It's Going To Be A Romantic Summer

As dorky as it sounds, one of the most romantic things I like to do with my husband is to work a project together.   Especially one outside.  So I think this is going to be a very romantic summer because we have a lot of work to do!

As I mentioned on Friday, I am in the planning stages of getting a decent yard.  I am using this awesome resource from Iowa State University.  I mapped out our property this weekend using the most technical of measuring devices I could find.

i.e. my foot + a little bit = a foot

Then I walked around my yard to get our measurements.  I am sure I looked funny to people driving by!

Here are some of my drawings of the property and an electronic version I created.

Well the computer version didn't translate well...but you get the idea of what you can do. 

We have a lot of ideas for our back yard...here is what I am thinking so far...

Keeping the back by the fence mostly natural and the perimeter of the yard natural so we have less to maintain.  We will keep a grassy area in the middle.  We would love to put in a tree swing for little Reed.

This is the side bed in our front yard.  The ground cover is a bit out of control.  I want to transplant it all to the side and plant a few more shrubs.  Put down dark mulch and make it look neat and tidy.

Here is the side which is a huge drainage area for our house.  Under the soil is a french drain we dug and put in ourselves with the help of some awesome neighbors.  I want this to be covered completely in ground cover to help prevent soil run off.

Here is the other side of our house.  We need to add more plantings to finish it off and conceal that stark white wall.

Here is the view looking back to the house.  See that thing growing at the bottom of the picture?  That is bamboo...argh!  Need to go through and do some chopping and spraying with grass killer.  It is a never ending battle with bamboo.

See the creek down on the bottom right of this picture?  That is a pretty nice view.  I would like to put in plantings in such a way to hide the house behind us but keep that view in tact.

There is a lot to do and to think about...fencing, some pathways, exactly what plants to pick.  But Rudy is on board and we will work on this together this summer.  Can't wait to show the progress as we go along!