More Than I Could Chew

You know that saying? The one about biting off more than you can chew? Yeh, that pretty much sums up my adventures in landscaping.

Last summer, Mr. Mel and I did alot of work, ALOT of work by ourselves. I did my own landscape plan, we hauled, shoveled, lifted, dug, mulched....but there is still plenty of work to be done to get the yard to a place that I'd consider "done".

This project is just too big for me to get done without help, so Mr. Mel and I have hired a professional landscaper to finish what we started. The control freak in my is having a meltdown. But at the same time I think it's important to recognize when we're in over our heads, and to ask for help.

We will still be getting our hands dirty, but I'm looking forward to having a pro fix and problem solve some areas that I lack the knowledge to tackle on my own.

Our front yard has a steeper grade than I realized that must be retained and have levels built in. This is way beyond what I am comfortable handling on my own. The overall design for the front yard will stay as-is, but we will have stone edge installed to hold in our soil and mulch (which seems to run off during every rain) and to provide a finished edge against the sod.

The front patio will be moved further out from the house and will be made about 4 feet larger, and a planter and pergola will be built for shade and interest.

Switzer's Nursery & Landscaping

They'll also be grading near the road to create a more gradual ditch that will be much easier to mow.

Many of our cedars and a few other plants didn't or barely survived the harsh winter (and hungry rabbits and deer), so the landscaper will be replacing some and relocating others.

Our subdivision was pasture land for many decades and, as a result, there are some very stubborn weeds and grasses that will take a few years to permanently kill off. They'll also be hauling in yards and yards of mulch to fill up the beds and help control the weeds.

The backyard will get new brick flower bed edging, mulch, some grading work, and a stacked stone seating wall around the patio and built in bbq area.

For the front and rear yards we'll get detailed planting plans that we can follow over the next few years to fill in our beds as we kill off our wild weeds and grasses.

I'm excited to share photos as this project gets underway.

Finally, Planting!

Okey dokey my blogger friends. Last year I let you in on my master landscape plan. Now it's time to update on what we were up to all summer. What better way to warm up on a cold day like today than to think about landscaping?! ha ha

I started with the trees and shrubs (although other projects seemed to keep popping up). I had the yard graded away from the house for proper drainage (at $85/hr this only cost me $170.00), and had the local utility companies mark any underground gas and power lines.

I placed my order with a local tree nursery so my order was ready for me to pick up. It's a small time saver but it was less hassle than walking through the nursery myself, picking each item. Cause I'm lazy like that.

I made myself a "planting map" complete with measurements from the property lines and the spacing between each plant. Of course, all of these trees and shrubs will grow to be quite large so, the spacing will look a bit odd at first. It's important, though, to make sure they all have room to grow based on their expected spread, or you may end up overcrowding your plants. It's not pretty, (or proportionate ha ha) but here's my map:

As we measured, I marked the location of each plant with marker paint (such a clever can, that can be held upside down).

I bought a couple of spades and Mr. Mel and my strapping nephew, AJ, got to work. It took us a few more weeks to get them all done but we ended up planting 55 trees and shrubs. FIFTY FIVE! That's alot of holes, people!

After the delay of a few weeks due to monsoon-like rain, we were able to get to work on the front yard.

We had the yard graded and had to bring in 20 yards of topsoil to bring up the grade (our yard had to be brought up about 5"). The topsoil was an investment we didn't think we'd have to make right away, but I'm glad we have it done. One less thing to do down the road! The patch of bare ground near the front of the yard is a ditch area where I didn't want to waste $ putting in topsoil for now. The top of the yard, nearest the house, was left bare for my patio block project.

I can't wait for spring to see how many of my plants survived our brutal winter. I also have landscaping updates a couple of projects on deck for the front yard once the snow melts, stay tuned for that!

What we planted: 

• Swedish Aspen
• French Lilac
• Greenspire Linden
• Tower Poplar
• Sugar Maple
• Colorado Blue Spruce
• Brandon Cedar
• Golden Ninebark
• Goldenrod Potentilla
• Little Kim Lilac
• Tinkerbelle Lilac
• Snowbelle Mock Orange
• Red Leaf Barberry
• Thunderchild Flowering Crab
• Autumn Blaze Maple
• Russian Almond
• White Cedar
• Alpine Currant
• Medora Juniper

Grass and Block Patio (minus the grass)

I wanted to do something a little different for my front yard so I scrapped my plan to do a large raised planter in front of the window and, instead, I'm going to create a seating area and pergola.

Genius, right? Please...hold your applause.

I measured off the area for my patio. I will have a 3' planting bed between the house and the patio, and the patio itself will be 103" x 123" (about 8' x 10').

I dug down the area of the patio so it was a total of 5 1/2" below the grade of the yard. This will allow for a 2" layer of gravel, a 2" layer of sand, and the thickness of my patio block. My yard has a steep grade so I had to build a frame from pressure treated lumber. Not the most desireable option, but I can eventually diguise it with landscaping so it ended up being no biggie.

I layed down my base, then my sand and had Mr. Mel tamp both down nice and tight. These two layers create the base for your patio so it doesn't settle and become unlevel.

I started laying my patio blocks. My blocks are 18" x 18" and, based on the size of my patio I decided to have 3" spaces running between them.

By now, my sunburn had reached epic proportions...so much for SPF 30.

To fill the spaces between the blocks, I mixed up topsoil, compost, and CIL Grass Seed and packed it in the spaces.

Then I gave it all a good watering and crossed my fingers that it'll grow grass. I'll be sure to post photos when it's all green!

What's on my Mind

I've got 'gazebo' on the brain. I am so excited to get started on the yard this spring that I am already in full on countdown, prep mode! I am especially having fun gathering inspiration photos for my gazebo. Take a gander......

Source

 
 BySteel

Coastal Living

DIY Network

Access1

Source

Balmoral Interiors

Source

Pottery Barn

Ok, I couldn't resist, just a few more...

Of course, my reality is far more modest than many of my inspiration photos, but that's what being inspired is all about! 

I am literally countiing down the days until I can get this project started and am curious...

Have you built your own backyard gazebo? I'd love to see what you've created!