Backyard Progress!

We are slowly making progress on the backyard!!

The last few weeks, Chris and I have been hard at work. We constructed the raised beds, brought in soil to fill them up, and created our gravel walkways. Whew! Backbreaking work. It is so exciting to see our dream come together though!

Last weekend, we started building the trellis'. We plan on growing squash, zucchini and all those vegetables that sprawl out over the land. How are we going to accomplish this in our little space?? We are going vertical of course!




I am really excited about the couch in the back by the fence. My goal is to put a water feature in the middle of the four main beds (even a bird bath would be nice) and then spend my summers outside, gardening and reading on the little couch.

Our goal to start planting this weekend. Chris is currently working on the irrigation system. We are investing in a drip system which we will be able to tweak as seasons go on, depending on where we are planting the different veggies from year to year.

After the irrigation system, we need to build a fence to keep the chickens from the main garden. Then, it's planting time!!!

While Chris is working on the backyard fence and irrigation, I will be planting some flowers and such in the front yard. Last year we completely redid the front...took out the lawn, but in a sprinkler system, cut down a tree, built a porch and put in a new walkway. We still haven't landscaped it though.

Overall, I think we calculated that we would have a total of about 650 square feet of vegetable/fruit space. Hopefully our first season is successful. We want to be farmers, but no one said we were farmers yet.

Demolition...and Progress!

So, we have lived at our little house for almost three years now. The first summer, we didn't worry too much about the backyard, the second summer we started our chicken coop, the third summer we planted our berry bushes and started thinking about a big garden in the back....

We are on summer number four and are in the process of totally redoing our backyard (we redid the front yard previously...and boy was that a nightmare, I have some pictures detailing the process, but I'll save that for another time.) This first picture is our backyard right after we cut down a very large tree. You see, we do enjoy trees...we aren't tree haters. In fact, I was very sad to see the tree go....BUT...we needed sun to grow our own vegetables. And in today's world, we'd rather know we are eating good, healthy food then have a nice tree giving us shade.

The next picture here is of Chris digging up dirt. You see, half of our yard is going to become paver patio. There are a few reasons for this. The main one being: We enjoy backyard fires, and with us having fires, the grass can't grow and becomes a muddy mess. Therefore, we will have pavers! Yay! Solution!....but very expensive solution, so the actual pavers will probably go in next year. This year we prepared the way for the pavers by laying gravel....yes, gravel isn't beautiful...but a) there is no muddy mess now and b) we are preparing for pavers. Problem solved---for now. This picture was taking on April 18, 2009.

This next picture is of the tractor Chris brought in to help dig up the dirt and the surveying equipment he was using to make sure the gravel would be at the right elevation (I learned a bit about surveying at this point...this little instrument makes really annoying noises...tells you when you are too high or too low. I was sick of beeping by the end of it!) This was also taken on the 18th.

I took this picture today....wow has our backyard changed! The dirt is going to be all garden and the gravel will eventually be pavers. I am continuously amazed at how hard Chris works to make his dreams come true. It took so much work and time to dig out the dirt, level it up and then bring in gravel. I have complete confidence that our visions of a nice big garden will become a reality...because I am working with my best friend and partner and between our hard work and God's guidance...we can accomplish anything!