July 2009:
Friday, July 10, 2009
One step closer on the path to completion
Work for the last few months has been slow going, but there has been progress made, none the less. Specifically, new brick paths.
To create a more welcoming look, and as a convenience to any guests we have, we chose to create a new path that goes from the sidewalk to the door. Before there was just an existing brick path going from our driveway to the door. Seeing as we use that path when we park in the driveway, we decided to keep it. But it needed to be redone.
Plans for the new, guest-friendly path were laid out when we put down the retaining walls and sod as seen in this pictures from a previous post:
You can also see the dirty, weed infested existing brick path that was lower than the rest of the yard because of the work we had done to the level of the yard.
Although it is hard to see in this picture, we created a step on the new path by the sidewalk and then used the same type pavers we used for the sidewalk strip. Then we redid the existing brick path, using the bricks that were already there (to be green and to save green)but in the same herringbone pattern we used for the rest of the brickwork.
While I think it looks a little odd to have the unmatching bricks in the same space, I just could not justify spending more money for new ones. Not to mention that we would have tons of brick laying around. But the biggest factor in our decision to use the existing bricks was that because there are some really unique fire bricks that have been stamped that are just too cool not to use. Before these stamped bricks were scattered about. This time I decided that because of their varying sizes and as a way to highlight them better, I put them down in attention grabbing lines. Here's a close up.
Now that it is all said and done, I think I can safely say that I am a pro at using pavers...oh, and that I am so sick of pushing around sand (into the spaces between bricks) that I am glad we are finished with all things path at the R household!
To create a more welcoming look, and as a convenience to any guests we have, we chose to create a new path that goes from the sidewalk to the door. Before there was just an existing brick path going from our driveway to the door. Seeing as we use that path when we park in the driveway, we decided to keep it. But it needed to be redone.
Plans for the new, guest-friendly path were laid out when we put down the retaining walls and sod as seen in this pictures from a previous post:
You can also see the dirty, weed infested existing brick path that was lower than the rest of the yard because of the work we had done to the level of the yard.
Although it is hard to see in this picture, we created a step on the new path by the sidewalk and then used the same type pavers we used for the sidewalk strip. Then we redid the existing brick path, using the bricks that were already there (to be green and to save green)but in the same herringbone pattern we used for the rest of the brickwork.
While I think it looks a little odd to have the unmatching bricks in the same space, I just could not justify spending more money for new ones. Not to mention that we would have tons of brick laying around. But the biggest factor in our decision to use the existing bricks was that because there are some really unique fire bricks that have been stamped that are just too cool not to use. Before these stamped bricks were scattered about. This time I decided that because of their varying sizes and as a way to highlight them better, I put them down in attention grabbing lines. Here's a close up.
Now that it is all said and done, I think I can safely say that I am a pro at using pavers...oh, and that I am so sick of pushing around sand (into the spaces between bricks) that I am glad we are finished with all things path at the R household!
Friday, May 8, 2009
First Steps to a Fabulous Front Yard
OK, so after the sidewalk strip was complete, the rest of the yard looked especially terrible by comparison! We had to fix the back yard due to my husband's grad party that is coming up that we are hosting here, but after that was complete, our focus turned again to the front yard. Our front yard had a slight slope to it. I wanted to level it out by putting in some sort of low retaining wall and filing it with dirt. I want to make the retaining wall out of brick, but that process will take a long time. We still have sod left over from the backyard and so we needed to get the foundation in ASAP so that the sod did not die on us. I didn't snap a before pic, but pieces of our small yard can be seen in previous posts. Here is the temporary wood retaining wall pre-sod:
But when it came time to lay the sod, there was a problem. We waited too long! The sod had turned yellow! Half the yard was covered, just to give the idea, but we are going to have to re-do it with fresh sod :( Here is the progress so far:
Obviously, we have decided to put in another path down the middle of our yard to the sidewalk. We will be putting in pavers after the sod is laid. One day it will lead to a new porch!
The box in the lower corner is access to the sewer line...I am going to have to get creative in that area.
So that's what's new in the R household, temporary progress!
But when it came time to lay the sod, there was a problem. We waited too long! The sod had turned yellow! Half the yard was covered, just to give the idea, but we are going to have to re-do it with fresh sod :( Here is the progress so far:
Obviously, we have decided to put in another path down the middle of our yard to the sidewalk. We will be putting in pavers after the sod is laid. One day it will lead to a new porch!
The box in the lower corner is access to the sewer line...I am going to have to get creative in that area.
So that's what's new in the R household, temporary progress!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Succulents!
My new gardening interest. I took a trip to Cottage Gardens in Petaluma the other day and was instantly converted. The selection of succulents they sell is amazing! All the plants are so interesting...and so expensive. I went to my local Friedman's hardware store and picked out some of the cheaper, although less interesting, succulents they carried.
My new collection works great on an odd outdoor shelf by the back door that some previous owner built years and years ago.
I still haven't figured out what it is about these drought resistant plants that attracts me. I remember as a child thinking they were the most hideous plants on earth ( I also hated broccoli, wool, and the color brown as well as any similar shade)but now they are my new favorite!
