Ok, so lots of people (me included) found this original exterior tour of our yard a bit hard to follow. Our first house was nice and simple. We could describe the back and the front and the sides and call it a day with this ol’ post of yore, which even included this little sketch:
But this house is just waaay more complicated. Even though both lots are about the same size (almost an acre) this one is a lot less long and narrow than the last one. It’s more fat and square-ish. And it has a lot more quirks like this little alley between the original part of the house and the addition in the back (more on that here)…
There are also areas that don’t look like our property (like this slice of land on the left, which looks like it’s outside the bounds of our house but is actually ours)…
… and little brick paths that meander around the back and side yards…
So in an attempt to make sense of it all (or confuse everyone more, you decide) I did my best little sketch of our lot for you (and then scanned it and had fun coloring it in with Photoshop). Oh and obviously it’s not to the same scale as the first sketch since this house looks ten times bigger. Oops.
And we thought that the be-all-end-all explanation would be this video that will hopefully help you grasp the whole flow of our lot’s mojo (which is work-friendly if you play it on mute- but also funny not on mute thanks to some very excited birds in the background):
And on the subject of our backyard, dude it has CHANGED (!!!) in the last few months. We’ve loved watching it green up and were so surprised that the back portion of the lot which looked very very brown when we moved in…
… now looks oh so green and lush and a lot more private thanks to lots of trees and grasses filling in. Not all the way, but we’ll take it:
We still have to plant some fast growing evergreens in some strategic spots to add to the privacy-factor (since this house not only has a house on each side of it, but one that can be seen from the back) but it’s already feeling a lot less exposed now that lots and lots (and lots) of trees have greened up and created some pretty great leafy screens between us and the outside world. We definitely have a lot to do out there, but just like our last house, we’re planning to take our time and see where we end up. Should be fun in that dirt-under-the-nails kind of sore-but-satisfied way.
Have you guys been up to any outdoor stuff? Any dream outdoor features that you’d love to add someday? Mine would be a deck for outdoor dining and some sort of elaborate tree house for the bean. Someday…
I see the mention of a hammock. We just put up a hammock swing and OMG it is the best chair ever. I am in it hours a day reading.
So even if you do the hammock in the woods (love), consider a hammock chair or two as well. They are fun and awesome. :-)
I was a bit confused with the patio posts and where the rest of the land was but this clears it up. I had no idea your property went that far back! Thanks for the visual aid!
PS – Do you guys use the hammock? Was it there when you moved in?
That was a wedding present from John’s best friend. We hung it there and used it a bunch before moving, but now it’s tucked in the basement. Gotta break it out here soon!
xo,
s
Oh nice! Or maybe a bunch of wildflowers! That would be pretty. Then you’d also get fresh flowers for the house.
Also, I just learned how to say ‘liriope’ thanks to John. So thanks John. Hah.
Wooah how did my comment get all the way up here? I need a nap..
Haha- no worries! I do that all the time too. I must need a nap all the time! Hah.
xo,
s
Yes, that make much more sense! Thank you so much!
Agreed! I was pretty confused before, but this clears things up nicely. Thanks!
We just moved into our first home and not a week goes by that I don’t call my mom and ask her if she has any idea what a plant that looks like ______ is. I need books! I need lots of gardening books and also some hedge trimmers. But the fun part really is seeing how everything changes month to month. Our lilac bushes just bloomed and I am in paradise!
Chris Loves Julia
That diagram makes sooo much more sense. With all those pathways and stone circles I was getting cross-eyed looking at your pictures.
Do you guys have any plans for the way back? Or just plant a bunch of evergreens and let it be wild and wonderful?
I think we’d love to leave the back back (the part that’s not grass but just green weeds and bushes and trees) wild and even add more evergreens for a more forest-y look like we had with our first house. But some of the beds in the grassy areas that we have will go (just to make more room for Clara and Burger to run around). Eventually…
xo,
s
Enjoyed the video tour and diagram – all those old brick pathways are charming, and the old owners really loved liriope, right?
Yes indeedy!
xo,
s
the biggest shocker in that post for me: when John said “liriope”! I’ve never actually heard that word spoken before, so my attempt at pronunciation (in my head) sounded more like “leery-ope” not “leer-i-o-pee”.
Huh. I may just have to go back and re-read any blogs that mentioned the stuff just so I can read it correctly this time.
Hilarious. It’s definitely a crazy word.
xo,
s
Haha same here! Totally thought it was pronounced differently.
