I Need Landscape Help!

As if our house didn't already have enough landscaping projects, now that we have had the three large trees removed in the front, we have even more on our plate.  Now that our house can be seen from the road, we will need to make sure that the landscaping is up to par with the rest of the houses in our neighborhood.

Over the last few days, I have been spending the afternoon outside weeding out the garden beds, and actually pulling out all of the weeds that are growing in our grass.  We also still have a good amount of pine needles in the front garden bed from where the trees were.  There is about a six inch layer of pine needles in that garden bed because the previous owner of the house never did a single thing to the landscaping, so years of dead needles have layered up under where the trees were.  And actually if you look at the photo below, all of the orange/rust color that you see in that garden bed is dead pine needles.

In an attempt to get rid of the needles, I raked a section that was probably about 4'x6' and it filled an empty 32-gallon trash can to the top.  With the entire section being about 12' wide by 90' long, it's going to take quite a lot of trash cans/yard waste bags to get the area cleaned up.

Also, now that the trees are gone, there is a direct view of the side of the house, which is where the air conditioning unit and all of the utility hookups are.

This is quite the eye sore, especially since, as you can see, we removed two of the burning bushes that were against the house so that the new air conditioner could actually fit.  We will eventually dig out the rest of those burning bushes, but we haven't gotten to it yet.  I have plans to build a shield for the unit and the other utilities on the side of the house, but it will have a hinged door so that everything can be accessed.  Don't worry, I'll post a DIY when I make it.

In the meantime, however, we have been trying to figure out what we would like to plant. I know that we will be planting an adolescent white birch tree, and we will be keeping the rhododendrons that are planted in that space.  Other than that though? We have no idea, except that we want some flowering plants since most of the ones along the house are evergreens.  I love hydrangeas, but I'm worried about them and the rhododendrons getting too big eventually.

So, I guess what I'm saying is, help?

What would you plant in that big of a space if you had a completely blank slate?

And Then There Were None

In the never-ending landscaping saga, we had yet another item on our to-do list.  And that item was way bigger than we could do ourselves, so we hired out.  And that item??

Removing some trees.

Our front yard was mainly taken over by three absolutely gigantic Scotch Pine trees.  Don't get me wrong, they are beautiful in the snow, and they gave us a lot of privacy, but they were taking over our yard, and not in a good way - I mean, it's not like they can weed all my garden beds, right? :)  The other downside to the trees was that they were hiding the house, and making it difficult for anyone to find our house, including the fire department! I know, it sounds impossible, but when your address is on street A and your driveway and front door are on street B with three 60-ft trees hiding it, it is kind of difficult to find.

Yep, there's actually a house back there! Now you know why it's so difficult to find!

We called up our tree guy, David from Schwartz Tree & Landscape, and after evaluating whether or not we could just trim back the trees, or remove one or two of them, he said that it would be best to just remove all three of them.

Before shots of the trees. Clockwise: 1 - From the driveway; 2 - From the front door; 3 - From the Master Bedroom; 4 - From the street, on the left.

Three weeks later, the crew arrived at the house, and spent nine hours taking down the trees, and they still have a little more to go.  But the change is dramatic!

While you would expect them to start at either the top or the bottom of the trees, they did neither. The guy in the cherry-picker literally drove himself into the middle of the tree and started working out from there, making himself a huge hole, and doing some interesting balancing acts in the cherry-picker to cut off some hard-to-reach branches.

It took about two hours to get all of the branches cut off of the first tree, and another hour to get all of the branches through the chipper.  

Once all of the branches were off, it was time to take the trunk down.  First step was to make a notch at the base of the trunk to control the direction that it will fall.  In the video below, you will see the guy cut the rest of the trunk and see it fall.  And pay attention to the size of the guy in comparison to the trunk. I'm not kidding when I say that these trees are massive.  

Once the trunk was down and all of the large logs removed, it was time for the stump grinder to be used.  Since the grinder shoots the wood chips everywhere, the guys put up a netting around the workspace to shield the grass from the chippings.  

The stump grinder was a rotating blade that went back and forth along the stump, literally grinding it to pieces.  The guys went about 18" into the ground with the grinder too, just to make sure that we have plenty of space for planting, and that we won't run into any major root systems in the area.  

And in less than five minutes, the stump was completely gone, and all that was left was wood chips and dirt.  

The other two trees came down in about the same time, a few hours each.  The rains came in the late afternoon though, and that halted work on the rest of the tree stumps and grinder, because everything was so wet that it was sticking to the machine blades and getting stuck.  So, on Saturday, the rest of the logs that you see in the picture will be taken away, and the two stumps will be ground out.  

