OUR NEW FRONT YARD (May 2010)

BACK

FROM THE FRONT PORCH
FROM THE DRIVEWAY
FROM THE NORTH END
Except for some plants next to the house, we have grass everywhere. Water it, mow it, edge it, repeat. We're tired of it! And our old street tree (planted in the 1930s) is dying. We want lower maintenance, less watering. Onward!
It was sad but fascinating watching the tree come down. It took 70 years to grow and about 90 minutes to remove it. Then a separate company came to grind the stump. We got two garbage cans and about a dozen large bags of wood chips and stump grindings, which we used for mulch (see later). I've removed a little over half the grass at this point - working two hours at a stretch.
All the grass is gone and a replacement tree has been planted. We have already put in a few blueberry bushes and some thyme plants that will eventually form a hedge along the front. Next comes the brick walkways.
8:00 AM Saturday morning four men arrived and dug down five inches to prepare for the walkways. That black-topped machine compacts the dirt to make a hard flat surface.
Baserock makes sure the surface is level. Then the bricks are set. We decided on a slightly curved pathway.
It's about 5:00 and the brickwork is almost done. The edge of the driveway needs to be cut out.
6:00 PM Saturday evening and the walkway is done - except the cutout for the driveway. One of the workers came back the next day to finish that.
A week after that, we had most of the new plants in and a stone bench and potted fruit tree installed. A few days later, we added wood chips from our street tree. Looking good!
One last look at the BEFORE photos. Quite a change!