Angela, that is exactly what I was going to post! As John is taking us on the tour, I was thinking, “say it, say it.” And ta-da he did. Le-ry-o-pee! Excellent.
This is cracking us up. So glad John could shed some light on that funny word.
xo,
s
Exactly! I was pronouncing it the same way Angela was in my head. So surprised when John said it out loud! Awesome!
hahaha I’m glad to hear I wasn’t alone :)
How about a sketch of what you hope to do with yard? Are you planning on keeping all of the pathways? Also, I think I remember you mentioning that you want to do another patio area in the back of the house. Any thoughts on where that would be?
We’re not really sure where we’re going with the outside. That stuff usually takes years of indecision and mind-changing. Haha. We do want to build a deck someday and will probably keep the brick paths for now (although we’ll phase out the planting beds that interrupt the grass in the back) but who knows where we’ll end up! Our last house took about 4 years of tooling around to figure out what we liked, haha.
xo,
s
Love the sketches! Are there any treehouse tutorials in your future? I just saw an amazing inspiration picture on Pinterest! :)
I’d love to build a treehouse someday! Maybe with Clara’s help (and John’s too- why not make it a family affair?).
xo,
s
Question 1: is the whole of your property included in the scetch? It seems like you have much less woods or yard than around your previous house.
Question 2: I am again confused as to which side does your main door look (as the floor plan that we originally saw is upside down to this house and yard plan) – is it west, north, south or east? And to which side did the main entrance in your old house face?
Yes all of our property is included in the sketch, I’m just terrible at scale so I probably should have drawn bigger outside areas instead of a giant house! So sorry! Our first house had nearly no land on either side of it and this one has way more in the side-yard category (it’s a more square-ish lot than the long and skinny one we had before). As for the front door, it faces north in this house. And in our first house it faced about the same (a little bit more east facing, but still mostly north). Hope it helps!
xo,
s
Thanks :)
I spotted the blue rain barrel! I feel like it’s Where’s Waldo! :)
Haha, maybe we should move him around and see if you guys notice him peeking out behind trees and stuff.
xo,
s
Beautiful yard and just as I had imagined it. I really love the blue rain barrel in the new sketch…it truly is adorable….even if all it is is a tiny blue circle.
Love the video and sketch. I gotta say though, oh to be a neighbor watching John walk around the house with a video camera talking to himself. Cracking me up!!!
The funniest part- he did about five takes since he’d trip or there would be a car horn in the background. Hilarious! I hoped it would never end.
xo,
s
Me too, thought he was doing great…except for whirling around and making me dizzy! I think it’s cool there’s so much going on, but it is a lot of brick walkways and liriope! Good grief!
If your wanting to plant evergreens one brilliant idea I once read about was that every Christmas you buy a real, potted evergreen, and then after Christmas you plant it and then you’ll always have a living reminder of that Christmas!
I adore that idea! Totally doing it!
xo,
s
Or if you have the patience to grow them from teeny-tiny baby treelets, if you join the Arbor Day Foundation (for just $10), they’ll send you ten little trees (of your choice) that are regionally appropriate. There aren’t great evergreen options down here in Texas, but up there, you have a much better selection.
That sounds really fun! Off to check it out.
xo,
s
My family did this one year when I was a kid. Then every year we would take a picture next to the tree. It was fun to see how the kids and the tree grew every year!
We got a plant on Earth Day a couple different years when I was in elementary school, and one year it was a little baby (no more than 6 inches tall) pine tree. I was so proud of it that my mom went through quite a bit of effort to keep it alive (mostly from the bunnies who loved anything that was still green in the winter – those young tasty needles meant it had to be covered by a milk crate all winter). By the time we moved from the house when I was in college, the tree was over 6 feet tall! It was one of the things I was saddest to leave at the old house.
(Unfortunately one of the owners cut it down after we moved out, but I won’t focus on that part…)
Wow- that’s amazing! Love that your mom took such good care of it and it got so big!
xo,
s
I’m so glad to finally hear you pronounce the word ‘liriope’. Things can get difficult sometimes for us non-English speaking folks.
Loved the tour! Thanks.
We’ve been working on our lanscape for years. Living with a landscaper means that the yard is always changing. I love to see it evolve!
Completely un-related and I’m sure you have seen it already… cute lamp/great name :)
http://www.homedecorators.com/P/Clara_Table_Lamp/610/
I love it!!! And of course I adore the name…
xo,
s
Ah so, now I understand it better. Cool, thanks for the video. I am working so hard on my yard, and I have to do it all by myself. I need to start taking more pictures and documenting this stuff. I always forget. Anyways, I will share one day with you all once I feel is worthy of showing off.
