Yard Work!

When we first moved in, our backyard was a mess. These photos are pretty favorable actually, but trust me...underneath a bit of that greenery (read: weeds) was a mess.

See all that gravel? The whole yard was graveled because Mr. Joe used to work on cars back there and park them in.the.yard. And the right side of the yard was completely overgrown with random trees/bushes.

He also had this super.adorable removable carport thing in the back which did not convey. I was super sad as you may be able to guess. Ha.

And, oh yeah, the infamous coal bin. Remember that project?

Well, ever since then our backyard has been slowly evolving. First there was the patio/fence project. 

then there were the other outdoor projects...

and finally a few weeks months back, we got some grass planted and plants put in!

This was when we first mulched and put the plants in and the seed down, hence no grass (except the HUGE tufts that we couldn't mow to not kill our little seedlings!). But, I promise you that now there is plenty! 

One without the dog. 

So we put azaleas in in the back, since they are a little hardier than the hydrangeas that I tried last year (those trees steal all the water). Then we have impatiens in between the azaleas (which are growing like gangbusters now). 

To the right we have three climbing hydrangea plants (ALSO growing like gangbusters, so we are working on some better climbing surfaces for them). And then to the right my hydrangea bush. I had to have one. And it seems to be doing well so far! As you can see int he corner I also added some little fencing in my garden so that the dog doesn't get in there and eat all my vegetables!

Because I know you really do love the dog.

And Bings LOVES the yard. 

Anywho, we have done some other exciting things lately and though the azaleas are no longer in bloom, etc. I will get some update photos out here in a few weeks. Next weekend we have a contractor coming to finally fix the back door so i can update you all with photos of our finished mudroom makeover and the finished patio, with my new navy blue and red accents...and all the grass!

In any case, the transformation so far has been really great!

Before

In Progress

Outdoor Project Updates!

Well, we did get some project-ing done outdoors over the last few weeks. The biggest of which is our new storm door, which I am in lurve with. But thanks to Daylight Savings I could NOT get a good picture of the completed project this morning since it was still dark outside! Gah.

So that project will get its own post here soon. Yay!

In the meantime, here are some other things that we have added to the house/backyard.

To the right of the patio:

Raised bed for veggies and hanging planters for herbs. My veggies are starting from seeds inside at the moment, but my herbs have been moved out there since this photo was taken. 

I will get an updated one soon!

To the left of the patio:

Clothesline, which has since had the actually line added, and has a clothespin bag soon to be added as well...made by yours truly.

And, yes, I realize that our backyard needs desperately to be raked and that it looks like...well, dirt. But, those things (grass, landscaping, etc) are all in the works currently and believe me when I tell you that it is so.much.better than the graveled piece of land that used to be a parking space for classic cars.

Though some might think the classic car look is better.

Not me.

Project: Patio

A long, long time ago...I can still remember...

(Points if you now have American Pie running through your head...alright, alright! Here is the link, don't hurt yourself searching for it)

...when I posted about these photos about destroying our coal bin and old sidewalk in order to put in a patio.

Well, that patio is in!

Austin started by digging all the ground up and laying down  some  a hell ton of stone to make it level...

Oh yes, once we got rid of the coal bin - guess what we found? No siding underneath! Yay! So, we had to special order siding that looks like our historical siding, but isn't actually made from the same materials {coughcoughasbestoscough, seriously see here for more about it}and repair the window sill to our laundry room... none of which has been painted in any of these photos. The hubs has since gotten it together and painted...

ANYWAY, back to the patio.

This was the original pattern - very square and neat...then we remembered that our house is almost 100 years old and isn't so square itself...so plans changed.

Oh hey Bings - did you want to get in the way help?

That's a good boy, kick up all that gravel that Austin spent smoothing out into a level surface...he will be pleased. (Note that I took a photo instead of stopping him)

Once we realized that our house was not square, we (read: Austin and his man friends who were helping) went back and off set every row a bit, which I love so much more.

Once the pattern was set for real, it was time to put down some sand stuff...apparently it acts like cement and seals everything and keeps the pavers from shifting too much, or something.

A few days later, once all the edging stones were in place, our "little" patio that I had requested turned out to be this 200 sq foot beauty.

The stones are wet from spraying down that sand stuff one last time...the little pavers seem to hold water longer, so it doesn't really look like a checkerboard. They are all the same color and finish. Also, those are free chairs the previous owners left behind - score!

See those edging stones being finished along the, erm, edge? Now of course it is all finished and the house is painted, the only thing left is to replace that back door and hang a light fixture (that we already bought) to the right of the door. (I wish we could move that power box - maybe someday I can convince Austin to do it)

It already looks so much more finished than this photo - I will get one up once the door and light are installed - but still, from a gravel filled backyard complete with coal bin to this? All on our own?

We are feeling like home improvement rock stars.