thunder04

iTrader: (1)

A friend of mine and I spent the day clearing the planter area between the garage and main walkway...

Before:


After:


I liked the rosebushes, but they had the NASTIEST thorns. They had to go. They were not easy to remove!!

I'm going to lay new weed barrier and replace the tank bark with rock (which will come from the side yard). A drip system is set up for both planter areas, but they way they did it left no flexibility, so I'm going to re-do that as well.

After the above area is done, the bushes in the Before pic will be tackled next.

Just wanted to share my mini-milestone.

svtmike

You should take out the brick edge molding IMO. It serves no functional purpose (the sidewalk works fine as an edge for the bed) and looks like an afterthought.

gatrhumpy

iTrader: (1)

I actually kind of like the brick stuff.

LuvMyTSX

Rose bushes are very pretty, but they were in the wrong spot. Too bad you couldn't have moved them instead. It must've been a bitch to get them out, though. I'd also remove the brick lining, and definitely the shrubbery on the other side that is overgrown. Fall is also a good time to start with grass fertilizer. Good start!

fsttyms1

^^

thunder04

iTrader: (1)

I've been debating either a) removing the brick edging or b), painting them a different color if that's even possible.

Thanks!

There really isn't much grass left. When I get the bushes removed and reconfigure the planter area in front of the porch I'll probably do sod (I like the instant grass gratification, lol).

I don't know much about rose bushes, but those seemed to have been there for a long time. The base of each bush was HUGE. Their roots went everywhere and were VERY thick. Before completely removing them, I had trimmed down 3 of the six and they looked pretty good except for their ginormous bases. Personally, I would've placed the rose bushes in front of the porch where the bushes are.

Yard waste is picked up bi-weekly...otherwise I would make progress a lot faster. I can't wait to remove the bushes and the HUGE cactus behind them! Though...I may pay someone to remove the cactus for me. lol

LuvMyTSX

Yikes! I wouldn't touch the cactus myself.

thunder04

iTrader: (1)

I just noticed I typed "tank bark" in my original post.

svtmike

I figured it was a Californiaism that I hadn't heard before.

KaMLuNg

iTrader: (5)

looks good.. the rosebushes look like they were overgrowing their space... i can feel your pain... my father and i spent two days clearing my back yard of the grass around the area im trying to make into a flower garden... god my back was killing me... i don't know how farmers do it 12 hrs a day...

hornyleprechaun

They do it everyday..

Scrib

Rose bushes are a pain in the fucking ass.

1) They attract every bug known

2) Susceptible to fungus

3) Prune, prune, prune


You made the right choice.

BEETROOT

I kinda like(d) the bushes. Throw a big cactus or two in there and it would look good.

lowpost

I would take the brick edging out. What are you going to plant?

thunder04

iTrader: (1)

I'm not sure yet, but whatever I plant I want it to be on the low maintenance side of the spectrum. Maybe even "drought resistant" as well.

svtmike

Plastic ferns are your friend.

LuvMyTSX

Very true. Roses are high maintenance for sure.

thunder04

iTrader: (1)

I keep forgetting to post after pictures. I will take a couple tomorrow and post 'em. The planter area to the right of the walkway is cleared, brick edging removed, and is filled with gravel I re-used from the side yard.

I also cut down the bushes in front of the porch.

A landscaper is coming out tomorrow to give me a quote on removing the cactus (sorry BEETROOT).

thunder04

iTrader: (1)

The planter area to the right of the walkway is more-or-less done. What I'm thinking of doing is buying a bunch of very large pots to plant things in and re-use the existing drip system.



Pile-o-bushes!



Now I get to re-do this planter area. I'm not a fan of the whole curved thing, so I'm going to have the edge simply go straight across. Going to fill it like the other planter area. Yeah, I need a new fence, too.