Oh, I think you should frame those sketches!!! They would look so cute side by side!
You have no idea how lucky you are that all of that happened for you! My husband and I are about 300 hours into transforming our yard from this mess (the front yard was just as bad) to the near-after shown in the main picture. We had gotten a quote from a landscaper to do everything for us, but with $14,000 for labor, we decided to do almost all of it ourselves.
Wow- good luck with everything! It’s looking good!!!
xo,
s
la-RYE-oh-pee? my whole life i’ve said LARRY-oh-pee! who knew?!?
anyway, great yard!
Almost-an-acre yards can be so tough! My yard falls into the long and skinny camp, with no woods, just exposed chain link on all four sides and lots of good old Iowa flatness! We’re working on turning one corner into a nice shade garden, but our motto is “Cheap and slow”, so it will be a while before we get any after shots.
http://3b7p.blogspot.com/2011/05/meet-pit.html
Looks like the previous owners of your place really tried to use a lot of the space, which is cool!
Oh my goodness I love Scott the deer!
xo,
s
I purchased a house in the country and 20 acres last fall. Our yard is about 5 acres and the rest is farm ground. My big projects outside so far have been:
1. Garden
2. Pasture for the horses – fenced off part of the yard (less mowing)
3. Mulching everything
4. Running power from the garage to the garden shed
Other things I’d like to do this summer:
1. Sandbox for my 2 year old son
2. Removing all the rock landscaping (TONS) and replacing with dirt and low maintenance perennials
3. Resealing the front and back wood decks
Wow that seems like a lot. Not to mention what I want to do on the inside of the house…..
I love all the beautifull green-ness! If you made a recording of those birds, I’d listen all day. We mostly just have (dirty) pigeons here at our house in the desert. I like your stone driveway…do you know how old it is, and are any of the stones sinking from the weight of vehicles?
We think it’s about five years old. So far there’s no sinking from the weight of stuff (even when they dropped off tons of patio supplies, it didn’t wiggle or sink an inch- not that I didn’t worry the whole time- haha).
xo
s
John, thanks for taking so much effort to make this video for us, especially with a summer cold! For the areas that you’re going to leave wild for now, do you have problems with invasive vegetation? Here in the Pacific Northwest, any unattended land gets covered in blackberries and nettles and Stinky Bob in no time. Will you have to do some maintenance?
We’re starting to work toward a backyard wildlife garden at our house. It’s challenging because I don’t know anything at all about gardening. I heard your birds in the background – your property must be quite a haven for them!
Our last house had a giant woods behind it and it was pretty much just allowed to naturalize (we did get a lot of ivy back there but it didn’t seem to inhibit any other growth or cause problems) so I think we’ll just try that here. So far there’s nothing invading- but who knows. Might have to cross our fingers and get ready to spring into action if need be…
xo,
s
I LOVE the fact that you have no John cuts written on your good scissors! I’ve always had the same problem with my husband, so now he knows that he can’t use the scissors with the orange handles. Does that always stop him? Probably not. I might have to break out the Sharpie and label mine too…
Thank you! I was one of those people that requested you do that plan sketch again. My inner architecture major is doing a little happy dance. :)
Also, am I interpreting correctly that one of those winding paths that goes around the house also walks straight up to your.. bedroom window? Uh, kinda creepy. I hope that’s actually the entrance to your basement?
Okay, now I watched the video and understand. Don’t mind me! :)
Your yard is really beautiful in a southern belle kinda way. but it makes me itch.
Haha, sometimes it makes me itch too. Literally. When the liriope tickles my legs. Har-har.
xo,
s
The drawings and tour are a great help. Everything is looking so nice – just in time for warm days!
What a great garden, it has so much potential. Have you considered planting a vegetable garden? I planted one for the first time this year…I have started small!
http://www.creativeinchicago.com/2011/05/vegetable-garden-experiment.html
It is quite exciting to see how quickly everything grows. I suspect the strawberries I planted won’t make it indoors. My 13 year old checks them everyday.
