Backyard Landscaping: Week 3

Install 1,000 sq. ft. of sod edged in Epic landscape edging.  Install approximately 358 sq. ft. of concrete for main patio and side pad. 

The blogger setup has changed a little and I could not figure out how to type notes in between the pictures on the last post.  The kids have loved watching at the windows and on some days the progress is incredible in 8 hours time.  I tried to space these pictures out a bit to add a few notes when needed.

 

All the plantings were put in before the bark was laid.  Top soil was put on the lawn area but for the plantings, the top soil they came in with their pots was just mixed in with the natural soil to help them thrive in the rocky environment.

  

  

  

  

This is the bark.  It is a shredded walnut, which is the darkest natural wood we could find.  I wanted it to look as much like topsoil as possible, so we picked the shredded variety.  The groundcover (Star Jasmine) on this hill should grow over the bark and cover it almost completely.  To the left will be a planter bed with flowers and a slightly lighter cedar shredded bark.

  

  

  

The bark going in on the back shelf

  

This guy had the coolest job ever.  He drives the flatbed semi-truck in the background.  Then when he gets to his drop off location, he gets to drive this delivery truck.  After he dropped off the sod behind the bark, he laughed and said to me, "Now just tell them you have to go someplace."  (The van was in the garage.)  I said, "Actually I do have to drive the kindergarten carpool this morning."  We had a couple of hours before we needed to leave and he said he would just move the sod over to the other side of the driveway.  The landscape installers worked on clearing the bark behind the van before it was time to go.  So nice!  When the top soil was delivered, Robbie moved the van out onto the street when he left work work in the morning.  We forgot to to that this morning.

  

  

Cold and a little cautious of the pallet delivery truck, but happy B's

  

  

  

  

  

  

We didn't have quite enough sod.  Our order was split with a house down the street, so our installer went and borrowed some back from them.

  

The broken up patio pad, ready to be hauled away for the new patio to be poured.

  

The side courtyard pad, framed.

  

The concrete truck!!!  All five of us were glued to the windows watching the team of concrete workers.  The hose was clogged at one point and they were just slamming it with their hammer.

  

For the side pad, they wheelbarrow-ed the concrete over from the main yard.

  

This was done on Friday so it had the weekend to dry.  The final result is a diamond cut-joint pattern with a salt finish in the main yard and a sunburst design made of cut-joints with a salt finish in the courtyard.  I do not see any way to add videos any more so I'll add a few to Facebook.