Big Flower Bed

 In the back left corner, we decided to put in a big flower bed.  Within this flower bed will also be an area for a small table and chairs and also for the hammock stand.  We calculated how big the area was going to be so that we could get enough mulch and edging.  Just under 400 sq ft!!!  That's huge!

BEFORE:

Not much going on.  There use to be lots of bushes and trees here.  Now - just lots of dirt.

 Pretty sad looking.

As we took out bushes and trees in the whole yard, we kept finding round stepping stones!  Random!  I took the stepping stones and made a path through the 'soon to be' garden.   

 These bird feeders will be emptied in ONE day!!!  Yes - the squirrels dump a lot out, but there are a TON of birds that visit.

 AFTER:

 So much better!!  All of these plants were dug out of my mom's yard - Thanks mom!  Later, I want to add more plants, more color, add bird houses, etc. 

 Love this sitting area!

Obviously, grass is still needed just outside the garden.

 We got a little dirty......!

This was a LONG, HOT day, but totally worth it.  

I'm excited to add more to this area and watch it all grow.

Back Yard Adventures - Before and Afters!

 There have been many projects on our 'to-do' list since we moved in our home back in January.  The biggest one - the yard.  The previous owners did NOTHING in the yard, so we really were starting from scratch.  To really show how far the yard has come, I decided to post before and after shots!

This area is on the side of our house near the A/C and the garbage cans.

BEFORE:

 (Almost dead bushes, patchy grass)

AFTER:

(We removed the bushes, made a new flower bed, built an enclosure for the garbage cans - that will be another post - grew grass!  The shed that you can see on the other side of the fence is there temporarily - It's moved there because our house is getting painted very soon!!)

This is in the back yard - back left corner.

BEFORE: 

 (There used to be LOTS of bushes, dead trees, weeds that were overgrown.  In fact, you couldn't even see the back fence!)

AFTER:

(SEVERAL trees and bushes have been removed.  We haven't put sod down so there are still gaps in the grass.  That's still on the list of things to do.  For now, it's filling in pretty well!  There is, however, a new garden in the back corner - again, that's another post that will be coming soon.)

This is the back right side of the yard.

BEFORE:

 BEFORE (#2):

 (almost no grass, lots of trees - again, you really can't even see the back fence)

AFTER:

(Almost all of the trees have been removed.  The last two pine trees are getting cut down this week!  Where the boat is sitting, we are going to build a shed and a covered area for the boat.  

The grass is filling in very nice.)

Left side of the back yard near the house.

BEFORE: 

 (No grass....  actually, there's not much of anything over there!)

AFTER:

 (Grass!!  There's a flower bed under the tree and a vegetable garden along the fence.)

It's crazy to see how far the back yard has come!