Overgrown backyard no longer
I had enough. This will be our third summer in our home and I did not want to spend another one looking at a big patch of dead weeds in the middle of our backyard. It was time to do something about it.
But what to do...a lounge-ish area a built-in fire pit? A gazebo? A fountain? I knew I wanted to do something more than just grass, just grass is boring. I loved the look of the space towards the bottom with the fountain and the covered lounge area with draping:
Then I realized that we need grass. Our house is to small to entertain and we need space in the backyard for extra tables and people to overflow into. Boring grass it is, but it is still a million times better than what it was.
OK, the before picture (mind you, it is spring at this point so the weeds are green)
Another reason I decided on grass was because we are hosting my husband's graduation party here in 4 short weeks and we needed a quick fix.
The first thing that had to be done was to take out the poorly planted pear tree. I feel bad cutting down trees, especially fruit trees, but the tree was competing with the bamboo privacy screen, and loosing, anyway. Which brings me to the next task: cutting down and thinning out the bamboo so that more light could reach the grass. Here is the overgrown bamboo before (notice the missing pear tree):
And after:
Look at all that cut bamboo! I had to clean it up:
Ahhh, much better. But where did all the bamboo go you ask? Santa Rosa Waste Management does not allow you to put bamboo in their yard waste bins, and that bin is too small! Why I piled in on our compost heap:
Oh dear, going to have to make a run to the dump and beg them to take all this bamboo off our hands. Note to reader: If you ever find yourself considering planting bamboo in your own yard, think long and hard on it, and remember this post!
After tilling the ground and ordering the sod, we were able to lay it down. My dad and soon-to-be step-mom came on their day off and did it while we were at work. They are so AWESOME!
Looking at it online, it doesn't look like much and I still think it's boring, AND it is going to make our water bill shoot up like crazy, but it is no longer a patch of weeds and it is new and for the moment, I am happy with it.
But what to do...a lounge-ish area a built-in fire pit? A gazebo? A fountain? I knew I wanted to do something more than just grass, just grass is boring. I loved the look of the space towards the bottom with the fountain and the covered lounge area with draping:
Then I realized that we need grass. Our house is to small to entertain and we need space in the backyard for extra tables and people to overflow into. Boring grass it is, but it is still a million times better than what it was.
OK, the before picture (mind you, it is spring at this point so the weeds are green)
Another reason I decided on grass was because we are hosting my husband's graduation party here in 4 short weeks and we needed a quick fix.
The first thing that had to be done was to take out the poorly planted pear tree. I feel bad cutting down trees, especially fruit trees, but the tree was competing with the bamboo privacy screen, and loosing, anyway. Which brings me to the next task: cutting down and thinning out the bamboo so that more light could reach the grass. Here is the overgrown bamboo before (notice the missing pear tree):
And after:
Look at all that cut bamboo! I had to clean it up:
Ahhh, much better. But where did all the bamboo go you ask? Santa Rosa Waste Management does not allow you to put bamboo in their yard waste bins, and that bin is too small! Why I piled in on our compost heap:
Oh dear, going to have to make a run to the dump and beg them to take all this bamboo off our hands. Note to reader: If you ever find yourself considering planting bamboo in your own yard, think long and hard on it, and remember this post!
After tilling the ground and ordering the sod, we were able to lay it down. My dad and soon-to-be step-mom came on their day off and did it while we were at work. They are so AWESOME!
Looking at it online, it doesn't look like much and I still think it's boring, AND it is going to make our water bill shoot up like crazy, but it is no longer a patch of weeds and it is new and for the moment, I am happy with it.
Friday, April 3, 2009
Come back wisteria!
Last year I was pleasantly surprised to learn that I have two wisteria plants growing in my front yard. Wisteria is one of my favorite plants. It has all the elements of plants I love: it is droopy, fluffy and romantic, it is purple, and it is a spring flower (again, spring being my favorite season). I never knew they were there because my brother-in-law (old co-owner of the house) used to cut it back to try to kill it every year. Don't even get me started on his gardening skills, or why anyone would want to kill a wisteria plant!
To make sure the wisteria has a chance for a healthy comeback, this year I decided to secure trellis to the exterior wall in the front yard so that it can grow freely. It was tricky attaching the trellis. First of all, the walls are stucco, basically like a layer of cement on the walls, a normal bit on a screw wouldn't stand a chance. I needed my dad to bring his heavy duty drill bits. Second of all, the trellis needed to have a spacer so that it would not be flat against the wall, prohibiting the wisteria vines from wrapping around the trellis and blocking the circulation of air flow to the back of the plant. PVC pipes provided the perfect spacer, but it was difficult to find screws long enough to go through the trellis, spacer, and the wall. Third of all, there are all sorts of boxes and pipes on the house (I honestly have no idea what they all are) so the trellis had to dodge those.
We broke a drill bit and cracked the wood of the trellis because we screwed to far, but we made it work.
Here's a "before trellis" shot. Notice the wisteria is climbing up one of the random pipelines on the front of the house (now the trellis will hide all this, yay!)The wisteria on the other side of the window is much slower to come back, but it's there.
