flowers

A year ago…..

Karen B Leave a comment

A year ago, I decided to revitalize my boring backyard. Today, I can happily say, I’ve made decent progress, even with major setbacks along the way.

This coming year I will continue working on the erosion issues that seem to plague half of my yard. With a little extra love and continued tilling I hope the flower beds will be a little more hospitable this Spring.  I might even plant a tree or two.

In the meantime, I thought it might be fun to share a couple of before and after pics from this year.

before_after4

before_after2

before_after8

before_after6b

before_after3

before_after5

before_after7b

before_after1

20151002_180653

Day 16: flower bed follow-up

Karen B Leave a comment

I started adding plants to my first flower bed beginning in February 2015. I began with drought tolerant perennials that would be the main feature; Salvia Greggii, Nandina, Texas Sage and Giant Liriope.

In late April I added annuals; Gold Star Esperanza, May Night Salvia, Trailing Lantana, Angelona, Verbena,  Vinca and another Texas Sage. I wanted to use annuals to fill the bare spots until the perennials filled in.

Out of the perennials planted, only the Liriope flourished. The Salvia and Nandina are still struggling and the first Texas Sage died. I truly believe it’s the soil. I plan to amend the soil in the late fall once all the annuals die off. My yard is made of heavy clay and unfortunately it takes multiple seasons to improve the soil composition. I must be patient.

Overall I’m really enjoying my first flower bed. The perennials aren’t as peppy as I would like. My second Texas Sage is finally starting to take hold. The Esperanza shot straight up overnight and the annuals are as happy as can be in the Texas heat.

flowerbed_dc the beginning

flowerbed_dc3-today

flowerbed_dc3-today2 copy

Day 15 : going back to bed

Karen B 1 Comment

letthereberain

A little over a month ago, with the first flowerbed complete, I decided to tackle the next two beds on my “to do” list. It was the weekend of April 4th, a golden opportunity. The next wave of rain was predicted to hit later in the week.

The design for my backyard, showed three medium-sized flowerbeds with one large bed meandering across a good portion of the yard, for a total of four. I deviated from the plan slightly, nothing major, as you can see below. The goal is an organic space.

planschange

The new flowerbeds against the house were pretty basic. I had already outlined the shape in February when I constructed the flagstone path to the facet. The ground had dried just enough to be easily manipulated. It’s difficult to work with compacted mud, but if you time it just right, after a good rain (say 7 to 10 days) the ground is primed for easy digging.

For the two beds, I wanted to concentrate on getting the chop rock borders set. Tilling and mulching the beds will come later, once the soil has dried a bit more.

The plan of attack was as follows:
1. Remove the existing border and stepping stones
2. Use the garden hose to figure the shape of the beds.
3. Spray paint along the edge of the hose, creating a dig line.
4. Dig the new edge just wide enough to accommodate the chop rock
5. Place the leftover decomposed granite (sand works too) into the newly cut edge.
6. Insert the chop rock.

flowerbeds3

old_new_borderline

Building the two beds took the weekend, about 5 hours each day. I didn’t leave the chop rock above the ground very high. Creating a structure that holds water against the house is never recommended. The flowerbeds are more like edging, allowing the water to escape as needed. The flowerbed along the dry creek bed is higher than the beds flanking the house, this was intentional.

The images below, were taken this morning, a little over a month after the beds were installed.  The Dallas area had another massive storm roll through in the wee hours of the morning.

The yard is a lake, but the new sod has started to spread and the contrast in color against the chop rock makes me happy. I’m still waiting to till, mulch and plant new flowers in the two beds. The rain is a constant this May. I might get a dry day, once a week, but that’s not helpful. At this rate, the beds will be prepped and ready by July/August. The hottest months during a Texas Summer. Joy!

flowerbeds_after rain

flowerbeds_after rain_side

3 flowerbeds_after rain

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.

flowerbed1

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.

flowerbed2

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.

flowerbed3

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.

20150423_184314

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.

backhoe2

sewer_10ft

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.  🙂