Landscaping The Yard

 One of the reasons we bought this house in 2017 was the yard. It had an aggregate cement driveway and a well maintained lawn. Two things that were important to us. 

The driveway continues to be a lovely feature though it needs to be washed due to dirt and dust. The lawn has had its issues over the years. Cinch bugs and grubs did a lot of damage one year due to the company scrimping on product. Since we have changed companies, had the lawn over seeded, and products put on correctly the lawn looks as good as it did the day we viewed the property. 

The landscaping around the house was basic or nothing. The Spousal Unit and I decided to tackle it and started with the shed. The grass grew up to the shed and it didn't look grounded to the property. 

We did a lot of digging, and ended up with a border around the shed that we put river rock in. That allowed us to put pots in that area that now contain flowers. They use to have pots of cucumbers when the Spousal Unit was the gardener. The pictures show that. 

Though the bricks are somewhat hidden by the grass today, it continues to keep the shed grounded to the property. I may glue another layer of bricks on top of the ones that are there for a bit more definition. I need to add about 5 more bags of river rock to the bed. The bed does go around to the back of the shed where I have one rose bush - the first one the Spousal Unit planted. I may add two more next year. The other side of the ramp has been finished also but there are no pots due to it being shaded most of the day. 

With the shed done, we decided to tackle the front and one side of the house. The front was hilled up and eroding down into the lawn. The side was a long patch of dead grass. Heat caused the damage to the lawn. We worked very slowly fixing the front and side of the house. 

I am not happy with what we did as the bricks have been dislodged by the mower. I want to have this redone as a small retaining wall where we will add more dirt and river stones. The side will remain bare of plants as it gets too hot for them to survive. 

I have weeded under the deck. It hadn't been done for 2 years and was a mess. A job that needed to be done on my hands and knees. 

The left over decking will go to our friend so he can make planters for his place. I will have edging and gravel put under the deck so it will be easier to keep neat and tidy. 

The other area that I will be working on is the hedge. I need to weed and do some trimming on it so it can be edged and mulch put down for weed control. I will be buying a few rolls of weed barrier cloth and a lot of mulch and gravel this fall. The front and side will be done next year. Once done, it will only be maintaining it.

The garden boxes are still in the back yard and I will continue to plant vegetables in them for as long as I am able to. It keeps me busy and I get fresh vegetables to eat. I have planted less than we did in the previous years as my plan is for myself and family and not the neighbourhood. When I can no longer maintain the boxes, I will sell them and have that area put back into lawn.