Backyard & Garden Progress

Where have I been?  Where are my belly shots?  I just need more time. Period.  Is that going to happen in June when I have this baby?  Ha! The last two weeks have been spent on gardening and the back yard re-do.  My front garden seemed to grow in overnight.  It is looking beautiful I must say.  The bright chartreuse color of the Creeping Jenny in front makes the whole garden at this point.  We added a few nice big rocks and I got the mulch down last night.  Now we wait. 

There is already a lot blooming and so much more to come.  I really love gardening. My mom has taught me so much, sometimes I surprise myself when I am talking about it to others. I have come a long way.

The vegetable garden has yet to be planted, or even built for that matter.  The whole south side of the house will be dedicated to veges and Ernesto promised me that this year he will put soaker hoses on a timer. Yeah! 

I have a little gardening helper this year too.  Mateo loves loves loves shoveling dirt from one pot to the next.  

Side note: Must. Get. Sandbox.

These 3 blue beautiful pots (above) are my latest acquisition from....wait for it....TjMaxx/Homegoods. (Surprise!) They have the best pottery every Spring.  Not the cheap ceramic ones either.  These are heavy clay pots made in Vietnam.  Just like you would see in an expensive garden store.  I can't resist.  I know I have a problem, but they look so good lining my front stairs. 

OK...now on to the back yard.  Let me first remind you of what the yard looked like before.  I took this picture last summer and although Ernesto (and my dad) had built these awesome raised planter beds, the whole yard was a mess.  No grass, ugly trees, kudzu outta control, etc.  

Now here is the area after a couple weeks of hard labor (done by Ernesto of course!)

This pic also taken through a screen from upstairs. 

We had thought we were going to have to hire someone to clear/level out the yard, but once Ernesto got started working he said he could just finish it himself.  Her borrowed a friends chain saw and cut down several trees.  We did have to pay to get one tree down that was hanging over the neighbors house.  The worst part was getting the stumps out.  This took him days.  

He rented a tiller and prepped the yard for grass.  This little guy was obsessed with watching.  Every time it was turned off he signaled for "mas mas."

My mom flew down for two days last week to help me.  I just had to cry to her on the phone at 930am and she was on a 11:45 flight.  God, my mom is the best! I just can't say that enough.  I have a jewelry show coming up and really need to make some inventory, yet I wanted Ernesto to work on the yard. 

My mom played with Mateo for two days and after she put him down for his naps, she went outside and helped Ernesto with the yard!!  I can only hope that I have her energy when Im her age.  Heck- I wish I had it now! 

The next sep was laying sod.  We didn't want to wait for seed to grow, it's almost May, we need a yard pronto!  Besides the sod wasn't too expensive and worth the [almost] instant gratification.  We do have to wait for the roots to take hold and for it to turn green of course.   We planted Bermuda grass, which unfortunately turns brown in the winter, but with full sun in the south, we were told it was the best option.  This is day one. 

Here on day four, it is already looking more green!  Also notice how much better the planter boxes look against the grass. 

It's not a huge area, but our yard feels a lot bigger.  We don't need a huge yard, we just need it to be functional.  Mateo will be loving it this Summer.

We aren't even close to being done yet.  The fence is next on the list.  Ernesto is ordering the wood tomorrow and hopefully in a week we will be enclosed!!
We are going for a horizontal fence.  Something like this one with an inch or so in between the boards.

via pinterest

The wood comes treated, but we are undecided if we will use paint or stain. 

This little drawing from last summer still depicts the "plan" except the garden will be moved to the front side of the house where there is more sun. 

I am just dying for my pergola covered in wisteria.

Also,  I am trying to tell Ernesto that we can build our little shed out of pallets [that we get for free on Craigslist] but he is not convinced.  Have you guys seen this?

There are some really cute sheds out there. (just search pallet shed)  Even if he doesn't like the look, my plan is to have is covered in vines anyway, so why would we side it to match the house??
Either this creeping fig

or a bushy ivy would be so beautiful, don't you think?

I think I'll let Ernesto finish the fence before I bombard him with more projects and ideas.  One thing at a time.  Little by little, our "estate" is taking shape, and I am loving it!