Single Day Front Yard Transformation: Before and After Photos

September 13, 2014

Saturday was a big push to focus on our front lawn. It’s been sitting in a fairly blank state, ever since Liz and Julie powered through the overgrowth and managed the tame the craziness that was here previously.

But since that time, it’s just been an empty patch of land – one that Liz had to tend a few times, as weeds kept growing back.

In the morning, Julie and Bob arrived with the truck full of supplies – the plants that were purchased last weekend, along with numerous bags of mulch.

Right as things got started.

Liz and Julie, slowly figuring out where they want things to go.

The assortment of plants they got last weekend. Since it’s the end of the season, there were a lot of good deals as most people had already purchased their plants for the year.

Lots of (heavy) mulch. Liz ending up carting these around herself, in addition to all the yardwork.

Plants placed, arranged, and prepared to go in the ground.

The workers, surveying the land.

As I was out talking with Liz and Julie, we heard a terrific “thud” sound. It was something that sounded incredibly heavy, and when I looked over to my neighbor’s house – it turned out one of their vents had toppled over.

Bernie (our neighbor) had some work done a while ago, and it appears that the contractors simply cut the vent… but didn’t affix it in any way. So the thing was leaning dangerously to an angle. A nearby worker spotted this, and alerted Bernie that he should move his car. With all the strong storms we’ve had lately, it seemed to have weaken this vent a bit.

Shortly after Bernie moved his car, the thing toppled over. It was held in place by the gutter, but was kind of precariously perched. If it fell, it wouldn’t have endangered any pedestrians walking by… but it was something very heavy, unrestrained and very high up.

After a few calls to a roofing guy who might have had a big ladder, Bernie ended up calling the fire department. They were, after all, in possession of a pretty big ladder.

Retrieving the vent. It was an interesting thing to witness, as a lot of other neighbors came over by our house to watch. All in all, the removal took place quickly, and with minimal fuss.

Not sure what bone meal does, but apparently our yard now has a lot of it. We are so very lucky that Julie has such a strong background in biochemistry. Who better to help us with our yard than someone who raises plants and creates her own custom soil?

Plants in, and a bucket as a temporary focal point.

Cue the old bird bath in the backyard.

Julie, measuring around the pedestal.

We’ve unearthed a lot of bricks, while working on the front and back yards. And are now putting them to good use.

Liz and Julie, setting up bricks.

Filling in the gaps with mulch.

While the girls were outside, I was helping Bob set up a new water line, leading to a spigot on the side of the house. Plants need water, after all, and we had dismantled the spigot in the back yard some time ago. I have markedly less photos to share on this front, as I would step outside to document the front yard’s progress (but didn’t do the same for our work in the basement).

Front yard, set and done. View from the sidewalk.

View from our front walkway, with a mini path around the pumpkin centerpiece.

View from the sidewalk. It’s hard to see, but there’s a small Japanese maple tree in the corner there. Looking forward to seeing that guy grow.

The finished yard – a huge difference from what it was, earlier this morning.

Bob and I continued working until after dusk, as we had some extra time to wait as the cement dried. We were able to test the spigot around 9:30PM, and everything was working well.

Though it was late, it was necessary to give the plants some water. It was a long day, but an incredibly productive one. With Bob’s help in the interior, and Julie’s on the exterior… they were able to help us transform our front yard into something wonderful.

All throughout the day, I heard about (and saw) neighbors stopping to admire the handiwork. Though we have a great deal more to do in the back, it feels really nice to have the front looking cleaner, more maintained. Beautiful. Our front yard feels more personal now, and makes it feel a bit more like home.