Young House Love

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Landscaping Updates In The Backyard

Update: Thanks so much for all the kind words and general awesomeness on yesterday’s post. You guys rock my socks.

Ladies and gentlemen, we actually have a backyard. Well, we still need to get some grass going on, but three phases of digging and transplanting and weeding (here’s phase one, and here’s phase two) have definitely turned our Jumanji-esque backyard into a nice clearing for Burger & Clara to run around in… once that aforementioned grass makes itself at home. And we still have a ton of giant trees on the side and back of our lot to keep it from feeling too open and stark, which seems to be the sweet spot for us.

But enough jabbering, the pics do all of the explaining anyway:

2bef After1

As you can see, we leveled the second 15′ wide planting bed, and dug up the rest of the borderline-insane amounts of liriope that encroached on the area that we’d rather just seed and mow for a nice lush little swatch o’ grass. We also brought in some dirt from the back of our lot (free!) in an attempt to level everything out to get it ready for grass, although we’ll add a little top soil when we seed just to be sure we’re giving those little grass seeds all the reason in the world to take root.

We also did some tree-maintenance in the form of cutting these two giant vines that are cannibalizing an old oak tree (they’re so thick and crazy that during Hurricane Irene we worried the extra weight of the vines and the dense leafy branches would pull the tree down on our house). You can see which tree they’re on if you scroll up to the before and after pics above (it’s that crazy leafy-looking mass hugging the tree next to the corner of the house on the right).

2 Cutting Root0

Reciprocating saw + John = buh-bye oak-strangling vine. We actually heard from a certified landscaping expert that we hired back in April thanks to a Living Social deal (more on that here) that it would be best to remove any vines from all of the trees on our property, just to keep the tree in the best possible health and not have to worry about them choking the trees or making them fall in a storm. And you apparently just have to cut a chunk out from the base so the roots can’t keep sending nutrients up through the vine and it should slowly die off (then you can yank it off the tree if you don’t like the look of a bunch of dead leaves hugging your tree like a beer koozie). We’ll keep you guys posted on how that goes…

2 Cutting Root3

While the reciprocating saw was out we also used it to cut out some old roots (from trees that were cut down decades ago) that would have made for some lumpy not-level grass…

2 Cutting Root

… and we also had another brush with nature. Although this time it wasn’t a tiny snake, it was a baby squirrel. Cue the collective “aww.” This picture doesn’t do his insanely cute size any justice, but take my word for it, this is totally one of those baby animals that you’d see on Pinterest and let out a gasp at his sheer adorable-ness. He was smaller than my hand and quite wide-eyed and bushy-tailed.

2 Baby Squirrel

But back to the yard progress. At the end of another 3 hour span (aka: another Clara nap), we had completed our third and final phase of bushwhacking and finally have reached ready-to-seed status. Woot!

2bef After2

It’s so funny because every time I turn the corner to walk into the backyard from the patio on the side of the house, I think I’m going to be met with the view in the top pic, so it never fails to make me jump when I see the cleared out view from the bottom pic instead.

2bef After3

It definitely looks kind of stark now, but we know when we get a nice lush carpet of green grass going on that it’ll be awesome and open without feeling too cleared out since our lot is almost an acre that’s chock fulla wooded area on both sides of the house along with most of the area behind the house. So this will just be one open and grassy area for Burger and Clara to have fun in while various woodland creatures can do their thing everywhere else.

Oh and here’s a really great example of how a giant planting bed can block your whole house from the back. And then after a few days of work, it can be history. Poof. Begone house-blocking bush.

2 Bef After6

So much better! And I can’t even explain how happy we are to see the old brick paths again (so charming!). After nearly two years of staring at about two-bricks-worth of them while the rest was completely covered in leg-tickling liriope, they’re a sight for sore eyes (and itchy liriope-groped legs).

2 Bef After7

So there you have the latest on our backyard progress. Of course we’ll share seeding/grass-growing pics whenever we can, but we’re pretty psyched that this whole area just took a few pretty serious (but totally doable!) days of work to result in some pretty major changes.