Perspective on the size of the stumps - and yes, we counted the rings to figure out the age, and we got to 70! 

Some of you may be thinking that with all of those trees being gone, we would have a great stock of firewood on our hands, but unfortunately, all of the wood had to be taken away and none of it could be used for firewood, because of the amount of sap that was coming out of the branches.  The picture below was taken about five minutes after the branch was sawed off, and yes, that is sap, not rain.  

And finally, now for the final reveal! I've made a collage like above that corresponds as closely as I can get to the before pictures.  Ready?

And then there were none.  Amazing difference, right?  I can't believe how big the yard looks, and how good it makes the house look.  Plus, people can find our house now, and we will get a beautiful and unobstructed view of all the sunsets now since we're facing West.

We've met at least six new neighbors since the trees came down, mainly because everyone in the neighborhood is shocked that we took them down, but all of them seem really happy about the difference that it makes.  We are now so excited to do some additional planting, and already have some things in mind to add to the landscaping.

Have you removed any trees lately?  How much did it impact your property?

New Home Survival List

When we first decided to buy a house, we know that when setting our budget, that we would have to allocate funds for things that we have never had to buy before. In living in an apartment and with family, there are items that you don't typically think about needing.  After you move into your new house, you'll then realize how many things you actually do need!

I've gotten a lot of questions about what types of tools and things you need that you wouldn't normally think about until you move in, so I have compiled this survival list of items you will need when you finally close on that new house!

I hope that you find this list helpful in your new home-owning adventures! If you notice that anything is missing, please let me know in the comments below and I will add the items to this list!  

That's a lot of Mulch!

Because the previous owner of the house never did anything with the landscaping, we have had a big project on our hands.  So big, in fact, that it has taken us a few weeks to even get all of the weeding to an almost-done point.  The thing about weeding though, is that if you don't put something down over the soil in your garden bed right after weeding, the weeds will come back.  And just so you know, we haven't put anything down in the garden bed, so the weeds have come back.

Since our garden beds only have large shrubs and evergreens, we will need some low-lying flowering plants. I have some in mind, like daisies, lilacs, daffodils, lavender, forsyth, and hyacinth, which I think will look great.  Plus, we will be transporting some plants to the new garden bed that we will have in the middle of the front lawn, just to give the property some dimension.

In snake form: 1. Ornamental Onion 2. English Daisy 3. Lavender 4. Chrysanthemum 5. Jack Snipe Daffodil 6. Coreopsis 7. Hosta 8. Daffodil 9. Hyacinth 10. Sunflowers 11. Lime Rickey 12. Forsyth

We finally started discussing what we will put down, and decided on traditional bark mulch, but in black instead of brown.  We took measurements this weekend so I could start getting quotes on how much mulch we would need, and it is so much more than I thought! If we were to do only the garden beds that line the house, we would need 7 yards of mulch. But, once you include the beds that don't directly touch the house, we more than double the amount, and we would need 16 yards.

That's a lot of mulch!

But the nice thing about mulch, is that it helps things look nice. And that's exactly what our yard needs right now.  With Mother's Day this weekend, it looks as though we won't be getting the beds mulched, but that means that we can shop for plants and hopefully score some of the ones I showed you above.

I am so looking forward to getting some color in the front of our house.

What are your favorite plants to put in your garden beds?

Backyard Oasis

With Spring in full bloom, I've been obsessed with the outside of our house and what kinds of things we want to get done.  Right now we are focusing on the front yard and landscaping that is visible from the street, but because of excitement, I have been planning out the backyard too.  We aren't quite ready to do a full blown project out there yet, but it can't hurt to dream, right?

So, when you start dreaming about your ideal backyard area, what do you do? You make an inspiration board!

From Left to Right in snake form: 1. Gabion Planter 2. Outdoor Umbrella 3. IKEA Outdoor Dining Set 4. DIY Gabion Decor 5. Fiesta Dinnerware 6. Curtains and Trellis for Privacy 7. Tall Grasses 8. Sheer Curtains for Privacy 9. FloraFelt Vertical Garden Planters 10. Built-in Bench with Fire Feature 11. HandyDeck Snap in Flooring 12. Outdoor Kitchen 13. Built-in Planters 14. Cambridge Silversmiths Fiesta Flatware

Before I get into explaining the different parts of the inspiration board, and how they fit my vision, let me refresh you on how our backyard looks.

