BEFORE
One of the first things I noticed about our new house is that it was in desperate need of a side yard makeover. Years ago our house had a beautiful pool in the backyard. There was even a hot tub fenced off separately on the side. To be brutally honest, hot tubs are not my cup of tea. Naturally, I was glad to see the people we were buying from had it removed.
That being said, nothing was actually cleaned up from the hot tub removal. The area was left with exposed wires and pipes. Actual wires sticking out from the ground! Our backyard also had dozens of live electrical wires that had to be removed prior to our move-in. It was a huge mess, and we spent a ton of money just making it a safe area. Once the electrical was cleaned up, we were left with an awkward, fenced-in space with old landscaping stones sparsely filling in the area and weeds popping through. It also became a collecting area for construction garbage. It was a major eyesore!
HOW WE CLEANED UP THE SPACE
We decided that we would remove one of the fences and paint it white for a more cohesive look between our garage and house. It really opened up our backyard. Also, it gave our side yard full sun. This was great, because I knew I wanted to plant something in the area as part of our side yard makeover. Our painter charged us less than $150 to remove one panel of fencing and paint the remaining fence.
Next, I knew I wanted to section off the area closest to the house. We put down 3 bags of mulch in an attempt to frame our central air system. I think it helps soften the ugliness a bit. Eventually, I would like to plant some annuals in this area.
Finally, I built my pride-and-joy…raised beds for veggies and herbs! I ordered two of these kits and landscaping paper. Here is the link to the landscaping paper I used. It took me a few hours to assemble them. The hardest part was getting rid of all the landscaping stones. I started buying soil to fill the beds and quickly realized I would need about 40 bags to fill the space. We ended up getting our landscaper to deliver a truckload of soil for around $150.
I bought a combination of young plants and seeds from our favorite local florist and garden shop. If you’re local, check out Springdale Florist– they are the best. After two months, I am happy to report that my plants are all thriving. We enjoy fresh herbs everyday, and I’m anxiously awaiting the veggies to mature in the coming months.
AFTER
