Around the Yard

Talk about a major work in progress!!! We LOVE having a big yard, but there is so much we want to do with it, we have to be careful not to be always frustrated that it isn't up to par yet...and who knows when it will be! There is never enough time or dollars to get it done fast enough!  When we bought this house the yard was, at best, patchy grass. There was strange railroad-tie landscaping everywhere. There was buried river rock and boards that probably nicely bordered the yard a long time ago. And that was about it! Since late winter we have been working, working, working (mostly Rand has). He ripped out every last railroad-tie (except the 2 hammock posts). He spent HOURS engineering a watering system that would get the most coverage with the least amount of work (he has actually succeeded!!). We have planted grass seed and re-planted grass seed. We have watered diligently. We have planted a (very) small vegetable garden. I guess I could go on and on! There are a few pictures of what the yard used to look like here and here.

And here is some of our work in progress!



see? still have new grass coming in.



our mini-park. we want to fill this area with something but haven't decided on what. sand? pea gravel? rubber mulch??

This whole area is right off our patio when you come out our back door. Coming soon (hopefully) pavers to extend the patio and make this a nicer (cleaner) lounging and eating area.

this is what the ground is like under that table. really fine dirt. i have an obsession with sprinkling it with the hose so it's not all dry and dusty. :)

beyond that black hose (part of our intricate watering system) my plan is to make this the future vegetable garden. i'd like 5 (or so) raised beds.

growing vegetables has been a big learning curve. how do you garden in the desert??? we protected everything from the chickens, but failed to think about other birds. pretty much all the seeds i planted didn't have a chance. of 2 rows of cantaloupe i have 2 little plants that survived. same with sunflowers and zinnias. BUT, i have tomato plants with green fruit already! i have peppers doing nicely from starts, but the bell pepper seeds i planted got gobbled up as soon as they sprouted!

grass is almost all filled in. the soft green grass is all new, the brown yellow grass in the back is old grass that we have practically killed by over watering to start our seeds! (drought tolerant grass is a good thing!)

this area is going to have a small retaining wall on the one side and a stone path

and this spot. still in question. we are considering ripping out the hammock posts and putting a fire pit here.

more yard. that back corner is going to have a retaining wall flower bed. you can't see it but the back corner is actually a big pile of mulch from the yard. it's the chickens favorite place to scratch. they can take down the whole pile in a day! :)

the last brown spots! can't wait to plant along that back wall. i hate all the concrete!!!

thank you, olive trees, for shade!!!

and last but not least. our watering system. 6 sprinklers (soon to be 7) and hundreds off feet of hose. all connected to one hose bib. rand is pretty much a genius.