Stephen finally broke down and bought some Christmas trees.
11 of them.
When we moved in 6 years ago, there was very little privacy landscaping. And we knew we didn’t want fence in the back yard but we wanted something to make it a little more private. He’s of the mindset that it’s his yard, if he wants to pee off the back porch, he should be able to. I’m of the mindset that it’s my backyard, if I want to wear my grubby clothes I should be able to. We both needed privacy boundaries. The back row and side row of our yard are some fast growing Elaeagnus trees. Now we are growing Christmas trees. Some kind of spruce, I think.
And of course, 4 days after planting, there was a threat of frost.
He did a great job with these. He had to spray weed killer a couple of weeks ago. Then he marked off the area and staked it. He used post hole diggers to make 11 holes. Planted, watered, laid down weed mat, covered in mulch, staked down the rim, and finally ran a water line that will slowly water them on a timer. I have no idea how he does all this so efficiently, but he’s a pro.
Earlier this spring, he tore down our 3 raised beds and then made a much larger one off to the end of the yard. It didn’t take long for the grass to grow over 5 years of garden beds.
New bed. Man cave in the background. This larger bed will hold tomatoes, flowers, peppers, greens, and later pumpkins and watermelons.
And the front yard is coming along. He planted these knockout roses a few years ago. They get bigger and fuller each year.
Spring is almost done. The main summer project is FINALLY finishing the back porch after storm damage from last April. It took us all year to decide the little details. We knew we were going to put the roof back on and screen it in. But little things like vaulted ceiling for fans, the type of screen, how to use doors to keep one side open for lawn mower, yard stuff and one larger side for grilling. We grill 9 months out of the year so this is a priority if we are having to start all over with the porch. We already have dining furniture and storage for the porch. He will start that project after we get back from Colorado in June. I’m looking forward to helping with this one.
eryka@This is My Happily Every After
Friday 13th of April 2012
I love your green space! And your roses are beautiful. I agree with you and your hubby about privacy in the yard. I want to be able to be outside in my back yard and not have to worry about grubby clothes or if my shirt it cut a bit too low for bending over the garden. We currently live in such close proximity to neighbors that if you go outside on a nice day, expect to have a couple of conversations about what you're doing, your yard, the weather, etc. I'm looking forward to moving soon. :-)