Let's Go Out Back

If our first front porch wasn't welcoming enough...then mosey on into the back.

Gulp..

See that screened in porch?  

It actually wasn't even a screen but more like a "cage" built with hog wire.

There were two abandoned raised beds, a neglected paint job, no window screens, no grass..you name it ..it was neglected.

Here is the side yard..Gotta love my pose and the really grainy photo! Photography has come a long way in 10 years for sure.

This is what it looked liked in the middle of our demo of the inside of the house....Talk about gratifying and overwhelming..Nothing classier than a toilet in the back yard;)

And here is the "view" looking back across the yard from the other direction

And here is the transformation!  

We removed the "screened in porch", painted, added solar screens to the windows to cut down on the morning sun(an prevent flying creatures from coming to live with us), built a deck, added an outdoor fan and planted tons and tons of drought resistant plants(and some that weren't native to central texas or drought tolerant that didn't do so well).  We babied what little grass was present and it eventually filled in really nicely.

Through this process we definitely learned what kind of plants work well for us and which don't.  If something wasn't doing well where we put it then we would move it and try again(if it wasn't too late).  Another thing that we learned with this yard is how to "not" space things.  We have a tendency to put things too close together and underestimate how big they are going to get.  I have a feeling this yard is a bit overgrown now..We haven't lived there in 4 years and before we left we noticed that several of our trees were getting a little cramped where they were placed.  Oh..we also added trellis to the top of the fence in order to block the "view" of some duplexes right behind us.  

Here is hubs tilling up the ground so we could add compost and provide a healthy base for the St. Augustine to spread.

You can also see that he added new taller posts to the back fence in preparation for the lattice that we added to block the "view".

Here the lattice is up, we have made a curvy bed along the back fence and planted the big players in the  yard...the trees, rosemary, agaves and such.

Here is how it was looking before we build the deck.

Amazing what a deck can do for a space!

Didn't the hubs do a nice job?  I think a deck makes all the difference in the world..It pulls you out into the yard to enjoy all your hard work!

Sadly I don't have a picture of the side of the yard but I promise we got rid of the toilet and it was looking might fine.  We also had a huge garden on the other side and I don't have a clue if I ever took pics of it or not.  I sure hope I come across them some day.

I did find a pic of this awesome that hubs built as an entry to the side yard.  I'm a lucky girl.

That's a carving of a tree in the circle on the top of the gate..

Cool huh?  

We LOVED this yard and spent many many hours drinking coffee(yep I am officially old and addicted to it) and grilling out here.   Can't wait to see what kind of deck we can design around the new casa in in the near future!  Hill Country View..Yes Please!

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