Landscaping Project - Almost done!

It's been a while since I've done a post about the side-yard landscaping project. Back at the beginning of August was the last update that I posted. Click here and scroll down to see more of the landscaping project.

Well, we've been working on it a little here and there since then, but Saturday we almost got finished! We just need a few more bricks to finish it off, along with a few more bags of mulch, and a little more fill dirt.

We've been stacking retaining wall bricks along the entire west side of the house. Within that area is going to be a huge plant bed. Saturday we finished the whole length of the bricks (Stacked 3-4 bricks high).



Because the ground isn't level, Trent has had to level out a spot on the slope and set each brick down, one-by-one, making sure it's level (and sturdy) as he goes.

He's been pretty much dead-on with keeping them all level, which is good!



We actually started out on Saturday by transferring heavy stone pavers from our work area to a different location so Trent could finish off the end. These are the pavers that will make up the walkway that we plan on creating along the whole length from the driveway to the front door. This is another project to start after we have the landscaping part done! I am hoping it gets done before winter!

Here's the pavers stacked up in our work area:

And here's the area where we moved them to. Not too far away - right next to the driveway. But Trent and I had to move them each, one by one. 

Needless to say, I sustained some injuries. Exhibits A and B:

Moral of the story - I recommend wearing gloves during this process, just to be safe. Those stone pavers can be a bit rough!

Trent used some leveling sand for the end of the plant bed, 1) because this part curves, and 2) we needed some filler since there is so much of a slope. We will be adding more dirt over the sand later.

The hardest part are the curves, and guess what - the last curve is now complete!

Here are some closer pictures of the curve taking shape:

And Trent with has handiwork:

Here are a few more pictures of the rounded corner on this side:

I actually took a short video of Trent working, which you can watch below. It was really windy on Saturday but we were trying to get as much as we could done.

And here's where we ended up:

Now all that's left (before we take on the big walkway that will run the length of this thing) is:
1) We need a few more landscaping bricks to finish off the very end - maybe about 10 or 12 more.
2) We need to put down some fill dirt for the end of the bed where it slopes down a lot.
3) Landscaping fabric left of the basement door
4) Mulch and rocks on left side of the basement door
5) Pressure-wash this side of the house (to remove that nastiness and grime on the siding).

We're SO close! It's pretty exciting. I can't wait to get a walkway down after this project is complete.

Can you believe this is what we started with? Yes, the grass was a lot greener back then thanks to the ZERO rain we've gotten this summer, but it was virtually untouched.

Now we actually have some interest out here, and hopefully in the years to come we'll have a walking path, and be able to grow lots of plants and flowers in the plant bed.


Hoping it gets finished this week! I'll have a full reveal post when it's done, along with the entire budget breakdown for this project. So as always...stay tuned!