Yard work

We have been working really hard on our yard the last few months. It's been a slow process, but I'll include some before and after shots. One of the things I was soooo grateful for when we found this house was the fact that it was brand new, but still had a yard in. That's kind-of rare and made things a lot easier! It has a lot of character with the design of the beds and the sidewalk, etc. so we wanted to enhance that with trees and bushes and flowers. The first job was weed control, which was a pretty big job for us. We cleared everything out, then put the fabric stuff down, then went to the dump where they were selling bark from the green waste for really cheap. It was a big job laying all that bark down, but it immediately made things look 10 times better and I have yet to see a weed!

Next we planted trees. They are small now, but are thriving and we are anxious for what they will look like in the next few years. We did quaking aspens, dwarf spruce, arborvitae, maple, and flowering pear. We filled in with bushes next (still have a few varieties that I want to add later on) and then flowers. I am most excited about the flowers and how well they have done. I planted a lot of perennial lilies and they have the most vibrant beautiful colors! I love them! All the flowers have done quite well!

Finally, and the MOST difficult job of all, was getting landscaping rocks in. After doing some research, I decided to be frugal (or maybe cheap is the word) and find a way to do it ourselves. It costs sooo much for the boulders and then to have them delivered and placed, it was more than I wanted to spend! So, we went over to the empty lot next to my parents house and with the help of my big strong dad, brother, and BIL, Chris was able to get some really beautiful rocks onto the trailer and back home. Chris and I then did a lot of pushing, pulling, rolling and grunting to get them nestled into their spots in the yard! And they look really great and were FREE (except for the price our backs paid :))

So, we are pretty much done and can now spend the rest of the summer enjoying the fruits of our labor! When Kaiya saw all the flowers we planted, she ran around to each one and said, "Ohhhh PRETTY!!" That was reward enough! Here are the before and after shots!