EDMONDS, WA :: When we bought our house, we were initially attracted to the very large pine tree in the front yard. Its branches extended over the street and roof, creating a cozy, woodsy landscape. Well, the charm faded as we gradually learned the pine was a menace to the house and other plants. Hardly anything could grow underneath, buckets of sap dripped onto my car, truckloads of pine needles littered the roof and clogged the gutters, the root system was threatening our sewer line, and the county removed the street-facing branches to avoid the power lines. The beauty became the beast and was brought down.
After the two-foot diameter stump and its root ball was ground out, we took steps to rejuvenate the soil. Several cubic yards of organic compost and new topsoil were tilled into the compacted turf. To neutralize the acidic soil, we incorporated a couple large bags of lime. We allowed the soil to mend as we waited for warmer weather.
During this time, we widened the driveway by four feet so that I wouldn’t need to park in our new frontyard. To prepare the site, I dug a trench that was 25 feet long, 5 feet wide and a foot deep. That’s a lot of digging. We filled it with gravel and topped it off with screed sand. On this level subsurface, we arranged nearly a thousand pavers into a basketweave pattern. I must say, it looks pretty nice, and we hope to redo our front entry and back patio in the same way.
Although we didn’t seem to have a Spring this year, the weather did finally become a little warmer, and we planted three Himalayan Birches, a Chinese Dogwood and a Shindeshojo Japanese Maple. We then defined three planting areas with edging, covered them with landscaping fabric, and then topped them with bark nuggets.
Finally, we were ready to plant the new lawn. Fall is the best time to plant, but we were in a rush. Spring is the second best time, but as we learned, the new lawn competes with the season’s weeds. We spread premium seed and covered with a thin layer of peat moss. In a few weeks, we had a lush new lawn, but it seemed half of it was weeds. We pulled all of them out, patched the areas with new topsoil, and seeded again. A couple more weeks, and voila, a new yard!
It was a lot of work, but we actually enjoyed it and are proud of the results. We also got to know many of our neighbors better as they stopped by to check on our progress. They freqently and frankly commented that we went from having one of the ugliest yards on the street, to one of the nicest.
After the two-foot diameter stump and its root ball was ground out, we took steps to rejuvenate the soil. Several cubic yards of organic compost and new topsoil were tilled into the compacted turf. To neutralize the acidic soil, we incorporated a couple large bags of lime. We allowed the soil to mend as we waited for warmer weather.
During this time, we widened the driveway by four feet so that I wouldn’t need to park in our new frontyard. To prepare the site, I dug a trench that was 25 feet long, 5 feet wide and a foot deep. That’s a lot of digging. We filled it with gravel and topped it off with screed sand. On this level subsurface, we arranged nearly a thousand pavers into a basketweave pattern. I must say, it looks pretty nice, and we hope to redo our front entry and back patio in the same way.
Although we didn’t seem to have a Spring this year, the weather did finally become a little warmer, and we planted three Himalayan Birches, a Chinese Dogwood and a Shindeshojo Japanese Maple. We then defined three planting areas with edging, covered them with landscaping fabric, and then topped them with bark nuggets.
Finally, we were ready to plant the new lawn. Fall is the best time to plant, but we were in a rush. Spring is the second best time, but as we learned, the new lawn competes with the season’s weeds. We spread premium seed and covered with a thin layer of peat moss. In a few weeks, we had a lush new lawn, but it seemed half of it was weeds. We pulled all of them out, patched the areas with new topsoil, and seeded again. A couple more weeks, and voila, a new yard!
It was a lot of work, but we actually enjoyed it and are proud of the results. We also got to know many of our neighbors better as they stopped by to check on our progress. They freqently and frankly commented that we went from having one of the ugliest yards on the street, to one of the nicest.
Wow, you bought a nice clematis. Looks very nice John and Kristie!
Thanks!
Is the clematis the purple or yellow flower? =) Those were actually on the property when we moved in.
John
Nice work, John!
Looks great you guys. You’ll have to come over and help me set our new patio. 😛