Landscaping

Dear Gage and Gabe,

When the porch addition was built, nearly all of our landscaping in the front of the house was destroyed. We were able to move some of the plants to the side of the house and some were lost. We've never had much success growing grass in front of the house due to the trees and the overall placement of the house, but once the porch was finished, we were left with a dirty, nasty mess. Since we had this lovely porch, we wanted to have some lovely landscaping to match. I went to Alvaton Nursery and talked to Brad, and he was very helpful with some suggestions about what kinds of plants will grow well in our area. By the end of our meeting, we had a truck bed full of plants and mulch and were ready to renovate the yard.

Because we haven't had much success with grass, we decided to give some sod a try. Aliza Sod Farm is right down the road, and since we like to try to buy local, we bought two skids of sod and filled in the most difficult grass-growing areas. This may seem like an easy thing - just throw down some pre-cut chunks of grass. It is not that easy. The ground must first be tilled, which isn't a big deal. The ground must also be raked and free of rocks - this was the challenge. Being on the bluff above the creek, we don't have the best soil. There are more rocks in our yard than on the creek bank! That's an exaggeration obviously, but raking and picking up buckets of rocks was a time consuming project. The next step was placing the sod. We were working in a pretty narrow area, so finding the right squares to piece together was a challenge. Gage, you said we were putting together a big puzzle, and that was accurate.

Tilled ground, ready for sod

Gabe, picking up rocks. Gage, raking the ground.

After a few days of hard work, the planting, mulch spreading and sod laying were done. I am so pleased with how well it all turned out! Once everything grows and fills in, we'll have a beautiful landscaped yard!

View of porch with planters, ferns and landscaping. Daddy used edging blocks for a border around the driveway. I suppose pavement will be the next step in our home makeover. Gabe, in a diaper, watching Mommy take pictures.

Right side of the porch

Left side of the porch

Left side of the house - filled in the flower bed that Daddy constructed with retaining
blocks a few years ago. We've had azaleas there since the beginning, but we replaced
some of the dead ones, fed them and are crossing our fingers for success.

I love you,
Mommy