Month: April 2015

Day 12: curves ahead

Karen B 1 Comment

Now that the dry creek bed has been completed and the sewer line repaired, I was able to begin work on the multiple flowerbeds that will flank the yard.

To begin, I played around with an old garden hose. I tried different waves and curves, until I found a simple shape that worked perfectly for the space. The edge is curved so it will direct water into the creek. Once I landed on the final shape, I took white spray paint to mark along the hose to create a guide for digging.

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My yard is very eclectic, nothing is too structured or formal. The material I chose for creating all the flowerbeds was chop rock, a roughly cut stone brick, in colors that complement my house.

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I didn’t take a picture of the decomposed granite under each chop rock, but it’s there. I used the DG to level some areas of the rocks and it will help keep the chop rock from sinking into the yard. Yes, sand, is typically used instead of decomposed granite, but I had leftover DG from the patio redo. 🙂

Once the chop rock was installed, I tilled the bed and began planting the first of my drought tolerant plants.

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The majority of the plants will be perennials, which typically grow sloooow. Being the impatient gardener, I incorporated annuals to add color for the season. Of course as the perennials mature, I will plant less annuals to make sure the main stars of the bed have apple room to grow, spread and thrive.  Remember to mulch your beds. Mulch keeps the water from evaporating quickly in the hot Texas sun.

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As you can see, after two months, the plants are beginning to fill in.  I will take additional photos as the season progresses, so you can see how my plants fare.

In my first flowerbed, you will find:
3 Gulfstream Nandinas
1 Gold Star Esperanza
4 Salvia Greggii
3 Salvia May Night Mainacht
2 Trailing White Lantana
4 Angelona Serenita Purple
4 Verbena Homestead
10 White Vinca
2 Giant Liriope – which I will be moving to a new location, in the coming months.

One down. Three more flowerbeds to go!

Day 11: a stinky situation

Karen B 1 Comment

I was raised to be optimistic, a glass half-full kinda gal. My plan was to have an awesome backyard by Spring 2015.  As they say . . . shit happens.

The backyard redo was put on hold so many times, I found it ALMOST amusing. You won’t find me complaining about the extremely, wet winter Dallas endured. We needed every drop. The water-logged ground slowed my progress by several months, but that didn’t sway me. I understand you can’t control the weather. You wait it out.

So believe me, when I say, the wet Dallas winter saved me from true heartache.

Unbeknownst to me, the main sewer line running through the backyard was about to fail in a big way. The line located 10-ft underground had broken in half. The only way to access the pipe was to use a backhoe. Needless to say, the repair destroyed a big portion of my yard.

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Here’s my optimistic spin.
If the winter had been drier. I would have made more progress on the yard. If I had made more progress, all the work would have been destroyed.

So thankfully, it was a rainy Winter. I made little progress and lost little when they destroyed the yard in late January. Yes, there was damage, but it could have been MUCH worse. The major repair will be re-sodding. Not too bad considering.

I now have a shiny new sewer line to go with an updated backyard space that should be completed by mid Summer, hopefully.  🙂