Right now, we have a small deck that can fit a grill and a table and chairs.  There is a built in bench around the outside of the deck, but it doesn't have a back to it.  Also, the deck is a drab gray color that definitely needs some color.  We also have a beautiful non-fruit bearing pear tree and some arborvitae that add in some privacy in the back, but the side part of the yard is very open.

The pear tree is the one on the right with the leaves everywhere. / Personal Picture

Arborvitae along the fence, with an opening for the gate to the side yard. / Personal Picture

I currently have plans to expand the deck off the side, so that it continues along the back side of the garage.  We will likely rip all of the deck out, including the ugly lattice underneath, and start over with a synthetic decking material, but I really like the idea of just placing a snap on deck over the existing one. Might save us a lot of time and money.

We will move the eating area to the new addition, and along the empty part of the back of the garage, I'll add some vertical planters, just to have a little more green in the area.  We will have a large seating area using the built-in benches (with modifications, of course) with a fire feature where the table is currently, as you will see in the picture below.  

Current seating area on the existing deck. / Personal Picture

D and I both love the way that the back of the house looks, especially now that it has been painted gray and is no longer white.  These pictures are from just before we moved in, so things have changed since then.  

Back of the house before being painted. / Personal Picture

The stairs will stay in the center of the deck, but instead of having them continue at an angle off to the side, we will cut that off and extend that part of the deck out and slightly over the platform that you see on the far right of the picture above.  Here is where the outdoor kitchen will be, with a grill, sink, and mini fridge.  

I would like to add some texture in by adding tall posts to case in the deck and then add some sheers, but D thinks it might take away from the look of the back of the house.  Maybe I'll only add those along the new addition, that way we have a little privacy from the neighbor's house.  Either way, we'll plant some tall grasses along the outside of the deck to hopefully prevent critters from crawling under.  

Lastly, we will redo the plantings in the rest of the yard, add in some of those awesome and natural looking gabion planters, and case in the air conditioner so it's not such an eye sore.  

I really hope that our actual plan ends up like my inspiration board! I think it will look amazing!  Do you have any plans for your backyard or outdoor lounge area? Any suggestions for us?

DIY: Raised Bed Planter

While the title of this DIY suggests that I made a raised bed planter, what it doesn't tell you is how raised it actually is.  This planter sits about 30" off the ground, and actually has legs on it.  I know, right?  That's really tall!

Finished planter! / Personal Picture

So, this may make you wonder, "why do you need a planter that tall?" Well, I wanted one for a few reasons. The first, was that I was going to plant some herbs, but I can't use my backyard to plant them, because that is currently the home to four large dogs, which are not smart (or are they?), and would probably eat all the herbs I planted.  The second reason was that we have a lot of rabbits and other small creatures in our neighborhood that would probably eat my plants, so by raising them up quite a bit, I eliminate the chances of that happening.  The last reason, was that I am planning on putting the planter in a temporary location, and will likely move it after my parents and my sister move out, so having a planter that can easily be moved was important.

With all of these considerations taken, I found the plan for this planter via Ana White, whose website is amazing!  She has plans for almost any project that you can think of.

Counter Height Garden Box / Image via Ana-White 

I took a trip to Lowe's on Saturday, the same day I got all the supplies for painting.  Ana gives an excellent materials list, but there are some changes that needed making.  Additionally, her assembly instructions are not as detailed as they should have been, and a lot of the assembly left me puzzled, so I will be including my DIY tutorial below.

Materials:

2 - 4"x4" Fir or Cedar post (fir is cheaper and lasts nearly as long)
2 - 1"x6"x8" Cedar boards. Select the boards that have the least amount of knots in them.  You'll thank me later.
2 - 1"x4"x8" Cedar boards. Select the boards that have the least amount of knots in them.  You'll thank me later.
1 - 1/4" Hardware cloth that is at least 24" wide.  This can be found in the landscaping section.  
16 - 2" Long hex bolts. You will likely find these in a bin in the hardware aisle.  Make sure you check every single one you choose to make sure they are all the same.  Some may have been placed there accidentally.
16 - Washers.  Make sure that these fit around your 2" Hex Bolts. Make sure you check every single one you choose to make sure they are all the same.  Some may have been placed there accidentally.
16 - 3/8" Threaded Insert Nuts. If you shop at Lowe's, these will be in one of the drawers of inserts in the Hardware section.  This is what they look like.
24 - 1.5" Galvanized Screws

Drill
1/2" Wood bit
Miter or Table Saw that has the capability of cutting a 4"x4" post.
Wire Cutters or Heavy Duty Shears
Staple Gun 
1/2" Staples for Staple gun

Hammer
Screwdrivers
Hex wrench
Measuring Tape
Pencil
Sandpaper
Safety Glasses

Cut List:

Lowe's has a wood cutting service, as do most hardware stores.  They can cut the smaller pieces of wood for you for an additional cost, but it's really cheap. They currently do not have the capability to cut pieces of wood larger than 3" thick.  

