the secret garden

After living in our townhome for 3 years, one on the biggest wasted spaces was the backyard. I have made efforts to improve it with new garden boxes, weeding, and ground cover. Over the years, though, the weeds had taken hold and it was becoming our outdoor garage. The time had come to make it a useful space and a better "room" for our house.

These before and afters should make it clear how much of an improvement one day of work can make. Much thanks to my mom and dad that came over and put in a lot of work.

Here is our yard in the morning. Notice the dying plants, extra stuff piled all over, and weeds, weeds, weeds. The only ones that truly enjoyed the yard were the pets; it was like a jungle for them.

By 6 o'clock, our yard had undergone a massive transformation.

Believe it or not, the cost was mostly sweat and dirt. I did this on a budget of about $150 - $200. We were able to repurpose the large pavers but had to supplement with a few more (the embossed ones). I built a new 7' garden box, added a lot more dirt, and threw some pebbles in there to fill in the gaps and we were almost there.

I still need to work on the path along the side of the house and add in some bark in the flower beds. Just now, the lilies are starting to bloom and the dahlia bulbs are coming up out of the ground. The last touch will be a little bistro set to sit at for drinks after work. Maybe a bbq will be in our future. Keep on the lookout for some tomatoes from the garden!

one year later, i'm back.

back for 2 things.

1. actually posting with things that are interesting/important to me
2. inspiration