So. Steve was here on Labor Day weekend, working with us on his design. We were scheduled to start the first of October. We met with him several times to work out details like lighting and drip irrigation. Goodman's crew was here, exactly as promised, early in October. [I'm really glad that we did this in October. When we first landscaped in July 2003, it was too darn hot and everything died. See the tree in the upper left corner of the picture, below. The cooler October temps allowed the plants to get established, and although it's now July 2006, very little has died. A little sunburn and heat stress, but it will bounce right back. October: good month to landscape.]
I was sitting in the house when a truck rumbled up in front to unload pavers. I wanted him to come in the back, so that the pavers would be right where they needed them, but the forklift and pallet wouldn't fit through the alley gate. They were unloaded in the front yard.
By the end of the first day, demo had been completed and we had a nice pile of crap in front of the house. We awoke that morning to the sound of a backhoe tearing out the hedge between our house and Georgia's house. Georgia had recently moved into an apartment, so she wasn't outside, but Roberta was. "Do you know you're ripping out something that's older than you are," she asked me. I told her that the hedge had been judged to be too old; the branches were too big and woody to keep it at a manageable size. "Park [Georgia's son] is going to spit nails when he sees that." So. It's our hedge. [And as an aside, Park didn't spit nails. I met him several months later as he was cleaning out his mom's house. He was chopping down bushes. "Yeah, if it was green, no matter how overgrown, mom wouldn't let me prune it, no matter how badly it needed it," he told me. He was down with what we'd done to the hedge.]
They've marked where the sprinklers will go, as well as where the new planters will go.
They tore the backyard up. Sparky! assisted. I must've had the dt's that day. I don't know why I wasn't holding the camera steady.
They got to work on the seating area, as well as on the walkway.
This is the stoop off the back door. It's a slightly different height than the patio, and they did a very good job transitioning from one area to the other.
Why is that so blurry? I don't know. DTs.
We had several things come up that we wanted to do after the design was finalized, such as run electricity to the shed and to the parkway in front of the house. Kip was in town and took charge. He'd go outside and shout, "who here speaks English?" Dan was the foreman, and Kip discussed what we wanted with Dan, as Leisa and I were both at work.
We also corrected a few oversights from the original remodel, such as a planter by the barbeque island.
We also added the irrigation system for which we didn't have money in the budget three years ago. Truth be told, though, this is all part of the equity loan, and we don't really have the money for it now! I love America.
Within a few days, the trees were in.
And then the borders and sod. No boulders here!
Steve had envisioned the lights being higher at the patio, so the light would "wash across" the pavers. They fixed that and the light does wash across them at night.
Sparky! likes his new yard.
Steve's plan envisions the orange-flower-plants at the back of the house as trees--they can be grown as trees or pruned as bushes. Leisa wants bushes, I want trees. I'm going to win this one!
Of course, having a new 2,500 square foot outdoor living room means that furniture must be purchased, and we started looking at patio sets. We went to a party at Veronica's house, and were admiring her patio set. Leisa asked where she got it, and her voice got real low: "Fry's Marketplace--$500." We were so there the next day. Everything we'd seen previously at places like Paddy O'Furniture seemed to be $2,000, unless it was $4,000.
I realize in looking at these pictures that I don't have a good photograph representing the water feature, which you can barely discern on the right. Very nice distraction from the freeway two blocks south.
Tiki torches, candles, tables, geraniums--we're accessorizing!
Leisa and I both really love the backyard, but I think Sparky! digs it the most. He'll bark at us if we're inside, and only settles down when we come outside so he can be in HIS yard.
As I write this, it's July 2006, and I'm heading outside to mow the lawn. It's 115 degrees or so. Kip is coming in tomorrow for Brandon and Jennifer's wedding, and I want the yard to look presentable, otherwise I'd mow it when it's 100 degrees. LOL. [This marks the first appearance on this site of LOL. Too much IMing with children.] It will be the first time he's seen the yard since pavers and sod, above. Stuff has really taken off and it's beginning to look lush. Another eight or ten years for the trees to get to a nice size, and we'll finally have the garden space we envied a year ago on the Willo tour.
We were very satisfied with Steve Wilson's design, and Goodman's installation. This fall, I would like to scrape off the remnants of the BOB sod in the front yard and put down the mid-iron turf we used in the backyard. I'll call Goodman's again.
Oh, hey, Mary: bite me.
Selah.