Project Backyard Underway

My husband and I bought our 1922 brick bungalow just about 2 ½ years ago now.  It has all the charm of an older home like cove ceilings, 6” high baseboards, antique glass doorknobs, original built-ins and an exposed brick wall just to share a bit. 

The not-so-glamorous parts of owning an older home are the funky features that people install, bad paint colors, drafty windows and horrible landscaping.  Luckily most of these issues we have tackled and have truly improved the look and efficiency of our home; one I even shared here. 

Well, it has been some time coming and we are finally undertaking the biggest project of them all, our backyard!

(Clockwise from top left:  our very sad 'patio'  /  badly in need of a prune  /  a very sad walkway to our garage  /  pathetic excuse for a pathway)

I am going to go out on a whim and say that the previous homeowners did not have a green thumb.  The concrete patio is a cracked mess, the overgrown tree is begging for a prune, grass is barely alive and the ‘rock/stone’ pathway to our detached garage was laid without any weed barrier below it and in a very haphazard way.  At one very low and shameful point last summer, we had weeds that were 6 feet tall.  To say the very least, we knew a total overhaul would be in our future and now with our wedding behind us, we are full-steam ahead.

We have met with multiple landscapers, contractors and horticulturist to figure out our plan.  We are hoping to do the majority of work ourselves but somethings are a bit above our skill level and quite frankly not something I want to even try to tackle.  We have decided on the following elements for our backyard…

• Install a new concrete patio which will nearly double in its current size
• Install a sprinkler and drip system
• Lay new sod
• Add in a couple trees along the back fence create some privacy
• Lay a 3 feet rock boarder around the perimeter of our yard along with shrubs and plants to soften the space
• Replace the old fence

More on the patio later this week because… spoiler alert… we are working on this right now!  Until then, any suggestions on removing weeds, landscaping in a dry climate and/or any oversights on our backyard plans?