Side Yard… A work in progress…
We are still in the process of landscaping our yards. I’m hoping at some point we’ll get to the maintaining or updating stage, but for now we are still in the creation stage.
We bought our house about 2 1/2 years ago at a foreclosure auction… it was an exciting process and we got a great deal. Our home was only a few years old when we purchased it and the previous owners only lived in it for about 7 months and then the home sat empty for over 9 months. The landscaping that the builders had done out front was all dead and the backyard was a wasteland of dirt and waist high weeds. We’ve been tackling the yards area by area, little by little.
Last week I showed you a flashback to the large area of our backyard… you can see it HERE.
In the last month we’ve been focusing on our largest side yard. Here’s a photo of what the section looked like when we first moved in.
Last year we planted on the fence side, a couple trees, flowers and bushes.
This last month we added the border around the planter along the fence.
These are easy stacking edging. We found these on Craigslist used for a great deal.
We also planted along the house and added a border there too.
Here’s a view of the whole side yard.
We still need to mulch the planters and we’re “thinking” of putting crushed granite through the walkway area.
Does anyone have crushed granite in their yards? I’m curious what you think of it… let me know!
I have to show you our lemon tree. We started with a small lemon tree… you know those miniature ones in the tiny pots… back when we first moved in. We had it in a pot till last fall. Look we’ve got lemons starting to grow!
You have to see our gorgeous bougainvillea that are starting to bloom…
LOVE the vibrant pink.
How is your garden growing?
Here’s where I’m partying…
Strut Your Stuff @ Somewhat Simple, Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage, 100 Ideas Under $100 @ Beyond the Picket Fence, Frugalicious Friday @ Finding Fabulous, and Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk
Great start! I cannot imagine the backbreaking labor it took to move all those edger (is that a word) bricks or whatever they are. We have some crushed brick all along our driveway. It looked good at first, but then dirt got in it and it seems that's all that took to start growing weeds. So unless we want to weed all the time, it looks awful! We're thinking of replacing it with some low growing ground cover so we still wouldn't have to mow.
I have used crushed granite along one side of my house and love it. I have a side yard between my house and the fence that gets very little sun, so nothing would grow there. I hated dealing with the mud, etc. that my dogs would eventually track into the house. I ended up going to Lowe's and purchasing a bunch of their 40lb bags of crushed granite. I could only buy a few bags at a time, that's all that would fit in the trunk of my car. I would then put the bags in my trusty wheelbarrel and cart them around to the side of my house. My sister has also used crushed granite to create a pathway from her backyard to the front of the house and it works great.
Oh, that bougainvillea s stunning! *swoon* I don't think it would grow where I am. 🙁
Your side yard is looking fab! I wish I had an empty slate to start with like you did… but I inherited an unloved mess.
We don't have crushed granite, but we will be putting in crushed rock (limestone, I think.) I've got some inspiration pics here: https://onthebanksofsquawcreek.blogspot.com/2010/04/gravel-walkway-inspiration.html
It is really coming along and looks great!
It is such a great start!! It will look so good when you're done!
There is just something so wonderful about needing a lemon, and then going outside to pick one off the tree. I had one at my old house, but not here (sad.) Love the bougen…bowgen…(darn) ya know, those pink flowers are great!
My hubs has experimented with mulch colors, and we have found that the very dark mulch always looks best. I have to agree that the crushed granite might be difficult to keep clean.
We have crushed granite in our side yard, because it compacts you don't need to put anything under it. We love it no mud, no mowing it looks nice and stays neat. You can rake it and blow it to get the leaves off. It will take on a natural part of the yard look very quickly. The one downside is that it is painful to walk on barefooted. You will need a boundary edge if you don't want it getting into your grass.
wow! What a lot of work done and to be done! We have lava rock on the side of our house due to that area getting too much shade. It's rustic and pretty but is a pain to clean since the trees are now really big and drop massive amounts of leaves and pollen from Jan. thru April. A leaf blower makes the job easier. Also, you'll want to use landscape fabric underneath the rock to keep it all where you want it and discourage weeds. looking forward to seeing the progress!
I put something similar in a small portion of my yarn (around my air conditioner, so I wouldn't have to mow it) and it's been really aggravating to me. When I get dirt and leaves in the pretty crushed stone it just doesn't look very pretty any more. I have no idea how anyone keeps their rock garden neat and tidy, because I just can't get all the sticks and leaves out to make it look neat again. Just my two cents. 🙂