Do you have a deer problem, if so I have a ultra cheap and super easy homemade spray recipe that really does work.
http://www.creativeinchicago.com/2011/05/homemade-deer-repellant-spray.html
Thanks for the links! We’d love to plant an edible garden (we had one at our first house and I miss it like crazy). Better get to it soon! Time’s a wasting!
xo,
s
I love gardens and gardening. Unfortunately, I’m a renter. So I thought it would be nice to volunteer my services to my landlord to spruce up the front “yard” (its not too big – about 8’x 15′). It was pretty plain, boring and a little ugly, in my opinion. I got some good advice for the shady spot from a “master gardener,” did a lot of work pulling out the weed blocking plastic under years of mulch, purchased (with my own $$$) a few flowers/plants and got cuttings from friends and neighbors. I finally got it looking pretty nice, but the landlord won’t let me move a couple of the really ugly planters and then he goes and tramples some of the flowers and plants I put in – sheesh. Nothing like a good online venting to let off some steam…I can’t wait to have a yard of my own. Good luck with yours!
Oh man, I’m infuriated for you! Who tramples flowers on their own property? I bet your work looks wonderful and all the neighbors appreciate it though!
xo,
s
Before I scrolled down I thought that top drawing was an outdoor rug you were designing! LOL!
The drawings definitely help keep things straight, thanks!
Maybe this summer I will find time and energy to attack my small backyard which used to be lovely, but is now literally encased in confederate jasmine…everywhere! IT’S ALIIIIIVE!
Your yard is awesome. It’s so huge. We too have a weird alley between our garage and our house that we are still figuring out what to do with, as you can see here.
http://weheartminnesota.com/2011/04/29/a-major-spring-to-do/
Your brick paths are very secret gardenesque. I’m sure Clara will have tons of fun as she grows with the yard.
Haha- I love how you labeled your door to nowhere. Good luck with everything!
xo,
s
Love the sketch, that makes things much clearer. But I have to say, I am always worried when people talk about planting fast-growing evergreens for privacy – make sure you take into account how much space they need and how big they will be when they mature! I see too many people planting trees in a clump like they’re never going to get any bigger and it breaks my heart thinking they’re going to have to rip out half of their expensive trees as soon as they start to get big because they didn’t think ahead.
(rant over, sorry)
Haha, no worries! My mom reminds me the same thing all the time! So I always read the spacing recommendations on the label. They look kind of oddly placed at first but when they fill in it all makes sense!
xo,
s
Your property is lovely! You have so much space.
We waited and waited for our new house’s lawn to fill in and turn green but long story short, we’ve completely torn the whole thing up with a rototiller.
Maybe we’ll have some green next year! ;)
We bought a 1957 ranch last fall with LOTS of liriope in the yard (the pronunciation discussion is really cracking me up). We’re pulling a lot of it out. Man, it can really take over! Plus, it just seems like too good of a hang-out for snakes. No thanks! Great tour:)
I have been wishing for an outdoor vegetable garden for a long time. I’ve finally figured out a way to have one, but I think it’s going to take from now until next spring to get it ready. Go here for a look: http://sayresmiles.blogspot.com/2011/05/taming-jungle.html
I just want to say, I love your blog. I’m a DIY’er too, but not nearly as organized or as accomplished as you. I’ve remodeled two bathrooms (with one more to go) and am in process of installing a floor. Trying to fit it in between a full time job, a pre-teen son and his activities and my own stuff. Hard to get things done! Anyway, I appreciate you showing me the way on a few things!
I think that’s going to be beuatiful next spring!
xo,
s
Love your outdoor area…
How long does it take John to mow and weed whack the yard? YIKES!!!!
You really lucked out with this house and yard. A true GEM!!!!
B.
It’s actually a lot less time than our last house since there’s less that’s “formal grass” and more that’s wild. Probably about 30 mins to mow and 15 to weedwack around the stone borders? But someday we’ll remove the borders so he can just mow right up to the planting beds like our last house.
xo,
s
At our soon-to-be-ours house (we sign the papers a week from tomorrow!) we’d love to build a patio outside of the doorwall. We have a (fairly small) deck off of the main level, but we have a walk out basement that’s just dying for some sort of patio. However, that will most likely need to wait for a year or two.
I’m also looking forward to planting some things to spruce up the front/back yards. Our lot is pretty tiny, but it certainly needs some more plant life.
HOLY Liriope, Batman!!! The previous owners must of gotten a discount on it!
Oh a completely different note: I really hope you went with My Publisher for your Clara book (which I can’t wait to see how it turned out!). I just received mine today! (it only took 9 days from order to open [haha, like what I did there?!] + I could watch the progress on the Fedex Tracker) Its such good quality, and the box is really cute (when you open it, “Ta-Da!” is written on the top.
