Garden Plans

Every apartment we had before this house lacked outdoor space. No yard, no balcony, not even that many windows. Having this little space to call our own, no matter how tiny it is, is one of the true joys of home ownership. We grill out almost every night in the summer and on Sunday mornings, I sit outside with my coffee, the New York Times crossword, and the rest of the neighborhood because dangit if these yards aren't right on top of each other.

It's not so bad, though. Our neighbor to the right keeps a beautiful garden that I envy from afar (3 feet away). To our left is a different story. As you can see in these picture, this never-ending renovation job takes place right on the other side of our modest little fence. The good news? They have started to build a double-walled privacy fence. Free fence for us and we never have to look at their mess again.

We noted it as a priority this year to really dial up our backyard game. The first step was to build a raised garden bed, which took all of 15 minutes. Dan drilled a few holes into some wood and joined them together. Not only is this great for our little vegetable garden, it also looks a lot better than the untamed soil that was spilling out onto our sidewalk. 

My dad was generous enough to spend a Saturday with us doing some landscaping and leveling out the left side of our yard. Before, it was on a total slant. We removed all of the bricks, leveled the soil and laid down paving sand in preparation for newer and bigger brick pavers that will create a patio to house a table and chairs.

Dan used an actual level out there to make sure the ground was truly Even Steven. It's a huge improvement already. Right now, we are working on the finishing touches of getting those pavers just right before we fill in the creases.

More to come on this. Our grand opening party will happen just as soon as that much anticipated privacy fence is raised.