OK, Street Spirit's topic inspired me to post pics since I've been lax the last few months.

Below are a few of the projects I have been working on. Something I just did also which is not pictured is re-mulch the entire yard which took 18 yards of mulch. We also completely cleaned out the garage, our closet (donated 7 large garbage bags of clothes ), my office, and our bedroom. Basically we cleaned up 2.5 years of neglect since we were so busy with the stores. House is looking good, but glad that's over!

We have some additional projects on tap, but they are on hold as we have something else pending. Once that resolves itself we'll know if we should move forward on those items or not...

Anyway... onto the pics:

Walkway to the pool. Used to have plastic borders and mulch with the rock. We now had curbing done and I raked up all of the mulch and used pea-gravel instead...



Side of steps from deck. Used to have plastic border here as well. Had a wall built and raised the bed about one foot using 10 bags of dirt. Don't worry about the dogwood in the middle, it's just in shock from me digging it up and replanting it from another location.



Picture of the deck. Used to have a teak patio set which we never used. Sold it on Craigslist and bought a gazebo instead. The outdoor furniture was originally under the pergola, but we moved it upstairs and now use this area as an extension of the house...



Against the chimney we put a little fountain to add some abiance for the deck. Luckily we have a large deck, so even with the gazebo, fountain, and grill, we still have a lot of room to move around...



By the back gate of the pool we put an arbor which has shelves for pots. We put pots on every shelf along with a variety of annuals which you can kind of see through the arbor. From the other side they are not obstructed.

 

Looks nice.

Mulching is a PITA but it looks much nicer when done. And I love yards with lots of flowers....really brightens things up and makes it a pleasure to be outside.

 

Yeah, we do it once a year. I did it this year since I'm not working. Kept me busy for about 4 days. Next year, I'll just write the check.. working or not

Any my wife loves flowers. We have something like 56 knockout roses around the house b/c they bloom all year round.

 

The freaking deer eat just about every single thing we put in the dirt, so we don't have as much variety in our yard as we'd like. I love annuals for the color they bring, but most won't survive the feast from the deer, so we stopped planting as much as we used to. It just becomes salad. Our backyard is fenced in, but they jump it.

 

^ Yeah, we get tons of deer as well. They actually bed down in the woods behind our house since it backs up to a creek and protected area. They actually prune the roses surrounding the back of our pool. Makes it easier for us so we have a few less roses to trim annually

 

nice job jb

 

i need to move to the carolinas and get me a big house for half the price... it pains me when i pay my taxes every quarter!!!

 

^ Do it.... and you can buy mine

 

Looks awesome.

 

those changes really look great

 

need someone to buy mines up in Jersey... and then ill need a job down there too... can you help me out???

 

JB....It sucks that you're selling. I know that getting a bigger place for a nice price is good, but you put a lot of work into the one you have now. I would kill for a place like that.

 

Yeah, it sucks... but we like to create, so it's not all bad.

All of our neighbors ask us... won't you miss the pool and your landscaping? Our answer... it's just a hole in the ground with water and some plants... we can do that again somewhere else .

It's also not 100% that we will be moving. Check the "Sign on the Yard" topic for updates on that... but a lot is hedging on what kind of mortgage approval we get.

 

Yeh....I saw that. But it seems like you are the type of person that usually gets what he wants if you set your mind to it.

 

We definitely try to... but sometimes it's out of our control. We do what we can to make things happen and to put ourselves in the best position possible, but without the proper mortgage approval we may be stuck. We'll see.

 

Great work, and GL on the new house venture

 

Looks fantastic! Does the fountain just require a electrical hook up? Do you run it often? Worth it? I am thinking of buying one any advice?

 

^ Yeah, that fountain was a great deal from our local Sam's Club... so we just scooped it up. It runs about 8 hours every day and is on a timer. Lucky for us we have an eletrical outlet right around the corner (by the doors), so hooking it up was easy. We also have a "real" one in the front as well which is also on a timer. Pic below. It's funny b/c this pic is about 2 years old, and the landscaping has matured quite a bit... but it'll give you an idea: