Salvation Army, mostly made up of our daughter's cast-offs, and then to Maine Source for some produce and meat.
What are you up to today?
Sluggy
Woman we live the same life. Den did yard work and I dejunked and then ran to Goodwill. Last weekend was more fun.
ReplyDeleteHahaha about the GI Joe. Our shed rotted in a corner and we couldnt figure out why, well Anna and her friends would go in there to pee. Yay children.
yesterday a knitting buddy and I met up for good conversation/food/drinks. nothing got done.
ReplyDeletetoday was laundry, groceries, dishes, pay bills. to do are knitting, listening to baseball, fix tikka masala chicken & rice for dinner.
I turned off the heat yesterday and opened the windows "to let the stink out", as my grandmother used to say. the cats LOVE it!
Yes, last weekend was more fun for you but Monday wasn't so good for your head. lolz
ReplyDeleteA communal pee shed. Hmmm......
Since you don't know what season you will be selling, maybe you could put in bulbs/plants now that will bloom all summer and some that will bloom in the fall. Some plants have pretty red berries all winter. Spring and early summer are easy.
ReplyDeleteThe pee shed is hilarious.
We had a round spot like that after we took down our pool too. We graded it and seeded it back to grass. Your shady sitting area is going to be nice when it's finished. I like the chimes idea. We have some on our front porch and enjoy sitting out there in the afternoon with the dog.
ReplyDeleteYou could put in a circle of curved patio stones and an above ground firepit!!! Yes, do it!!
ReplyDeleteSaturday: Haircut, wash truck (so I could find it covered in pine pollen today - the horrible yellow stuff), and laundry.
ReplyDeleteToday: Sleep, go get food, sleep, blog. Still need to write a post!
Peace <3
Jay
What am I up to? Sneezing mostly, and catching up with blogs .
ReplyDeleteFill it with top soil and plant grass or put sod in. Trust me bushes and plants take work a nice piece of lawn is only mowing. You have enough flower beds and nice landscaping around the the house. I have way too many beds and the work is over the top.
ReplyDeleteI firmly believe that you should enjoy your home while you are living in it. If it means a small pond, and you will enjoy it, it is worth it to you. I don't think I would always be thinking about resale value, because I want to live in my home and enjoy it. For example, if we need to remodel a kitchen, we won't put in a dishwasher. We don't like them. We won't use it. If I were remodeling to flip a house, yes, I would put in a dishwasher. If you want a pond, and if you want to do the maintenance as long as you live in the house, make a pond! Enjoy it while you can!
ReplyDeleteThe GI Joe arm had me looking a little closer at your yard. LOL! Hubby bought a beautiful stained glass solar bird bath at BIg Lots. $30 on sale for $25. Of course, it has been raining since he bought it, so it is still in the living room.
ReplyDeleteI still need your mailing address. fperkins2000 @ gmail.com