The Deck & Flowerbed Mess
Read More2014-
I redid this flower bed again this year. I added landscaping fabric and mulch. We also added another down spout and made a little drainage area. The rain would come down off the roof so hard it would just flow right over the gutters. So we put this in place to stop that from happening. So far so good.
And if you notice from the previous picture of the area, there's something missing. The fence! We took it down this year.I wish I had taken a before picture here, but was just too excited to get started. So, picture this, LOTS of mud and hostas all over the place. This whole area was less than 20 bucks to do.
All of the large rocks the boys found in the woods. The path is made out of old bricks and pieces of concrete the boys also found in the woods. One by one, I dug a little area in the dirt and placed each one in, level with the ground. There are a couple 2 inch thick pieces of wood at the end of the path that are from my dad. I think they were for smoking food, but oh well. And I added a bag of pea gravel, $2.50, to the path to fill in the gaps and a couple bags of mulch on each side of the path. I moved the hostas into one area too.
Oh and the giant planter to roll the hose up in was on sale for 5 bucks. And the 16 inch cement block it's on was 3 bucks. This looks so much better.I hate lattice!!
I really do. We first had the real wood stuff, but my lovely children lost a toy under the deck one day. Who hasn't been there? Did they come ask for help? No, they kicked and kicked until they broke a giant hole in it. Then we replaced it with this ugly brown plastic crap that screamed White Trash! The only thing missing was a fat guy in a wife beater and a case of PBR. I was tired of it looking like this, so off to the hardware store we went. We picked up some 1x4s and 1x2s. We took off the piece of wood that the lattice was attached to and moved it back towards the house so we would have room to attach the boards. Next year I'm planning on staining the whole thing.
2013The Railing
The next thing was this railing. Our children aren't toddlers anymore, so we really didn't need it. With a smaller deck like this I think it looks more like a cage. So I took it off and sanded down the front, added a rug and some pillows. We love the way it looks, makes the whole thing look bigger too.
Poison Ivy Flowerbed
This flowerbed used to be so beautiful. Full of irises, lilies of all kinds, decorative rocks, crocus, daffodils and of course my gazing globes I made out my grandparent's old bowling balls. But after having the boys I was way to busy to get any yard work done. And it was this way for years!! This summer I finally decided to jump in and get it done. But, it was full of poison ivy. With poison ivy present I covered my skin with clothing as much as possible. That meant jeans, boots, gloves and sweatshirt. The perfect clothing for 100 degree weather! Sometimes I'm an idiot. It took a few hours out there in the heat, but I got er done! I planted a new butterfly bush and in the spring and summer we should be able to see the rest come up! Can't wait!