Backyard Makeover

We have been talking with the Trustees at the church about a backyard makeover ever since we moved in last year. With all the plans made and approvals given, things got started shortly before our beach vacation when a new zone of sprinklers were added to the backyard. 

Then once we returned from vacation, it was time to kick things into high gear. Daryl and I (mostly Daryl!) spent four hours outside one Friday trimming down small trees that had been growing along the backyard fence line. 

We ended up with two big piles of brush and some firewood. Plus a much cleaner tree line with a lot of the low-hanging branches out of the way. 

Then we went shopping for all of the supplies (including 3,000 pounds of pavers!) so that we could extend the patio slab five feet in both directions and put in a fire pit. Daryl worked a bit on this each night for almost a week, with some help from Parker and Wesley. 

I worked on some of the decorative touches, repainting flower pots and the bench that used to sit on the front porch at my parents' house. 

Last Tuesday all of the plants were delivered and installed by a local gentleman known as "The Garden Rebel." Mr. Sims had been out to look around in our yard and talk with us about what we wanted and then worked to incorporate plants that would do well in our mostly shaded yard with little maintenance.  And then several men from the Tuesday morning Men's Prayer Breakfast at church came out on Saturday morning to spread all of the pine straw - 48 bales!

We finished up putting out all the little touches this evening and so now the backyard transformation is finally complete! We are so pleased with how it turned out. It is a great space now where we can relax and entertain. 

Parker and Wesley made the paver border along the pine straw their own special project! 

We got this idea off Pinterest - some of our favorite places in the world - Walt Disney World, Siesta Key Beach, China, Hong Kong, Sapphire Valley, and Grand Cayman.