Author: Spring
I am sorry I haven’t been posting as much. I have been traveling for work, and it has taken time out from doing projects on our house and from posting on our blog.
But I have good news! The biggest project that Mr. Spring and I wanted to do this summer was the backyard, and we are finished – for now!!! Here you can read about the start of our backyard transformation.
Our backyard was filled with rocks and Zen gardens from the previous owner, and we wanted grass to add some color. It would also make it more fun and inviting for Gracie to be able to run around the yard. (Disregard the chicken wire in the pictures it is our temporary fix till we update our fence next summer).
The first thing we did was remove the rocks and the landscaping fabric. We removed over 12 cubic yards of these rocks, and we found a nice man on Craigslist who was willing to pick them up and take them away. Ripping up the last few yards of landscape fabric was so hard for us till we realized roots were all tangled into the fabric. This made the last piece extremely difficult to pull up.
Here are some of the roots that were in the fabric.
We also decided to remove a huge shurb/tree. It was creating a lot of shade, and we needed all the sun we could get in the back part of the yard. I cut down all the limbs, and Mr. Spring worked and worked on removing the bulk of the tree.
Once all of the rocks were out and the landscape fabric was removed, we were ready to use a rototiller and till the soil.
We decided instead of seeding the backyard that we wanted instant gratification, and we went with sod. The sod cost 33 cents per square foot, and we thought was well worth it in order to have instant grass. When the sod was delivered, it was a beautiful sight.
We were so happy to see it. The sod was delivered on a Friday afternoon, and we installed it the same day after work. It was the easiest part of the whole backyard.
Before ordering the sod, we bought a soil testing kit to test the soil. We learned our soil wasn’t as bad as we thought it might be.
However, we did put down a a turf builder/starter fertlizer on the soil before we put down the sod.
Mr. Spring is adding fertilizer to our tilled yard.
We are starting to roll out the sod in the yard in this photo.
Gracie was on the new patio watching the whole process while enjoying some ice.
Here I am rolling out some sod. Mr. Spring started on the other side of the yard and we met in the middle.
The yard was looking so much better with the added color.
The next step after putting down all the sod was to take a lawn roller and go over the new grass. We rented this for $7.
The next step is the most important part of the sod process. WATER. The next couple weeks are crucial so that the sod has enough water to survive.
Here is the completed sod, and now we are ready to enjoy the yard. It will take about two weeks for the sod to grab, and then we will be able to mow the lawn for the first time. After that time we shouldn’t notice the squares from the sod. Stay tuned .
Also, if you look at this picture you will see rocks on the left beside the sod. This building is our garage, and we put rocks right beside it to help with drainage. One day we will start spiffing up that area. Till then we are going to sit back and enjoy our yard and enjoy my new muscles from shoveling rocks.
Cheers!
Linking to Between Naps on the Porch
Looks great! You worked hard!
Gosh, that’s a tough job! The grass looks great. Gracie is a cutie!
Dropping by from Met Monday. I’ll hope you’ll come see the nursery I helped create for my first grandchild.
Allison
Atticmag
Your yard looks great! What a difference!
wow, what a load of work! we just pulled up some old landscaping fabric and worked on our grass. we just used grass seed but I SO, SO wanted to get sod!
Wow! This looks amazing, and I’m totally impressed you did it yourself. Sod is so much work!! But totally worth it, right?
The grass is definitely greener in your yard!! Great job.
This looks great– some friends stopped in today & I served your skinny iced tea vodka lemonade– it was a real hit on a hot Kentucky afternoon. Thanks!!
Wow what a difference. Turned out great!
great job, the lawn will be great when it takes, BTW in Australia we call it turf!
I am soooooooo impressed with all your hard work. I can’t begin to imagine how difficult a job that was. But look at how it looks now! It was so worth it. You should both be very proud of yourselves!
It looks so much better! Nice work!!
Great project! We had our lawn sodded when I was a kid…it was beautiful and yes the key is to water every day. Good luck with it.
Your yard is looking fantastic!! It’s so much work but oh so worth it. 🙂
Oh wow what a great transformation!! Your yard looks so beautiful and you can sure see that all of your hard work has paid off!!