Green Thumb

After my last post, on ripping out the wall and fireplace, Tige and I were getting a little frustrated at the fact that we had all these semi-started projects, and nothing actually complete.  So, we decided to fully finish the backyard.  We are a bit stuck on the wall/fireplace situation, because we have to wait on Karl to come look at the damage before we can move forward.

So, we took Sunday to really spend some time in our teeny yard and with the help of my green thumb of a father, it start to take shape nicely.  Tige and I started our Sunday off bright and early, renting a roto tiller from Home Depot.  We rented a medium sized one, and for the most part, it worked out.  We probably could have gotten the job done a lot faster with the largest one, but then it wouldn't have fit into some of the tight spaces.  Overall, it only took about 1.5 to 2 hours anyway, with the medium sized tiller.

Once the tilling was done and the new soil was mixed in, we sloped everything, for drainage and headed off to Armstrong for some plants and a tree.  I really wanted to do a silver sheen tree, they are one of my favorites; little did I know, they came in bush form too!  I was so excited, we snatched those babies up right away!  We started off with 4 for the time being, due to the fact that there were no more, and we wanted to see about spacing.  We'll need 3 more to finish off the planter.  

As far as the tree goes, that was all Tige.  And I love it!  It's a Japanese Maple tree (I'm partial to Japanese Plum trees, but the maple is quickly becoming a favorite for me too) and the contrast of the purple and the green is just lovely!  Here's some progress pictures:

Here's Zoe, exhausted after all her hard work, LOL!

As you can see, we still need to sod; I've ordered sod for delivery for this weekend, and we can finally say we are almost there!  After the sod comes the outdoor furniture, which needless to say, will not be purchased for a long time, but it's always fun to browse!  We'll also be putting a decorative cap on the box planter, so it looks more decorative and less like a cement form.

Until then...