Over the past 4-5 months Adam and I have really been trying to work on getting our yard in order. When we moved into our house (2 years ago in November) the backyard was a jungle of weeds and the front yard consisted of two small trees and some grass. So this year we decided to put 100% of our tax returns and any “extra” money we could save towards putting our yard in. It’s been A LOT of hard work, but we are so happy with the progress. We still have a LONG way to go on it to get it the way we want, but for a couple of amateurs we didn’t do half bad! Below are some of our yard transformations! đ
This is what the yard looked at the 2nd time we came to see the house in 2008.
And this is what it looked like earlier this summer. We planted a small flowering tree, cut out our grass to make an additional flower bed along the walk, and planted a bunch of flowers and bushes.
Side yard Oct 2008
Side Yard May 2010.We had the hill next to the house tiered in rock and next year plan to have this curbed.
Different view – looking down
When we first moved in we had this gigantic hill on our property that the neighbors next door had placed there when digging their own foundation. We ended up having a bobcat come in and move all the dirt to the back of our house where we built another rock wall and then leveled out our property so it was more flat. This picture was taken earlier this spring and after about two-thirds of the hill was already moved.
In its place we constructed 3 new garden boxes and then planted a garden! đ
Unfortunately this is the best picture I have of what the garden now looks like,
but hopefully you get the idea.
North side of the house Oct 2008
Its hard to see in the above picture but the hill on the north side of our house used to go all the way down to the neighbors house below us (down to the yellowish house below) and was VERY steep. We ended up decided to put in three tiers of rock for a flower garden and then built a fire pit below that. Next year we will put in a cement patio around the fire pit. But you can see the top row of rocks towards the bottom of the hill.
This is what the hill looks like now.
We ended up planting 5 fruit trees along our property line and then put in grass! Yeah!
We ended up planting 5 fruit trees along our property line and then put in grass! Yeah!
This is another angle of the same hill. Looking up from below this time.
And what it looks like now! đ
Here is a view of our VERY steep hill before we landscaped it.
And this is after we had it tiered
And this is with the cement steps put in. Since this picture was taken we have also cleared smaller rocks out of these tiers, brought in top soil and compost, tilled up the dirt, and then put black paper and mulch down, AND planted a few flowers and bushes. I’ll have to take another picture of this area soon.
Here is a picture of our backyard (from the North hill) back in Oct 2008
And this picture is from this last spring 2009 (BEFORE we started on the yard)
The first thing we did was burn all the weeds.
Then we hired a rock company to come in and build a third tier for us and flatten out our backyard a bit (we own all the way to the bottom of the hill). If you look closely you will see the THOUSANDS of rocks in our backyard. We ended up moving every single one of those rocks by hand in order to put in our sprinkler system in the backyard, and then moved them again when the trenchers dug up hundreds more! Our arms have never been so buff! đ
This is what the yard looked like after we finished moving the rocks and after we brought in 14 tonz of top soil which was delivered in front of our house and which we ended up HAND shoveling into Adams truck and then HAND shoveling out of his truck and then RAKING by hand over our entire back yard! YIKES! We also put in a patio by our back door and play ground area (seen below)
This is what it looks like now with the grass in! đ Yeah for grass!
Here is a view of our yard from the south side of the house.
(The trees are our neighbors and they have since taken them out)
(The trees are our neighbors and they have since taken them out)
This is what the yard looked like this last spring 2010 BEFORE we started landscaping
As mentioned earlier we had a third row of rocks put in to level this area out.
Here is an aerial view after the rocks were removed and top soil put down
And this is what it looks like today! đ
Here is a shot of our rock hill in March 2010 BEFORE we had the rock re-done and the third tier put in. As you can see it was a MESS! (This is also after we burned the weeds)
This is what it looked like after the rocks work was done. LOVE it!
And this is what it looked like after the small rocks were removed and the top soil put in.
A shot from the day after the sod was layed
And what it looks like now! đ
An aerial view
So thats it folks! Thats what we’ve been up to all summer!
We sure are happy to have MOST of the big stuff done. Now its onto some of our indoor projects! đ
Looks so nice!
Rob and I are seriously impressed with all the work you've done this summer. You must have been working almost all of the time!
Forget the indoor projects. It's time to play!