New Yard Project: Patio Progress!

The middle of last week was dedicated to moving the patio forward in several huge steps.  After spending several hours leveling our area, we spread gravel from the brickyard, leveled it as best we could and began tamping it down by hand.  Not pleased with the results, we ended up renting a power tamper that worked like a charm -- as it vibrates itself forward, it totally compacts the gravel.  See it above and how large its plate is compared with the hand tamper next to it? Here's a close up view of its handiwork:

With the area tamped and level, it was time to spread sand.  After a trip to the local brickyard for two scoops of masonry sand, we were ready to start distribution.  One of my jobs was to climb in the truck and push the sand toward the back for easy shoveling:

Spreading it was super satisfying! We could really see the patio shaping up quickly and felt like we were making major progress:

Once the sand was distributed everywhere we gave it a pass over with the power tamper:

Next up came the fun part: paver placement.  Can you believe I made six trips to Home Depot in two days to pick up loads of pavers? We chose a faux flagstone in a terracotta hue to tie in with the saltillo tiles on our porch.  These are a uniform shape that interlock and go down super easily.  It's amazing how one shape can fit together so well.

We got the majority of them placed just before a rain storm moved in.  Unfortunately, when I had a chance to take a picture it was already pouring, and hasn't let up for more than a few soggy minutes since then.  So... more photos coming soon, weather permitting :) I'm excited to show you how it looks!

New Yard Summer Project Part 3: Labor Day

I'm super excited to say that we've accomplished most of the major removal stuff in the yard. The big palms are all out and the old lawn is dug up! Look above, can you believe there used to be three 20 ft. queen palms grouped just behind where the wall ends?

Speaking of where the wall ends... we terraced the layers and added a handsome yellowish pot that will soon be home to a fox tail palm. Below, you can see where we marked a potential planting area.

Pretty soon we'll be placing the patio stones and I can hardly wait! We found a molded cement style that mimics flagstone at a fraction of the price (love you Home Depot!). There are several different shapes designed to fit together so we'll have fun putting the puzzle together.

New Yard Summer Project Part 2: Another Brick in the Wall

And the work continues! Our cool and cloudy weather has turned for the warmer and a mini heat wave has kept us seeking shady tasks as we continue our yard re-do. After many trips to The Home Depot for more blocks, we've continued the wall and added another curve.

The wall will wrap around about to where the large queen palm is in the shot below, then be back filled to create a second level effect. You can see there's a palm stump -- it's coming out today as soon as I finish this post. The large queen will also come out and most likely be replaced with a king palm.


Speaking of palms, we transplanted a medium sized kentia into a pot. Here is where it used to be:

And here's its new temporary home. It took almost as long to get it into the pot as it did to dig it up!

I used to have a rickety hose reel with a handle that wobbled each time I reeled the hose in. I thought a change to a hose pot might be an upgrade and was thrilled to find this handsome pot at The Home Depot for only $23.



Time to get out there and tackle that palm stump before it gets too hot!

New Yard Summer Project Part 1: Rock and Roll

I've alluded to some heavy gardening that's been going on around here lately and finally have some photos to share with you:

Above, a load of stones after being unloaded underneath our gingko tree. Each piece weight just over 20 lbs. and between loading, unloading and taking them to the wall area, each piece gets moved several times.

We chose Pavestone's Natural Impressions Flagstone in Charcola/Tan. When I pictured the perfect look for re-doing our raised flower beds, I envisioned something like this and hoped they actually existed. Needless to say I was overjoyed to find them at our local Home Depot! They have a little lip to "lock together" and stay in place, no mortar needed.

Here we've started laying the first course and stacking a few to see how they'll look.

And after a few hours progress a significant section takes shape.

Keeping things level is a must!

The old planters used to be wood planks with super straight lines. These stones are perfect for making gentle curves, like we've done near the palm above.

I'll have more to share soon, but for now I'm being called outside to work more!