Do you guys like to tackle your outdoor projects in phases? Do you dream about having a certain landscaping setup when you move in (like we did back in 2010) but then take a few years to get your momentum up (we’ve almost been in our house for two whole years, so it’s about time for this!!). It’s amazing how time can fly when you’re putting off yard work…

Comments

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes, we’ve heard from a bunch of you about that but ours wasn’t. The arborist in April confirmed it was some sort of red-berried plant like a holly (it has those pricker-ish leaves like a holly bush and red berries every winter). So thankful!!

      xo
      s

  4. Kimberly says

    Did you mean to say “ladies and gentleman” as though only one male reads your blog :) Or was that a typo? hehe I couldn’t tell.

    Reply

  6. Carmen says

    It looks so nice and open! That’s one of favorite feelings – when you momentarily forget you improved something and get to be pleasantly surprised all over again. :)

    I do have to say though, your backyard confuses the heck out of me. The next time you’re up on your roof (maybe hanging Christmas lights?) could you take a few photos of the yard from up high?

    (I realize you might not be up there again for months, but I bet the pictures will come in handy for one thing or another. :))

    Reply

  7. Amy Blake says

    Looks great! Amazing difference! But…I hope y’all aren’t allergic to that hairy vine that is attached to the tree. I had one of those on a tree a couple of years ago and pulled the entire thing off. Two days later I had a rash come up and let me tell you…IT WAS A WEEK OF TORTURE! I was super allergic to it. Had to get a shot and used two tubes of prescription strength cortisone to keep from scratching my body to death. Hope it doesn’t bother y’all!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      That sounds terrible! Happily we got confirmation from the arborist who came in April that it was just some harmless vine that we could cut down ourselves (not poison ivy or anything) so we’re really grateful it was pretty simple! Will keep you posted as for how it goes when it all dies and we have to yank it down though…

      xo
      s

  8. Andie says

    I am continually amazed how wonderful your green yard is! Here in Albuquerque, NM the only thing that grows naturally are goat heads and weeds. I get my green fix in the desert just by looking at your yard posts! Thanks for giving me another fix today.

    Reply

  9. Margaret says

    Just wondering is it typical in your area to have a basement that’s not connected with stairs within the house. Would you ever consider adding stairs… can you tell I live in the midwest!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Oh yes it’s typical, our last house had a separate entry basement too! It’s just under the bedroom (which was an addition in the 70s) so we’d never want to add stairs to the basement from the bedroom, so leaving it separate seems to work for us!

      xo
      s

  10. Sam says

    Great job!! Looks like all the hard work’s paying off! It looks totally different (and I totally said awww before reading the cue hahaha). Look forward to seeing some nice green grass.
    xx

    Reply

  11. Trista says

    Very cool, and without all those crazy bushes, I no longer need a panoramic view. I finally understand your backyard. No iPhone upgrade necessary. :)

    Reply

  12. Angela says

    Love love the sidewalks meandering around the yard. Someone went to a lot of trouble putting them in. I saw where someone suggested power washing them. Unless they are laid in concrete, be prepared to get really dirty power washing them…and then having to replace some of the sand/dirt between the pavers. I power washed my patio once and swore I’d never do it again. I like the way your sidewalks look now!

    Reply

  13. Beth says

    Yall are so motivated! If my kid were sleeping, I’d lounge about and indulge in bad tv. But that’s why I’m lazy and you are DIY superstahs! Looks great!!

    Reply

  14. Annie says

    Oh wow, SO much better–your yard doesn’t look stark at all. It looks much more welcoming and taken care of!

    We just pulled up a strip of overgrown plants next to our house and I was feeling miiiighty fine about it until we woke up with poison ivy all over our forearms. And I’m finding it EVERYWHERE in the yard now. GAH! Just looking at all those plants in your “before” yard is giving me the heebie-jeebies. I’m glad you guys made it through your bushwhacking unscathed!

    Reply

  16. michele says

    holy yard clearing!!! you guys, that doesn’t even LOOK like the same yard. i’m really impressed at how quickly you cleared all of that as well.

    it makes such a difference! congratulations!

