NSFJ: A Jungle Book

This post is grossly, grossly out of order but I've saved the best of the NSFJ updates for last.  This blog post is attributable 110% to Ryan.  During his time off in June he put a ton of blood, sweat and tears into working in our front yard.  You read that correctly - JUNE.  In Houston.  Definitely a hero in my book.

Let's back up the landscaping train for a moment, shall we?  Ryan and I have disliked a variety of things about our outdoor spaces from day 1.  If you come over, this is why we keep you out of these areas.  And keep those shudders tightly in the locked position.  You may recall the great de-treeing of the backyard in March 2011.  We finally saved up the funds and Ryan found the time to tackle the same type of project in the front yard.  Our main points of contention with the front were as follows:

1) The beds were ENTIRELY too large.  We don't need 5 rows of shrubbery.  This is not a children's chorus.

2)  Complete lack of symmetry between the oak tree on the right and the oak tree on the left.  The oak tree on the right got some kind of ground cover blanket action whereas the one one on the left was left out in the cold (haaaa).

3) I really wanted to add pavers around the beds to give the whole yard a more finished look.

4) Due to the drought the year we bought the house, a few patches of grass were in pretty bad shape.

5)  We are not fans of the types of plants in our beds.  Which is why we mainly ignore them and let them get a little too friendly with the weeds sometimes.

In one fell, sweaty swoop Ryan tackled items 1 through 4.  We had good intentions of taking care of item 5 at the same time but it always seemed to monsoon when Ryan had time off which was not conducive to planting.  Allow me to take you on this journey with us via photo.  Pretend this is narrated by James Earl Jones like an IMAX.

Here are a variety of befores from all angles.  For some reason I did a far better job documenting the befores.

What balls o' shrub look like from the driveway.

See how the tree on the right got a blanket and the one on the left got nothing?  Tree favoritism is still alive and well in H-town.

Please do not mistake the scene on the far right for overgrown weeds.  I believe they are real plants. 

First, Ryan ripped out the excessive plants standing in the way between the XXL beds and our more conservative desired bed size.  This alone took him a full day and a half of work.  Again, I remind you- he did this in June.

A view of the enormous amount of progress from the side.

Au revoir balls of shrub!

Ripped that band-aid blanket off.

Then he procured the pavers.  He laid down dirt to level the area where the pavers were going to go.  This required using a hatchet to cut out some roots.  It also required him to buy a hatchet.  Then one by one he laid out the pavers.  Two rows of them because he married a loon.

A picture after the first few had been laid.  Please note how large that pallet is in the background.

Check out those beautiful pavers!

Next, he purchased some sod and filled in the areas where he shortened the beds and the patches where a combination of tree root selfishness and 2010-2011 drought left some brown spots.  And voila- brand new front yard!

I seem to have fallen off the picture train at this stage in the process.  So, I just went outside and took some pictures from the same angles of the finished product.  Please excuse the remnants of Christmas decor.  As well as the multiple fallen leaves and twigs that will get tended to this coming week when husband dearest is off of work.

Mmm... pave-y. 

Looking significantly less jungle-y. 

Mad props to Ryan.  (Please note that the green will come back in the spring.  My bad for not taking afters RIGHT when the project was complete and waiting until January.  WHOOPSIES.)

I am sure that I made this all sound much more simple than it really was and that I forgot some crucial steps- namely about one trip to Lowe's/Home Depot/Both per day.  Overall though, I am so proud of Ryan for all of his hard work.  You know when two separate lawn men drop off their cards with you while completing such a task that you are working hard.  So THANK YOU, Mr. Martin.  Now rest up those gardening muscles for Spring 2013 when we tackle re-landscaping.  ;c)