Spring is kickin' in my backyard

Apologies to Matt and Brandon but I really don't give a rip about flowers when it comes to my yard. I leave that up to C as I am more about hardscaping and the foundation plants. However, as I walked the yard this AM, I noticed the flowers are kickin' it. After two years of relocating and pruning at the wrong times in order to get the plants in the right place and in the right shape, everything is lookin' good. Here are some examples:

This is some type of fern that I thought I killed off last summer.


Matt, what is the name of this? Jack In the Pulpit?


We thought this was a viburnum two years ago. It finally bloomed and I guess it is a hydrangea.


Trumpet Vine


Morning Glories


I think this is some type of Lilac. It is growing out of the plant in the pond. This is the first year we have seen it.


Here is the pond/deck area.

Presidential Candidates on Horticulture

The reading audience of this blog may be interested to know that, apparently, John McCain likes gardening.

"...Cindy McCain, who on Monday was a guest co-host of “The View” on ABC and shared some secrets about her husband. (Mrs. McCain said that the man she calls “Johnny-Boy” loves horticulture and cooking and contrary to news reports does not have a “temper” problem.)"

Quick Google searches for Hil and Barack didn't turn up any obvious horticulture comments.

Deck - Work Day Five

Unforunately day 4 was missed picturewise, because they didn't finish until nearly 8 PM and it was too dark to get any good pictures. Plus, that is the time that we start our nightly routine with Mat, so it was completely dark out by the time I could have taken any pictures. However, at the end of day 5, the amount of work that was done was significant. In addition to the work being done on the deck, we also got our granite countertops installed, this will most likely be another post. It was a very busy day for us.

This pictures is from the vantage point of the new staircase landing.


From inside the screened in section looking down at the deck.


From the back corner of the fence.


The railing was started and the roof of the porch was put into place. I was pretty impressed. Although kristen said that she went into her bathroom to put on some makeup or something and there was a guy working right there. Kinda funny.

The angle.



Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures of work day 4. The started late and did


This is the gate of the fence that opens onto the deck.


Looking at the staircase leading to the covered porch. We opted to change the stair case because it was 26 steps in a straight line before and with Kids, Dogs, Grandparents, and drunk friends or ourselves, we felt that breaking it up would be a lot safer. We are pretty happy with the results so far.


Staging area in the backyard. They had one guy cutting wood all day. That was all he did for 10+ hours. Crazy.

The floor isn't quite done yet, it is a lot closer. One of the problems that we had was the transition from the retaining wall to the deck itself. Originally the retaining wall had steps that came down to the backyard. Now the steps have been covered with decking. It isn't the greatest solution, but it works.

Standing on the staircase platform looking up at the ceiling of the covered porch. We opted out of finishing the ceiling with beadboard which saved us several thousand dollars. I think I can deal with looking at the roof rafters.

Deck - Work Day Three

Work day three really saw the deck grow to it full size and it is a big deck. Really big.



This picture is from the gate in the fence in the backyard. You can see the juniper on the hillside and the staircase that I build over Xmas break last year.

The angle from center backyard.


This is the other corner of the fench. Notice the Forythia on this section of the hill.

The floor boards begin.


The deck design is a 1/2 octogon. Here you can see the angles.


The flooring being installed.

Deck - Work Day Two

Work day two was still pre-permit so they did some more demolition and also started getting the footers in place. They were also abel to start the framing of the deck.



Looking toward the backyard. The concrete blocks that are used for the footings. Interestingly, I have learned that footing no longer need to be poured concrete. I had 2 different contractors tell me that doing it this way with blocks is faster, easier, and just as strong.



Starting to frame the floor joists. The deck is pretty large and the number of footings was pretty impressive. The footing are dug about 3 feet deep, which is crazy since the dirt in my backyard is filled with the stone underlayment from the driveway. It SUCKS to dig in.


I was trying to take some pictures of the holes for the footings.


4 footings along the side of the house.


This pictures shows where the deck will be. It is going to be nice to have a flat and usable space in my backyard.


This is standing at the fence in my backyard looking back at the house. I thought this was a good angle to see the scope of work that they will do. I will try to continue taking a picture from this angle as the job continues.

Deck - Work Day One

Here are some pictures from the first day of work on the deck.


Some Material Arrives. Because of the slope of the yard, the driveway became staging area #1.



More Staging of Materials. You can also see Mathew's Sandbox. :)





Some of the Demolition that was done on what will eventually become the covered porch.


Existing platform and staircase from the garage. We are keeping this, but the staircase will end at the deck.


Looking Up at the Deck from the backyard. The hard partially torn out the floorboards. No railing, it is about 20' up in the air. I don't think I would have liked doing that job.



The upper porch that will become screened in. And the beginning of the landing for the new staircase.

broadwell's run

thinking hitting it up this weekend, but i don't know what i'm gonna get. thinking about some mid size shrubs, maybe a flowering tree (quince?). anybody? i'm struggling.

***UPDATE***
the result (both mine and brandon's):

My Back!

Here is what I have sitting around my yard that needs to get in the ground.

10 Azaleas
8 Indian Hawthorns
5 Holly Ferns
3 Kimberly Ferns
3 Crepe Myrtles
2 Water Plants
1 Hydrangea
Relocate 3 other plants

I think I went overboard and man it is going to hurt.

Deck Work Day 1

Well, today was the first day of work on the Deck. I will be posting pictures as things progress. Kristin who works from home said that the next few weeks are going to be tough at best as the construction noise is quite significant.

First shoots from my hibiscus

Two weeks ago I looked in a planter on our deck and all I saw was the cut off roots of my hibiscus. You're supposed to be able to cut it back to the dirt, but after seeing nothing, I was a little concerned. I got it last year at Lowe's. It was root-bound and the outdoors manager saw me looking at it. "It's your's for $5", he said. The price tag said $15 or $20 (can't remember exactly). I brought it home and it went gangbusters. Big, huge white flowers for weeks in the middle of the drought. So, I was really hoping to see it come back strong.

Last night I looked at it again and saw a few shoots. This morning I took this picture and I swear, overnight it's grown.