[After] Landscaping in front of the deck.

Landscape Update

Felix Wong's avatar
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At last! My landscaping project is done—for now. Actually, I (and some outsourced help in the form of college kids) completed work last week, but haven’t had a chance to document it until this moment.

Below are some before-and-after photos. As you can see, I stuck pretty close to the original plan I drew up in July.

Before

[Before] Overhead view.
[Before] Landscaping in front of the deck.
[Before] Landscaping in front of the deck.
[Before] Landscaping in the center left of the back yard.
[Before] Landscaping in the center left of the back yard.

After

[After] Overhead view of the back yard, with flagstone and many more perennials. May install more shrubs and perennials by the rear fence next year.
[After] Landscaping in front of the deck.
[After] Landscaping in front of the deck.
[After] Landscaping in the center left of the back yard.
[After] Landscaping in the center left of the back yard.

“House projects never end” is an observation my mom frequently makes. It holds true in this case. I can think of several tasks that still needs to be done:

  • Plant 2-3 shrubs by the rear fence.
  • Add steel edging along the newly placed rock by the rear fence.
  • Plant about a dozen perennials in the mulched area in front of the rear fence, but beyond the flagstone.
  • After the new perennials are added, install drip lines for them.

But I think this years’ improvements are “good enough” for now and the above work can wait until next year. I may even plan some enhancements for the front yard next year, but I want to see how well the back yard plants survive first.

Meanwhile, I am really hoping that with all the new shredded cedar mulch (six cubic yards!), flagstone and rock, I won’t need to spend so much time pulling weeds in the upcoming years. Of course, with the first freeze around the corner (probably mid- to late- October), weeding—or any yard work for that matter—becomes unnecessary until April. That is one thing I definitely appreciate about the Colorado winters.

[Before] Landscaping to the right of the deck.
[Before] Landscaping to the right of the deck.
[In progress] Putting the drip lines in after planting many perennials.
[In progress] Putting the drip lines in after planting many perennials.
A dump truck unloaded one ton of rock and six cubic yards of shredded mulch on my driveway.
A dump truck unloaded one ton of rock and six cubic yards of shredded mulch on my driveway.
[After] Most of the perennials to the right of the deck stayed in bloom even in September.
[After] Most of the perennials to the right of the deck stayed in bloom even in September.
[After] New blue veronica speedwell in the foreground.
[After] New blue veronica speedwell in the foreground.
[After] Landscaping by the right rear fence.
[After] Landscaping by the right rear fence.
[After] The new perennials to the left of the house are out of bloom, but I hope they will look nicer next year.
[After] The new perennials to the left of the house are out of bloom, but I hope they will look nicer next year.
To my surprise, my garden plot produced some pimientos.
To my surprise, my garden plot produced some pimientos.
Some cherry tomato plants also produced tomatoes.
Some cherry tomato plants also produced tomatoes.
The pimientos tasted good.
The pimientos tasted good.