Legs - Cut the 4"x4" into 4 - 32" posts.  Lowe's will not be able to make this cut for you. Their saws will not fit this size.  You will need a miter saw or a table saw to make these cuts.
Sides: Cut one of the 1"x6"x8" into two 48" pieces.
Ends: Cut one of the 1"x6"x8" into two 24" pieces.
Bottom slats: Cut the two 1"x4"x8" into six 24" pieces.
Bottom hardware cloth: Cut the hardware cloth into a 24"x50" rectangle.

Instructions:

Step 1: Gather all of your supplies and tools.

Make sure that you have everything listed above in the Materials list.  These are the tools and pieces that you will need to put together your planter.

Building supplies ready to go! / Personal Picture

Step 2: Cut your wooden boards.

If you were unable to have Lowe's or your local hardware store help out with cutting, you will need to make the cuts to your wood before starting any other aspect of the project.  Make sure you remember the golden rule of carpentry - measure twice, cut once.

Step 3: Sand down the corners and edges of your wood.

You don't want to get splinters when you're working in your garden, so spend some time before you start drilling and sand down the pieces of wood.  Spend extra time on the surfaces that will be showing, as you won't want any snags or large pieces sticking out on those.  

I used medium grit sandpaper, and sanded down the edges and the flat ends of all my boards, but not on the 4"x4" posts.  If you'd like to do those too, feel free. My saw didn't leave anything sharp, so I didn't feel the need to do that.  

Step 4: Layout your planter.

On a flat and level surface, lay out what your planter would look like if it was placed upside-down. 

This will help you figure out if you have enough space to work, and how the pieces will fit together.

Start with the 4"x4" posts, and stand them up on one edge.  

Posts on their ends. / Personal Picture

Your end boards will go against the two posts, on the outside.  You will want the boards to go off the side of the post about 3/4" so that when you put the longer side boards up, they will meet at a 90 degree angle around the post.  

Short side board up against two posts. / Personal Picture

After you have the side boards up, make sure that your width is accurate by placing one of the bottom support 1x4 pieces across the bottom to make sure they fit.  

Longer side boards added on, and layout tested with the bottom support boards. / Personal Picture

Repeat this step on the other side of the planter.

Step 5: Measure your drill holes for your posts.

Since you will be using 2" Hex Bolts on the post, you will need to stagger the holes that you drill so that they do not interfere with each other in the center of the post.  

Use your measuring tape, mark holes using your pencil at 1.5" and 4" from the bottom of your post, at 3" from the left side.  Rotate your post to the right, and then mark holes at 1.5" and 4" from the bottom of your post, at 1" from the left side.  This will make sure that your screws do not touch each other in the center of your post.  

Step 6: Drill holes in your posts.

Using a drill with a 1/2" bit, drill holes where you marked the measurements.  Your holes only need to be 1.5" deep, since your hex bolt will be going through another board as well.  To help make sure you do not go in too deep with the hole, you can make a mark on the drill bit using a marker or a piece of tape.  

When drilling, make sure your board is held down securely, either by using a work bench with a clamp, or by applying pressure with your leg over a flat surface, like a bench.  Drill straight down into the wood and try to keep it as level as possible so you don't break the drill bit.  

Step 7: Screw in the Threaded Insert Nuts

For every hole that you drilled into your posts, you will need to add in an Insert Nut. These will help make sure that your hex bolts stay in securely.  

Using a large flat-headed screwdriver, manually screw the insert nuts into the holes. Make sure that they go in straight, and screw them into the wood until they are flush with the surface.  

Holes drilled and getting ready for the insert nuts. / Personal Picture

Insert nut flush with the surface of the post. / Personal Picture

Step 8: Measure your drill holes for your side boards.

First, measure the holes for the long side boards.  Using your measuring tape, mark holes using your pencil at 1.5" and 4" from the top of the board, at 3" from the right side.  Make sure you mark the holes on the side of the board that will be showing on the outside of the planter.

For the shorter side boards, mark holes at 1.5" and 4" from the top of the board, at 1.75" from the right side.  The reason for the extra 3/4" is because the short boards have a slight overhang from the side of the posts.  Make sure you mark the holes on the side of the board that will be showing on the outside of the planter.

Step 9: Drill holes in your side boards.

