Hot Hot Hostas and Future Plans

90 is hot. When the temps and humidity go up and you’re trying to gain progress on your backyard makeover you can easily overdo it. Digging, lifting, chopping, and pulling took its toll. We removed the plants the previous owner placed at the back of the yard (the ones with the aggravating and odd rock edge) and “pertified” other spaces by transplanting those plants (hostas and ornamental grass) all around the house. I was happy that some of my “dirt gardens” finally got some beautification. It looks like Hosta City which is better than Dirt Town. But it was free and looks good.

Greg and I were not feeling that swell after a few hours outside and decided to take it easy the rest of the weekend. Washed the car, ate Flavorice popsicles like in our childhood, took Henry to the dog park.

Greg mowed over the out of control weed garden. That may not look attractive but it sure felt good. That’s an area we have yet to clean up since we’re tackling the yard in portions.

We got to work on the empire dresser. The supplies I ordered for the piece arrived and I am searching desperately for hardware to complete the image in my head. We’re working fast on this one. As fast as we can while divvying our time amongst other projects.

So impressed with the spruce up Saturday that we went to our local nursery Sunday to see what they offer in blue hostas. I like the blue variety the best.

The idea is to get the mammoth size to place around the large tree on the side of our yard and the ‘Love Pat’ cupped version for other spots. When the mammoth hostas mature they will span about 70 inches.

I’m also trying to find a tree to fit the space above for some privacy and to block the neighbor’s fort. And we moved the pavers we are currently using for weekend fires. (Notice the use of the old picket fence that once divided the yard. Henry likes the dog next door and the wire fence wasn’t enough for his big puppy strength.)

The space between the 3 season and garage needs some love too. We made a temporary paver patio in there but it’s mismatched and not level. So that space is kind of a dud at the moment. There’s a big gap from the ground to the 3 season we’re planning to hide. The 3 season isn’t attached to the house very well and at some point we’re going to need to put joist hangers underneath. If we had the money, we’d just remove the thing because it was not built well and kind of detracts from the nice flow from the house to the yard.

I have always envisioned our house with double exterior doors leading to the patio with a pergola above, nice grilling area, luscious grass as far as the eye can see as far as the property line allows, projecting movies on the side of the garage, and a bonfire pit with cozy seating.

Since we have a secluded area under the pines, I also see lanterns and string lights in the tree canopy, above a table surrounded with an eclectic mix of chairs for lovely night dining. I can dream. Oh, and a brick oven somewhere out back where I can bake a pizza in 2 minutes flat. All enclosed with a modern fence for privacy. Can you tell we really enjoy being outside?

Forgot to mention that last weekend our new neighbors were cleaning up their yard and gave us two bushes. I haven’t a clue what they are but they fit the space and are mature. Adding those around the house put me in the mood to do more for aesthetics. That’s when we sat one evening by the bonfire, me in my homemade adirondack and Greg in the wingback chair we picked up a few weeks ago at a garage sale, and designed the patio space.

We weren’t crazy about the previous layout because it confines the space. The lot has a decent amount of land for being in town.

Sunday afternoon we planted some grass in the partially shaded pine area behind the garage. Please grow. Please. Otherwise, back to the drawing board. We considered other options but we would love to use that space for pets/kids to run and play, where you can go barefoot. If I could, I would never wear shoes this time of year. Unless I want a root to go through my foot, that’s not happening in our yard. Two pairs of shoes have holes in the bottom from the roots, only one reached my foot and only gave me a little prick. They are no joke. We have approximately one million to dig up.

I didn’t get a chance to tell you what we accomplished the weekend before. Put in a new frost free spigot outdoors using Pex. The outdoor ramshackle plumbing had to go. In the future we’d like to replace all plumbing with Pex tubing.

Greg finished the ladder to the attic and all that awaits is putting the finishing touches in place which happens to be the most expensive and complicated portion. The most complicated portion could possibly be the amount of money it will take to finish the house and yard. Figures are increasing. Until we can afford to go further with the plans, it’s going to look a mess around here. We have a plan in place to eliminate a few debts before September which will free up quite a bit more for the monthly budget. Gotta be realistic and we love the challenge.