And the "after" shot:
I tried to salvage as much of the plant I could, but I had to cut off about half of the growth from last year to free it from the pipeline.
It's already so much happier.
Notice the PVC pipe and the odd boxes on the front of the house that will soon be covered with wisteria.
Fingers crossed that next spring the plant will be happy enough to hive me a blanket of purple blooms.
To make sure the wisteria has a chance for a healthy comeback, this year I decided to secure trellis to the exterior wall in the front yard so that it can grow freely. It was tricky attaching the trellis. First of all, the walls are stucco, basically like a layer of cement on the walls, a normal bit on a screw wouldn't stand a chance. I needed my dad to bring his heavy duty drill bits. Second of all, the trellis needed to have a spacer so that it would not be flat against the wall, prohibiting the wisteria vines from wrapping around the trellis and blocking the circulation of air flow to the back of the plant. PVC pipes provided the perfect spacer, but it was difficult to find screws long enough to go through the trellis, spacer, and the wall. Third of all, there are all sorts of boxes and pipes on the house (I honestly have no idea what they all are) so the trellis had to dodge those.
We broke a drill bit and cracked the wood of the trellis because we screwed to far, but we made it work.
Here's a "before trellis" shot. Notice the wisteria is climbing up one of the random pipelines on the front of the house (now the trellis will hide all this, yay!)The wisteria on the other side of the window is much slower to come back, but it's there.
And the "after" shot:
I tried to salvage as much of the plant I could, but I had to cut off about half of the growth from last year to free it from the pipeline.
It's already so much happier.
Notice the PVC pipe and the odd boxes on the front of the house that will soon be covered with wisteria.
Fingers crossed that next spring the plant will be happy enough to hive me a blanket of purple blooms.
Project sidewalk strip...
I love spring. I it is my favorite season. Everything is green, effortlessly green. The strip in front of our house between the sidewalk and the street is even green. Unfortunately, it does not stay green; It gets overgrown, weedy and dries out in the summer. It had to be fixed.
I should mention that all of our home improvements are DIY. Because of this, my dad has become my #1 go to helper with all my projects. There are may reasons why: he is awesome, he knows everything about tools, building and home improvements, he has all the necessary tools for home improvements, and he is recently retired (congrats, dad)so has extra time and likes to keep himself busy. I secretly hope that my dad will rub off on my husband who is good at quick fixes when the plumbing acts up, but is the farthest thing from being a handyman as possible.
When we went to the drawing board for what to do with the sidewalk strip, we had lots of ideas:
Pave the whole thing with an attractive stamped, stained concrete? No, I still need something green so your eye can land on something soft and green. Do flagstone and grow moss between the stones? No, it gets too dry and weeds would just grow. Do sections of stamped, stained cement and then two planter boxes to add the green? OK, the plants will have to be drought resistant, and we can keep weeds down with mulch....wait stamps and stain cost $1,000, never mind.
Finally I/we decided to do pavers and drought resistant plants and got to work. It took just about a month and a half to complete from the moment we started planning, but I am pleased with the result.
Notice the patch of dirt on the lawn where the bushes used to be :)
The pattern we used for the brick pavers was herringbone. It went in easily, but our sidewalk was not straight, so my dad had to cut many bricks to fit in the spaces with his tile cutter. In each box I planted a Spanish lavender, two ornamental grasses named Elisha's Blue, and a spreading sedum.
With these boxes I tried to establish the color scheme for the front yard. Because the house is red, I decided all the plants will have yellow or purple flowers, with hints of red and white to tie it into the house (I hope to paint the trim on the house white).
I should mention that all of our home improvements are DIY. Because of this, my dad has become my #1 go to helper with all my projects. There are may reasons why: he is awesome, he knows everything about tools, building and home improvements, he has all the necessary tools for home improvements, and he is recently retired (congrats, dad)so has extra time and likes to keep himself busy. I secretly hope that my dad will rub off on my husband who is good at quick fixes when the plumbing acts up, but is the farthest thing from being a handyman as possible.
When we went to the drawing board for what to do with the sidewalk strip, we had lots of ideas:
Pave the whole thing with an attractive stamped, stained concrete? No, I still need something green so your eye can land on something soft and green. Do flagstone and grow moss between the stones? No, it gets too dry and weeds would just grow. Do sections of stamped, stained cement and then two planter boxes to add the green? OK, the plants will have to be drought resistant, and we can keep weeds down with mulch....wait stamps and stain cost $1,000, never mind.
Finally I/we decided to do pavers and drought resistant plants and got to work. It took just about a month and a half to complete from the moment we started planning, but I am pleased with the result.
Notice the patch of dirt on the lawn where the bushes used to be :)
The pattern we used for the brick pavers was herringbone. It went in easily, but our sidewalk was not straight, so my dad had to cut many bricks to fit in the spaces with his tile cutter. In each box I planted a Spanish lavender, two ornamental grasses named Elisha's Blue, and a spreading sedum.
With these boxes I tried to establish the color scheme for the front yard. Because the house is red, I decided all the plants will have yellow or purple flowers, with hints of red and white to tie it into the house (I hope to paint the trim on the house white).
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