Using a drill with a 1/2" bit, drill holes where you marked the measurements.  Your holes will need to go all the way through these boards since the hex bolts will also be going into the posts.  Make sure you drill the holes from the side of the board that will be showing on the outside of the planter towards the side that will not be showing.  This will help prevent the board from splintering on the side that will be showing.  

When drilling, make sure your board is held down securely, either by using a work bench with a clamp, or by applying pressure with your leg over a flat surface, like a bench.  Drill straight down into the wood and try to keep it as level as possible so you don't break the drill bit.  

Drilling through the side boards. / Personal Picture

Step 10: Check your hole placement.

Line everything back up, like you did in Step 4, and make sure that the holes that you drilled in the boards match up with the holes in the posts.  

This is the most difficult part of the planter.  Chances are, that your measurements will be slightly off, so you will need to make the hole a little larger to accommodate that.  Don't worry about making the hole larger than the head of the hex bolt.  You will be using washers between the board and the bolt, so as long as the hole in the wood isn't larger than the washer, you will be ok.

Keep checking the hole placement until they all line up.

I had to make a bunch of adjustments to my holes too.  You could avoid this issue if you had clamps  or vices and could put your post and board together and then use a drill press to drill through both boards.  But, chances are that you don't have one of those.  

Step 11: Attach your hardware through the side boards.

Once your holes line up, start screwing in the hex bolts using a hex wrench.  Make sure you put a washer over the bolt before you start twisting it into the side boards.  

Screwing in the hex bolts, washers attached. / Personal Picture

Don't put the bolts through all the way.  You want them to show through to the other side a little bit, but you also want to be able to have enough space on the bolt to thread them into the posts.

Hex bolts just showing through the other side of the board. / Personal Picture

Step 12: Attach the side boards to the posts.

Once all of your side boards have hex bolts and washers on them, start attaching them to the posts.  It is easiest to both side boards to one post, then do the post that is diagonally opposite, so you end up with two "L-shaped" pieces of the planter.  

"L-shaped" pieces of the planter attached together with the bolts. / Personal Picture

Once you have the two "L-shaped" pieces put together, you can attach the longer side boards to the remaining posts.  

Side boards attached on the other posts.  / Personal Picture

When all of your bolts have been tightened, flip over the planter, and check everything for sturdiness and for whether or not it is level.  Just be mindful that you likely won't get everything to be perfectly level - that's ok.  If you need to straighten out the legs a bit, loosen some of the hex bolts, and move the legs around, then tighten everything one last time while it is standing on the legs.

Leveled out planter! / Personal Picture

Step 13: Cut your hardware screen.

Using a pair of wire cutters or heavy duty shears, cut a 24"x50" rectangle from your roll of hardware screen.  The metal is very sharp, so use caution when cutting this.  

Hardware screen and wire cutters. You can tell what has and hasn't been snipped yet. / Personal Picture

Step 14: Attach the hardware screen to the bottom of the planter.

Flip the planter back over so that the legs are sticking straight up in the air.  

Making sure that your screen is centered vertically and horizontally, use your staple gun to staple the screen to the center of all four sideboards.  

Once the centers are done, you can continue along the length and width of the screen, attaching it to the underside of the planter.

You will need to use your wire cutters or heavy duty shears to make a 4" cut at each corner of the screen so that it fits around the planter.  I suggest that you don't remove the 4" piece, and instead, just staple it along the inside of the planter leg.  

Step 15: Attach your support boards to the bottom of the planter.

Lay out the 1"x4" boards that will be supporting the bottom.  Space them out evenly, but you don't have to be neurotic and measure. 

Using your 1.5" galvanized screws, screw the boards into place.  

Bottom support boards attached. / Personal Picture

If your boards have knots at the end, try to avoid them.  The knots in wood are always the hardest parts, and they don't like being hammered or screwed into.  I found this out the hard way.  

I tried to screw (and hammer a nail) through the knot. You can tell where the screws broke off in the wood and where the nail started to split the wood.  Knots are hard! / Personal Picture

_________________________________________________________________

Flip your planter back over and admire your work! You're done!

Inside of the planter bed. / Personal Picture

You have some options now as to how you want to keep the soil in. I plan on using newspaper, since it's biodegradable, recyclable, and cheap, but you may want to use something else, like planter liner, or coconut cloth.

The whole planter! So excited and proud of this project! / Personal Picture

All that's next is to line it, fill it with some potting soil, and fill it up with delicious herbs!

I'm so excited to have finished this project, and I can't wait to actually start using some of the herbs from our own garden!