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
After
“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. (July 26, 2007) [Before] Landscaping to the right of the deck. (July 26, 2007)](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/l/landscaping07-3.jpg)
![[In progress] Putting the drip lines in after planting many perennials. (August 5, 2007) [In progress] Putting the drip lines in after planting many perennials. (August 5, 2007)](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/l/landscaping07-4.jpg)

![[After] Most of the perennials to the right of the deck stayed in bloom even in September. (September 20, 2007) [After] Most of the perennials to the right of the deck stayed in bloom even in September. (September 20, 2007)](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/l/landscaping07-10.jpg)
![[After] New blue veronica speedwell in the foreground. (September 20, 2007) [After] New blue veronica speedwell in the foreground. (September 20, 2007)](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/l/landscaping07-11.jpg)
![[After] Landscaping by the right rear fence. (September 20, 2007) [After] Landscaping by the right rear fence. (September 20, 2007)](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/l/landscaping07-12.jpg)
![[After] The new perennials to the left of the house are out of bloom, but I hope they will look nicer next year. (September 20, 2007) [After] The new perennials to the left of the house are out of bloom, but I hope they will look nicer next year. (September 20, 2007)](https://felixwong.com/gallery/thumbs/l/landscaping07-13.jpg)



Those college students did a nice job on your yard! 😉 It looks quite nice, and I can’t wait to see what color you add to it in the spring!
Nice job, Felix! Outsourcing really worked out well for you 🙂