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The Dirt on My Dirt

Tada! Our yard is finished! At least in the planting, rock rearranging, and trench digging sense. I think it is safe to say that we will never be done weeding or up keeping our fine landscape.

Although our little plot of land is precisely that – little, I love it! It’s hard to explain the serenity I feel while sitting out on our patio surrounded by all the lovely growing things that I planted with my own two hands. Our backyard has become one of my favorite places to read, eat, or chill – if I could live out there I would. Did I mention that I love it? Our tiny plot didn’t become a peaceful spot overnight though. We moved into our house almost exactly two years ago and have been working relentlessly on perfecting our yard ever since.

Every spring, summer, and fall we’ve made noticeable yard enhancements. This summer our outdoor projects have included: installing a garden box and planting veggies in that box, laying down flagstone in the area around our garden, and filling the few remaining barren regions of our yard with an abundance of plants.

Many of you, our friends, have expressed curiosity about the current state of our yard. So, now that our “putting in the yard” work is officially done, here is my show and tell. It’s probably more show than tell but I hope it faithfully illustrates how our yard has progressed over the last couple years.

This is how our backyard looked when we moved in. Thrilling isn't it? Our endless work started before we even planted sod.
This is how our backyard looked when we moved in. Sad isn't it? Planting grass may seem logically like what came next but before laying sod we had to: remove wheelbarrow after wheelbarrow of rocks, install sprinklers, and amend our soil by tilling in more than a whole dump truck full of compost.
Our stamped concrete patio was one of last summer's projects. Jason's
A stamped concrete patio was one of our projects last summer. Jason's cousin, Scott, was the mastermind behind this affair. We tore out the small cement pad that came with our house and turned into a beautiful functioning patio.
This is what our patio looks like now.
This is what our patio looks like now.
This is what one of our back corners looked like a few months ago. We hadn't finished the last piece of the fence on that side yet.
This is what one of our back corners looked like a few months ago. We hadn't finished that section of our fence yet.
This is that same corner now. We planted some Ivory Halo Dogwoods and a Purple Fountain Beech tree. They are still adjusting to their new home but I'm sure by next year they will be thriving.
This is that same corner now. We planted some Ivory Halo Dogwoods and a Purple Fountain Beech tree. They are still adjusting to their new home but by next year I'm sure they will be thriving.
This is how our garden box started.
This is how our garden box started earlier this summer.
After our box was installed the next step was filling it with dirt. We choice a soil special blend from the nursery; our plants love it!
After our box was installed the next step was filling it with dirt. We chose a special soil blend from a nursery; our plants love it!
After our dirt, veggie plants, and driplines were all in place we moved on to installing our flagstone. This was a lot like playing a really hard, long game of tetris.
After our dirt, veggie plants, and drip lines were all in place we moved on to installing our flagstone. This was a lot like playing a really hard, long, boring game of Tetris. It took what seemed like forever to get all the stones to piece together right.
This is our garden area now. It's lovely!
This is our garden area now. It turned out fabulously! Our plants are extremely happy, especially our tomatoes. We had to cut them back, they were becoming huge! We called them the "tomato jungle". Trying to find the ripe tomatoes was like going on an expedition.
These are my Hybrid Pixie Lilies. Aren't they lovely?
These are my Hybrid Pink Pixie Lilies. Aren't they lovely?
These darling little guys are Violas. They are only supposed to bloom in early spring but mine kept blooming until mid-July.
These darling little guys are Violas. They are only supposed to bloom in early spring but mine kept blooming until mid-July.
This is the north back corner of our yard. In the spring this corner is filled with tulips and daffadils. We planted a flowering pear tree, fountain grass, St. John's Wort, Sandwort, Linaria, Royal Candles, Gold Tide Forsythia, Harebell, Waterperry Blue Veronica, and Royal Candles.
This is the north back corner of our yard. In the spring this corner is filled with tulips and daffodils. We planted a Flowering Pear tree, Fountain Grass, St. John' Wort, Linaria, Sandwort, Royal Candles, Harebell, Waterperry Blue Veronica, and Gold Tide Forsythia.
This beauty is a Clematis.
This beauty is a Clematis.
These are my Hostas and Japanese Maple. The Hostas my mother-in-law,Sue, kindly gave me as transplants. The Japanese Maple I lovingly named "The Little Guy".
These are my Hostas and Japanese Maple tree. The Hostas my mother-in-law, Sue, kindly gave me as transplants. The Japanese Maple I've lovingly named "The Little Guy". The black border is a new addition this year. We decided to put them around all our flowerbeds. You can see the grass hasn't quite grown back yet where it was ripped out for the trenching.
This is one of my favorite plants in our yard. It's a
This is one of my favorite plants in our yard. It's a Sweet Almond bush. It's covered with these gorgeous blooms in the spring.
This beaut is a Weeping Mulberry.
This elegant tree is a Weeping Mulberry.
I love these cheery flowers! They are called Tickseed. They are extremely hardy; great for the harsh Utah weather.
I love these cheery flowers! They're called Tickseed. They are extremely hardy; great for our harsh Utah weather.
Our backyard: my haven.
Our backyard: my haven. We planted Lilacs, Daisies, Corsican Violets, Goldflame Spiraea, Dwarf Columbine, Gold Spot Euonymous, Midnight Wine Weigela, Queen Victoria Lobelia, Gaillardia, and my favorite, a dappled Willow. The dappled Willow looks so graceful when it's wispy branches sway in the wind; it's mesmerizing to watch. Our grass looks a little dry in this picture, due to it being an arid August. But don't let that fool you. It's extremely healthy and in the spring it's a beautiful lush green.

And who said women are hard to please? I’m not picky. Just give me some dirt I can call my own, plenty of flora I can foster, and a sprawling piece of sky over my head; then I will be one extremely content woman. *
*Disclaimer: Happiness based off the specified parameters is not guaranteed.

4 comments

  3. I love it that you have all of the names of everything that you planted. It’s fun to know what’s growing around you (I just ask Shon what’s in our yard) 🙂 Congrats on having a fantastic spot to hang out – it looks awesome!

  4. i just happened upon your photo of the tickseed. i’m in new york and wasn’t sure that i could overwinter my tickseed here. apparently, if it can make it in utah, it can make it in new york. your yard is really developing nicely.

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