This is the beast that needs to go! I'd do it myself, but I don't have a way to dispose of the cactus. Hopefully the quotes I'm going to be getting will be the right numbers! Of course, I don't know what the right numbers should be...low I hope, lol. Less than $500? I hope?

subinf

I'll tear that thing down and haul it away for less than 500

svtmike

Remember the brick molding on the right side of the old pictures? You know what to do with the brick molding on the left side.

I'd keep a curve to the beds -- gives it a flow and visual interest that you don't get with a completely rectilinear layout.

thunder04

iTrader: (1)

Landscapers are coming back on Tuesday to remove the cactus. $120.

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

That cactus is fuckin huge!!

I have no other input for this thread

Good job though.

LuvMyTSX

Just spray it with Roundup and hack it to pieces.

J/k. $120 isn't too bad of a price. Much better than doing it yourself, probably.

stogie1020

Any chance you can do something with the cactus or give it to a landscape place?

It looks like it has been around for a long time, kinda rough to just kill it.

thunder04

iTrader: (1)

I wouldn't know how to approach that. I want it removed sooner rather than later, and I already gave the OK to have it removed by a landscaping company. I doubt they're going to remove it gracefully.

I'm a plant killer.

thunder04

iTrader: (1)

I had thought about that...but knowing my luck it'll die at the base first, become weak, topple over, and finish off my already rickety fence.

thunder04

iTrader: (1)

So, it has nothing to do with landscaping, but I felt it needed to be done...

The old, ugly, circa-1993 entry light...






The replacement...

svtmike

A stylish color on those walls will do more for that entryway than changing out the light fixture.

The new fixture is definitely an improvement, though!

thunder04

iTrader: (1)

Yeah...I know. The whole house was that color, and they did a rather sloppy job (I believe the selling Realtor had it painted...I've found some odd colors behind baseboards, lol). So far I've painted the kitchen and started painting the master bedroom. At some point the entry/living room will be painted a better color.

If only there were more hours to a weekend...

litesout

Ug, I hear you there. I moved into my house almost 6 months ago and the ugly flying saucer looking entry light is still there. The light in the dining room is even worse though. At least the UFO puts off some actual light.

Yard's starting to come together. I totally agree with you on the sod point. I too am an instant gratification kinda person. The big question is, are you going to have it installed, or are you going to lay it yourself?

thunder04

iTrader: (1)

It all depends on what it costs to have a landscaping company install it versus having it delivered and installing it myself. I'll cross that bridge when I get there, lol.

thunder04

iTrader: (1)

Cactus is gone. I will post post-cactus pics later tonight.

They hacked the buh-jeez-us out of it. Sorry, stogie.

thunder04

iTrader: (1)

It's gone...

thunder04

iTrader: (1)

I posted this in the "So what's everyone doing today" thread, but figured it should really go here:







With the help of my dad, brother, and girlfriend, it was all done in ~8 hours. We used pressure treated wood for the frame and redwood fence boards. I love how it looks. It definitely makes me want to do the other fences!!

civicdrivr

iTrader: (9)

Looks great. Nice job

chill_dog

Very nice.

litesout

That's some nice looking fence you got there!

So, back to the light... Where did you get it from? A home improvement store (Home Depot, Lowes kind of place) or a lighting show room? Reason I ask is that I haven't been impressed with the selection at the home improvement store and have just recently started looking into lighting show rooms. I'm kind of making a big deal out of it because I have at least 3 fixtures that need to be replaced, possibly 3 more. As it might wind up costing a grand by time all is said and done I'd like to go in knowing as much as possible.

thunder04

iTrader: (1)

Thanks guys! The fence has really given me an itch to move the landscaping forward. I'm definitely going to start working on the planter area in the next couple of weeks.

The light came from Home Depot, actually.

http://www.homedepot.com/Lighting-Fa...atalogId=10053

I'm not sure why I spent almost $200 on a light that's almost never turned on.

litesout

Cool, thanks for the info. I'm thinking of getting something like that for my breakfast nook, but that's a lower priority right now. Looks great hanging in your house though!