Well, hello there! I hope you have all been enjoying your summer so far! We have been enjoying it somewhat, but we have also been enjoying the rewards of some hard work on the back yard. When we bought this house last August, the yard had been allowed to completely run wild. We even had to hire a landscaper to tame the wilderness that had become our back yard. Being the consummate DIYers, that was a hard pill to swallow, but with all that this house needed on the inside, we just couldn't handle it! Off of the screened porch, there was a sort of "fenced-in garden". If that's what you would call a garden...
See what I mean? A weed infested mess. And this is after the landscapers had cleaned up the yard. And that shed. OY. We stuck that iron piece on an old nail and said good enough for a while, but we just couldn't stand looking at this anymore:
Seriously, the shed looked like it had been in a dog fight with an F-16 there are so many holes in the siding! The plastic shutters look super cheap and faded. And those lights. Just. Urgh.
While tearing up the landscaping ties from the yard, I thought, Hey! Wouldn't these make a really cool, rustic potting bench against that awful shed? So this is what we came up with...
While tearing up the landscaping ties from the yard, I thought, Hey! Wouldn't these make a really cool, rustic potting bench against that awful shed? So this is what we came up with...
Hubby nailed the ties together and then attached the whole bench to the side of the shed. It is very chunky and worn, just what I was hoping for! Hubby also banged out some quick cedar shutters and we wired up some new, inexpensive lights from Lowes. A MUCH better view from the house and porch, I can tell you.
Next we tackled the "garden" and walkway between the shed and the porch. Hubby dug up the weed infested area, then we worked with the existing plants, adding in new plants here and there to fill in. Our generous neighbor wanted to get rid of a few sedum plants and asked us to dig them up if we wanted them! Score! After laying down bag after bag of pea gravel and river rock, here is what we have now:
Next we tackled the "garden" and walkway between the shed and the porch. Hubby dug up the weed infested area, then we worked with the existing plants, adding in new plants here and there to fill in. Our generous neighbor wanted to get rid of a few sedum plants and asked us to dig them up if we wanted them! Score! After laying down bag after bag of pea gravel and river rock, here is what we have now:
My succulents and portulaca are really enjoying this area. It floods when we have heavy rain, but dries out pretty quickly and gets lots of hot mid-day sun. This little pea gravel patio reminds me of Tuscany, the little seating areas in the gardens. With our umbrellas up, it is a great spot to enjoy some iced tea and get out of the sun.
We also added a cedar screen to hide the HVAC unit and added a temporary walkway around to the side of the house. We will be taking up all the walkways and deck boards at some point and laying new walkways around the entire yard. We just don't have it in us this year, it will have to wait. But this looks just fine for now...
Last weekend, we got around to painting the foundation and the back steps. Here are some more horrid before pictures, gird your loins...
First of all, what the hell is with the useless little deck sitting on the concrete steps? Second, why is the deck painted red when the concrete steps and foundation are that wonderful 90's hunter green?? Honestly people, I don't know how I've lived with this situation for the few months I have. It HURT just to look at it! LOL! Hubby tore out that little deck then we got to work prepping and painting the foundation and back steps. We also created a small vignette in the corner with an old post, old pavers and bricks... And more gifted flowers from our neighbor!
Now to do something with that door... :-) Of course, all of this is temporary for now. We need to tear out some rotting wood on the screened porch and rebuild the whole thing. We will most likely close the porch in with large sliding doors and windows and add a wraparound deck with steps to cover that concrete eyesore.
Last but not least, I got to get a little crafty for the grilling area! I made use of my Silhouette cutting machine and adhesive vinyl to create a little sign to cover a nice grouping of holes in the siding by the grill. SOOOOO many holes... Sigh... We cannot WAIT to get new siding put on this house!
Last but not least, I got to get a little crafty for the grilling area! I made use of my Silhouette cutting machine and adhesive vinyl to create a little sign to cover a nice grouping of holes in the siding by the grill. SOOOOO many holes... Sigh... We cannot WAIT to get new siding put on this house!
What back yard is complete without some Grillin' n Chillin'? While I had fun creating the graphics for the little grill and martini glass, getting my Silhouette machine to sync up with my new laptop tried my already thin patience yesterday. In the end, I prevailed and I get to show you all of our hard work today. I hope you enjoyed seeing the transformation of this little corner of our yard! Lots more to do and show you, but I am hoping for some downtime this weekend! Hope springs eternal... Happy Grillin' n Chillin' ya'll!
Cheers!
M J
Cheers!
M J
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