Thanks Grace

The flag stone path way is finished ! Grace was a big help filling in the voids with Lome. Her poor knees. Moss will be planted next to finish the path off. Think that will be a spring project
Next on the project list is to till up the soil on the side of the path, level and create new planting beds for the tree and shrubs that will complete the area. After that will be the arbor.
Things are really moving along !

Our Yellow Brick Road

Okay, more like flag stone path

So much has been happening in the yard since our last post. The deck is complete ! Karla has relocated most of the Lilly’s and we have added more shrubs. With the deck out of the way it was time to begin the flag stone walk way.With much back breaking labor we began by trenching out the path and installing steel edging to keep everything together. Next came three and a half tons of crushed stone and two tons of sand to complete the base of the path way. We stumbled upon a supplier for the flag stone that was way cheaper than what we had planed on spending. They dropped the two ton pallet as we watched in amazement. I guess the heavy duty stuff comes now ! The yard is really taking shape and is so different than it was at the beginning of this blog. Still a lot is to be done before the wedding

Design on a lot of Dimes !

So much has been happening in Karla’s yard since our last post !
We are in the process of staining all the wood for the deck. We have been hitting the nursery’s in the area gathering up plants and trees and had tons of dirt and mulch delivered and is sitting in the drive way.
We started opening the beds for the new planting by renting a sod cutter that threw us around the back yard for a good part of a Sunday afternoon. Later during the week Greg cut a trench to separate grass from mulch, Karla started the bushes, while Greg planted the two birch trees. It was Saturday May 24th . Karla took Dillon to his game and Greg stayed behind to haul dirt and spread mulch. While on the way to fill up Greg hit an unexpected rabbit hole and hit the drive way. The result was a trip to the E.R and a torn quad. Healing is going well but hurts like God only knows.
Karla has been doing the work of both of us out in the yard. The Woman is a machine ! I’m hoping to back in the yard this week end so we can get going again.

New Addition !

There has been a change in plans !

We're adding on to the deck.
What did you think I meant?

Rainy days and Sundays

We were not going to let the lack of cooperation from the weather interfere with our projects ! We dodged the rain drops on Saturday and accomplished a great deal of work. The existing steps were built three feet off center (?) and needed to be centered on the deck for our arbor plan. As the base was still in good shape we opted to keep them intact and just move them down.

The extraction process went easier than I thought it would, that is until we started breaking up a part of the concrete slab they were sitting on. I scored a line and was hoping to break off the three foot section in one piece and reuse it on the other side. Captain Rebarb foiled that plan. Although it was only two rods, they were half inch thick ! There was no way we could reuse any of it. The rods were ground off and the steady rain put an end to the day.

Sunday came, the birds were singing and the sun was shining and we were coming up with plan B. We trenched out the new area that would provide a base for the steps, used the crushed stone that was left from our sidewalk demolishion, two bags of sand that were laying around and the concrete blocks that were removed from around the deck. The steps were back up in no time and we were off to Home Depot to order wood for the deck and pick up more project supply's.Next will come staining and cutting all the new decking.






Anybody need some old treated lumber ? ? ?

At last ! The weather finally cooperated and we were able to go full guns on the yard.
Greg started removing the rest of the stone around the deck while Karla was on poop patrol.
We took a break early in the day and went on a filed trip to Wallace Landscaping and Stone.

There we found the flag stone we liked for the sidewalk replacement and pathways around the yard. We also found stone and rock for the pond but are considering raiding new construction in the area for river rock and boulders.

Back home, lunch and it was back to work. Karla trimmed the trees and dug up a monster bush on the side of the house. Greg took the deck apart.
The deck turned out to be more of a project than we had planed. The 4X4 posts on the side gave us trouble as there was no room to work both under the deck and in between the decking.
The posts were cracked off, the wood chipped away and the some of the bolts ground off in order to free the 4X4's. The fronts went a lot faster but the demolition still went on into the night.

Breaking up IS easy to do !

Its the hauling away thats the hard part. . .
We should have rented this in the first place ! What a big difference the right tool makes. Even Karla took a turn at the power hammer. This really made short change of the side walk. GOT JUNK came out on Thursday to haul it all away. Next will be the deck. We started taking down the the posts and other parts of the deck that will be replaced by the arbor but got hit with snow and cold. Maybe it will warm up soon so that we can get going on our outdoor projects !

Arbor Detail

Deck images

We're thinking it will take one afternoon to remove the skirting, the ugly plastic lattice and the bricks that surround the deck. So far the plan of attack is for Greg to break up the sidewalk and Karla to pressure wash the deck.
The arbor construction worries me only because it seems too easy. I'm hoping that the 20' 2X8 supports will be stable enough and we will not have a sagging issue to deal with.
Karla is very excited about putting the brick patio in. I hope the kids don't mind hauling the stone, sand, and brick into the back yard !

chicago flower & Garden show

Karla was a kid in a candy store !
A child on Christmas morning !
Like Greg in a bike shop !
The show was not as big as we hoped it to be, but we got a lot of ideas. Parking was confusing but once we did a series of U turns we found our way in.
I enjoyed the massive water features and outdoor table settings, once Karla brought me back into reality, we were able to focus on what we really came there for.
There were some great pond ideas. Smoke on the water seemed to be the running theme for the show.
We decided on the "pondless water feature". We think it will give us what we want with less digging and without the big expense.The pond pictured in this posting is what we are going to base ours on.

Besides the candy and the Captain Kerk Hosta, I think the arbor here, was Karla's favorite part of the show. I think the dimentition of the lumber used will fit nicely in proportion to the yard and provide just enough shade on the deck during the summer.
We left the show and headed to Manard's, Sids, and Home Depot where Karla got a head start on the patio by buying four of the 16 X 16 bricks we are going to use.
We cant wait to get started !