New Backyard: Step 6

After the soil was allowed to hang out for several weeks, it was tilled a final time. The workers installed a bender-board border to create a neat edge and leave clearance for the trees and new fence on the edges of our property. The soil was tamped down and the sod was rolled out.

Last Wednesday, I came home and noticed our cross-the-street neighbors had a pile of gravel in their driveway. I thought, "Hmm, they must be doing some yardwork too." The next day, I left early for work and Travis hung back to introduce Pixie to the workers since she has a tendency to try to play "guard dog" when she gets tired of being "velcro dog". Our cross-the-street neighbors caught him and asked if he was the intended owner of the pile of gravel in their driveway. Yes -- they managed to deliver a giant pile of rocks to the wrong house but they did cart it all back and clean off the driveway.

Travis called me at the end of Thursday and told me the sod was in but they were 200 sq. ft short which led me to ask, "Where exactly are they short?" "The strip right off the patio when you come out the house." Gee thanks. I had a housewarming party scheduled for two days later and my lawn had an atrocious strip of dirt to greet you as soon as you walked outside. Luckily, they managed to order more sod and dropped by Saturday morning to get it installed before anyone showed up. And that gravel? Well they ordered too much of that so Travis was dreaming up places that could use a bit of gravel laid down.

All in all, I love my new lawn (which will be a water-thirsty monster for the next month or so) and new fences. And Pixie enjoys them as well. Good thing since we did this all for her.

Break for a little fence action

Besides getting the backyard sodded, we also wanted new fences (for the safety of our hypothetical dog of course). Our side fences were "the original Glenmoor" as one fence company commented, built some 50 years ago. The only thing holding parts of it up was ivy that neither us nor our neighbor wanted. So in the tradition of updating everything about this property, we called up some contractors and got ourselves new "board on board with lattice" fences and some fancy new arched gates.

And it all came together not a moment too soon. We also were having a trial weekend with an adorable rescue dog named Pixie. And after a Saturday afternoon last weekend and a day with her on Friday, we knew we'd have to keep her. So here's our newest family member. She's a border terrier/poodle mix about 2 years old who's a veritable velcro dog. All she really wants to do is follow you around. And to Travis's delight she's showing some inclinations towards being a bird dog.

New Backyard: Step 5

Till in some soil amendments of compost/mulch.  The piles of soil amendments pre-tilling made both of us think of gophers for some reason.

New Backyard: Step 4

Lay sprinkler lines and start watering. I was surprised by this step as well. The goal is to encourage everything that still wants to grow to show up -- so we can kill it off. Since the soil was tilled and regraded, odds are that a lot of stray seeds have been tossed back into the soil. If we went ahead with laying sod, we would end up with weeds and non-grass trying to poke back through. So our landscaper takes this step to try to make sure we start with as clean a slate as possible. If the sod gets to take root and establishes itself, we'll have less work on our hands now and later since it's a self-sustaining thing. One of the best bets against weeds is maintaining a healthy, lush lawn.