    Reply

  17. Kathryn says

    I didn’t know there was a path under that jungle! haha…It looks FANTASTIC now!That is one job which the prospects of would overwhelm me! Can’t wait to see it all sodded.
    Quick Question: I was noticing that it is VERY green by you guys. When does fall come for you guys and leaves start changing colours? (Or are you so far south that you stay green all year)…just a question from a jealous Canadian! haha

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Richmond has a pretty mild winter so it usually gets cold in Dec and Jan, but the grass pretty much stays green year round! It’s amazing since when I grew up in NJ and then lived in NY the grass was yellow for like five or six months each winter!

      xo
      s

  19. Nichole says

    The baby squirrel reminds me of the one I kept for a few weeks when we realized he’d lost his mother a few years ago. He was so adorable. We kept him in an old fish tank in the house (shut away from our cats). We gave him a hot water bottle to snuggle up to and keep him warm and fed him baby animal formula out of one of those syringes used to give medicine to kids/pets. Finally, I got hold of a squirrel rehabilitator (who knew there was such a thing?)a couple of cities away and let her take over getting him ready for life on his own. Now, when I see squirrels, I wonder if it’s him.

    Reply

  21. Steph says

    Ok, seriously you guys deserve the biggest medal possible! Everything looks amazing!!! I am in awe.

    It just gets me super pumped. We moved into our house two and a half years ago and there was literally no back yard. I’m not kidding, just two massive drops and now we are almost finished building two giant retaining walls and filling them in so that our 2 yr old, Amelie and bulldog Ben has a back yard to play in. Let me tell you I can not wait to get that grass in and start all the gardening I’ve dreaming about for 2+ yrs. I am sure Amelie will appreciate it when it is done, a deck just doesn’t cut it for a toddler.

    Thanks for the wicked post! Keep em coming.

    Steph.

    Reply

  22. Misty says

    Looks great! Can you actually get to your basement from inside the house or is that walk-out the only way? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you reference basement stairs.

    Reply

  23. Shelise says

    I’ll admit I never really understood the layout of the outside of your house but now that some of the huge bushes are gone it makes way more sense. I love it.

    Reply

  25. Megan says

    WOW! There’s a real path and everything! But I can totally see you guys taking the bricks out and making a small patio (base of the new deck maybe?!) instead of the random paths. Or are they good paths? I still am picturing more green grass like after your previous house’s back yard makeover. You two deserve a massage now!!

    Reply

  26. Meghan says

    I work for a gardening company and we are in the middle of our bulb planting part of the job. (for temperature reference, I’m near Canada)

    In areas like yours, we plant a variety of crocus bulbs in the lawn. Super fun, we just throw them in the air and plant them where they fall for the most natural look. We might have just done this to about 10 homes this week, so it was the first thing I thought of!

    With your mild climate, do bulbs do well? I personally love that they are cheap and colorful and require little work!

    Like your new space.

    Reply

  27. Amy says

    Wow, that’s a lot of work! Now that you’ve cleared away the bushes, any plans to add some color to that back door?

    Reply

  28. Sarah S. says

    You should consider re-captioning these photos. Instead of “THEN” and “NOW,” you should use “THEN” and “WOW!” Good work, y’all.

    Reply

  31. Teri Dunn says

    Hi There,
    May I suggest Eco-Lawn. It is a low maintenance drought tolerant green lush lawn. It requires less water, less fertilizer, less maintenance.
    Feel free to contact me for more information or go to http://www.eco-lawn.com

    Cheers and keep the posts coming.
    Teri Dunn

    Reply

  34. Ashley S. says

    With all the overgrown stuff you guys have cut down, it’d be cool to see the yard in it prime. I’ll bet it was nicely landscaped at some point before everything grew out of control. :)

    Reply

  35. Linnae says

    Great work! We’ve been doing some outside projects this month, too, and we definitely go in phases. Since we moved here 2 1/2 years ago, phase 1 was tearing out all the juniper bushes that completely surrounded the house. Last summer my husband built a shed and a terraced garden for me (hooray!) This summer we are on to phase 3: retaining walls to hold up the slope left behind after junipers went away. After he does all the hard stuff, then I get the fun job of planting flowers and shrubs, etc. Works out well!

    I love it a little more with each change. We are slowly making our way from the “neighborhood eyesore” end of the spectrum towards “curb appeal.” Our neighbors have been very patient! :)

    Reply

  36. Sarah says

    It makes your yard look so much bigger! The oversized liriope and bushes kind of made the optical illusion of a smaller yard. Nice job! That was a ton of work!

