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BEFORE
When we moved in, the back yard was a wasteland of dead grass, hearty
weeds, and ugly fencing up all around. Apparently the house and guest
cottage were rented separately and the tenants put up fences so that each
residence could have its own yard space.
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BEFORE
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DURING
We tore down the fences and began attacking the yard area by area,
refining our design as we went along. In this space we relocated the
large, spiky plant to get a better view of the yard (such as it was at
this point).
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DURING
Later, as a garden plan began to take shape, we tore off the old, tiny
porch to make way for a deck, and poured a concrete slab so we could move
the hot tub off the patio.
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NOW
A much more usable space! Although the deck looks like redwood, it's
actually a synthetic composite--no need to treat continually to get a
long life out of it!
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With a table and chair set, grill,
chimera, and patio heater for those chilly stargazing nights...
...this is the most complete of our outdoor living spaces.
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BEFORE
While ripping down fences and the old porch, we also cut back bushes and
vines, cleared out trash covered by undergrowth, dug up weeds, cut down
the dead Magnolia tree, and shaped the remaining trees.
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DURING
Even after all of that cleanup we had a long way to go to reach our
vision of a garden retreat. We started by hauling in soil and soil
amendment to keep our rototiller (and ourselves) busy!
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NOW
Busy enough to transform the weedy flat blah area just behind the
house into five raised beds (a four-bed four-season garden and a bed with
our cacti/succulent collection)
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And we scrapped plans to turn the
weedy flat sun-baked area in the back of the yard into an orchard.
Instead...
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We went with a vibrant bed of annuals...
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...that only enhances our ability to attract butterflies
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and bees
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Behind the annual flower extravaganza is
our secret, sacred Rose
Room--a haven
filled with the sight and scent of a rainbow of floribunda and hybrid tea
rose bushes and prolific climbing roses.
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Always looking to optimize, we recently got rid of the boring bushes in a
nearby area of the yard...
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...and added some new roses!
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BEFORE
With a 0.25 acre lot, we still have a lot of work ahead of us.
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DURING
But we're tackling one area at a time..
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DURING
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NOW
And having a great time doing it!
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UPDATE
In the summer of 2004 we had another burst of inspiration--expanded
outdoor living space and better utilization of storage space. We gave
away the shed next to the deck...
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...and
moved the old, ugly metal shed into the empty alley next to the house.
With a paint job and some trellises, it turned out not too bad.
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As you can see, we also
built a deck extension--a "floating deck" to serve as a shady
dining and relaxation area, soon to be complete with hammock.
Next to the deck extension we built another raised bed, and framed it
with a curving stone wall.
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In the bare space left by the metal
shed, we put a new, small plastic shed for garden tools, built another
stone wall, and planted more fruit trees.
You'll see we also installed a new fence to replace its falling-down,
rotting predecessor!
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We also
broke up and removed the sidewalk that bordered the guest cottage..
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And created a path of crushed
granite to match the other garden paths.
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One small corner of the yard remains mostly untouched. Plans for this
shady spot include more hostas, ferns, and a water feature!
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It's hard to beat fresh fruit or fruit juice from our lemon, grapefruit,
and (soon!) orange trees...
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...or fresh flowers filling up the house.
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With the
always-busy bird seed feeder and collection of hummingbird feeders, we've
got a true park in the making! But the best part is the satisfaction of
knowing that we did most of it ourselves!
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