Friday, May 25, 2012

Before and After: Backyard Improvements

When we first moved into this house, it was during a full-blown Texan summer with 110 degree temperatures in consecutive days.  The back yard of this house was simply dust and dirt.  A few scraggly weeds, an oversized patio, and an old leaning fence were all that accompanied.

A couple of months ago, I took this photo.  The weeds had taken over during the wet and temperate spring, and Jason had just tilled a section to prepare for sod.  He and I had also removed a few feet of patio.
This is nearly the same view now.  With some Zoysia sod and help from friends and family, the yard is transformed.
We also covered the weeds in the bed areas with several layers of newspaper, then a few inches of mulch.  You'll notice the new sandbox and second vegetable bed in this photo. Now I am attempting to fight back the aggressive invasives, trumpet vine and wisteria.
Some sections of sod had sat out in the sun longer before installation.  But since it's Zoysia grass, it'll fill in and come back nicely in a little time.  Zoysia is great for sun, shade, drought, pretty much any situation.  And its vertical growth is slow, which makes for less maintenance.  We only had to mow our last Zoysia lawn once about every 3 weeks.
 The entrance to the back yard also has been given a face-lift with newspaper, mulch and some plants that will continue to fill in over time.  I hope to plant out a bed in front of the neighbor's garage apartment one day that will visually soften the blow of its abrupt existence right on the property line. Baby steps!


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