    Reply

  37. KarenH. says

    Wow, what a difference! I’ve been doing a lot of yard reclamation since moving into my house, too (just a few months after you moved), but by comparison, I’ve so much less big stuff to deal with! You’ve done a fabulous job!

    Instead of liriope, I’ve been battling a huge infestation of creeping charlie, so it’s massive, but not as obvious as all that liriope. That and the forsythia (which I freely admit, I hate), which were hiding an actual TREE (okay, it was little, but still–TREE!). And the lilacs which are easily 16 to 20 feet tall, and I’ve still got some cutting back to do.

    It IS nice to get a section complete, tho, and appreciate all the new space. :)

    Reply

  38. Heather says

    What a difference a ‘spade’ makes! Loving the way it’s starting to pan out. Clara and Burger are going to have a lot of fun out there soon! Cheers from Aus. Hx

    Reply

  39. Ali says

    Holy cow, that’s a lot of of bushwhacking! What did you do with all the yard waste? Our trash company only lets us have 5 bags a week, so I guess we’d be making a lot of trips to the dump.

    Everything looks great! Oh, and we did the same thing with the vines on some of our trees. When we just cut the vine, they eventually grew back (boo, hiss). Second time, we cut them so there was a maybe 3-foot gap between the cut ends, and now they are dying (cue victory dance). Good luck!

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We have so many wild woods around our property that we tossed things that we didn’t want to transplant (like weeds) back in the corner where you can’t see them and reused all the liriope on our side yard since we don’t mind it growing wild over there (it’s naturalized area).

      xo
      s

  41. diane says

    Looking good! We removed a vine from a scrawny little tree and within months that tree flourished and became the largest shade tree in the backyard. We called it our miracle tree so good luck with yours.

    Reply

  42. Julianne says

    Your yard looks great! You both have such a great eye for detail and creating such pleasing arrangements. I envy your talent! Your house is looking stunning with the way you’ve cleaned things up and created such nice landscaping. I can’t wait to see it finished with the new grass. :O)

    Reply

  44. Kylie Stricklin says

    John and Sherry,
    Can I just say, WOW! What a difference! As with each of your projects, both large and small, I am constantly amazed at the sheer “gung ho!” you both have to get them done. Clara and Burger will surely love the space to run and play in days to come.
    As an avid Young House Love reader, I find myself quoting you or showing your projects to my husband saying “Babe! We totally need to do this too!” or “Dude…this totally reminds me of us!”. We have both been enjoying the similarities of our families –from the DIY, to the dog and daughter, to the way you both WRITE (although it may seem strange to hear that from someone you dont know AT ALL). :) Just know that we appreciate your blog, your fun style, and your DIY selves. Keep up the good work!
    Kylie in Kansas City :)

    Reply

  46. Carol Ann says

    The backyard looks great. Lot’s of hard work, no doubt. That little squirrel is cute now, but wait til he grows up, finds his soul nut-mate and has half a dozen little future furballs and before you know it, you have a terrorist cell of squirrels living in your attic. Been there. No fun.

    Reply

  47. Christina W. says

    I heard on NPR yesterday that this year the US is experiencing a squirrel population boom. Seeing a baby so near the near the house would def make me want to check out the attic/crawlspaces etc. They cause house fires all the time because they stress chew on wiring!

    Reply

  48. Leah says

    Hi There!!!
    So I have a question – my husband and I just bought a house and it is the first time we are responsible for any outdoor maintenance and I am completely overwhelmed and don’t know where to start. I’ve looked back over a few of your posts, but I’m wondering if you could direct me to any resources you know of that discuss VERY beginner yard maintenance/landscaping. Like just getting our grass looking nicer and sprucing up a few planting beds. All our neighbors take such pride in their yards and we don’t want to be ‘those neighbors’! Thanks, you guys do such a great job and I trust your opinion, these tasks just seem like such big things to tackle and you make them seem manageable for normal peeps!

    Reply

  49. Leah says

    Nevermind – I just realized you have posts talking about these issues too! Woohoo OK diving into the archives now :)

    Reply

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