Now I have to wait 20 days to give it to my boyfriend for his birthday … man, maybe I’ll give it to him early. Like today …
Yes we did! Our two copies for the grandparents arrived today! Now we just have to finalize the two that we’re getting for ourselves (well one for Clara and one for us). We’re adding some bonus pics into that one! Haha.
xo,
s
Love the sketch!! Will have to watch your video later on tonight. ;)
I’ve been a busy bee the past few weeks in my back yard. I took advantage of the long weekend we just had and managed to get all of the veggies and herbs planted. Now I just wait for them to grow!
I don’t think you guys realize what an opportunity and blessing it is to live on “acreage” like that. Sure, we have some elite gated communities ($$$) and small farm type single acre that are larger lots (no neighborhood feel) but by and large, us suburbanites in the Phoenix area live on lots in the 7500-10,000 sq ft range. You get the occasional coveted oversize culdesac lot but that is rare. Our side yards average 5-10ft per side (a lot get a 5 on one, 10 on the other.) We are super lucky because the home we are building happens to be narrow (40ft wide ) so we get a whopping 15ft on one, 10ft on the other side, but, it subtracts from our back yard. Plus, the neighborhoods are built with cinder-block wall fencing between every home. My inlaws from VA/SC/GA come out to visit and think it is like a fortress. But this is the norm. We are lucky if we have room for a pool AND a patch of grass. My husband grew up in VA and SC and roamed from yard to yard without giving it a thought. We have nothing like that here. You are indeed blessed!
Aw thanks so much Meredith! We definitely marvel at all the space here in our neighborhood all the time. Coming from NYC we’re just happy to have enough grass for a pup and a baby to enjoy!
xo,
s
I’ve been looking for some evergreens for our backyard too!! Our house is on a street intersection and our backyard has little or no privacy – I didnt think it would bother me when we bought the house, but we havent really used the backyard in over 4 years now!! Help please – can you/your readers share the names of any favorite super-fast growing evergreens?
We have heard Leeland Cypress, over and over again! Anyone else have ideas?
xo,
s
Leeland Cypress are definitely the fastest growing…my parents have been at their home 4 years and the trees have gone from around 3 feet tall to nearly 15 feet…I swear everytime I go home their trees are 15-20% bigger…it’s amazing!
I’ve also heard/seen Thuja Green Giants, which are also pretty cheap and considered the fast-growing kings (for evergreens). And who doesn’t like a tree with the word GIANT in it?!
Thanks so much for all this info guys! So helpful.
xo,
s
I’m new to your blog, so I wasn’t confused, but this ensures that I won’t be in the future! :) It may sound strange, but I’ve had a busy day, and taking a minute to take the tour was really calming! I love seeing big backyards, whether on blogs, t.v, movies, etc. It’s nice to see the ‘big picture’ of yours… So green, open, and pretty.
Our main outdoor project has been our garden. I haven’t written an official post yet, but HERE’s some pictures if you’d like to see.
Our dream project is a patio cover. Right now, we’re using an easy-up that we put up for a party, and decided to keep up (for shade!) until we can build a cover.
What a gorgeous space! Thanks for sharing the link!
xo,
s
The hubs and I have been doing a lot to our yard lately as well. We landscaped our front yard a month back and then seeded this past weekend. We’re in love with low, creeping perennials (such as creeping phlox and dianthus). If you have a lot of wooded area near your house, I would suggest going with something that will creep and/or compound (like hostas) over time. Love your blog – been following it for a year now!
Thanks for the suggestions!
xo,
s
I see a wrap-around porch connecting your “alley” around the back of the house to your current patio… here’s to dreaming!
All those paths really are kind of strange. It’s like they put the paths in and then forgot to do the rest of the landscaping. Well lucky you that you can remake that big space into anything you want!
As for outdoor projects … oh yeah, I’m up to my ears in them and 10 tons of stone (about how much you guys got I think).
http://www.theimpatientgardener.com/2011/05/path-journey.html
Oh my gosh that’s so much work! It looks like it’s coming along beautifully!
xo,
s
Been working on a little patio project of our own. If you want to check it out it’s here http://herpricelesslife.blogspot.com/2011/05/roundtwo.html
and here
http://herpricelesslife.blogspot.com/2011/05/patio-patience.html
Lots of work…but adding up the dollars saved and it makes us OH, SO HAPPY! Love your blog!!
Wow- what a huuuge project! Amazing!
xo,
s
Forget the liriope! I’m getting excited to see your plans for that little alley between the older / newer part of the house.