Back Yard Oasis

Kevin and I decided a few weeks ago to pull up his sleeves and fix up the neglected back yard. I supervised 🙂 And while the left half of it is still a work in progress, the right half of our yard is now an oasis! It feels good to walk back there and actually want to stay a few minutes to enjoy the scene (versus wincing at the mess and immediately running back inside). Every transformation needs a good Before and After shot, so here are ours:

The weeds are gone, replaced by succulents and pretty annuals for a pop of color.

I never knew rose bushes could grow like weed until we purchased this house. Former owners planted some really beautiful roses here but never took care of it. After awhile it grew into a hot mess that looked more like a spider habitat than a beautiful plant. My original thought was to trim that baby down into something resembling pretty… it took me an hour just to graze the tip, so we ended up chopping the whole thing down to a stump and starting from fresh. Within a month, the rose bush grew a foot in height and started blooming again! Man, what a difference.

We also added an iron plant hanger, my fave.

Here are some other pictures of our back.

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Little Yard of Horror

Some of you may have wondered why my posts have dwindled over the weeks. Others may not have noticed… or cared (I choose not to think the latter). Surprisingly, NO, I haven’t lost interest in this blog. In fact, being able to share our productivity and improvements with you all has been somewhat of a driving force (behind me, at least) to keep working on our various projects! And for the past few weekends, Kevin and I have been busy transforming our Little Yard of Horror into a decently landscaped space – just in time for summer pool parties and our baby shower 🙂

The only area of our home that Kevin and I have utterly avoided in our almost 2 years here has been the back yard, for multiple reasons. The main one being:

It’s not visible from the street, so the need to beautify wasn’t high in priority. But considering the back yard is a huge part of our overall home, that way of thinking just isn’t right (in retrospect). I compare it to a beautiful woman who doesn’t brush her teeth.

So in preparation for good times this summer (and another big event that we’ll announce at a later time), Kevin and I have been working semi-diligently these past few weeks in preparation. He does most of the work while I supervise with a glass of water in hand. The few perks of being pregnant :-p

Here are photos of the BEFORE.

I went crazy with buying outdoor furniture last summer and we now have 3 sets of tables and chairs,  most of which have been neglected since it was last used… last summer. And that monster of a bush you see above? It’s an out of control rose bush (which we discovered to be 3 rose bushes after chopping it down) that the previous owner left for us to take care of. I never realized roses could grow like weed! I tried to salvage it at first, clipping meticulously for an hour before realizing the tangled branches were too much to handle and we’d have to start from scratch. And speaking of weeds, fallen leaves and weed pretty much dominate our entire landscape – front yard and back.

Our back yard has the potential to be really nice if someone would give it some lovin’. There’s a nice waterfall at the far end of our pool, but it’s not that beautiful when situated next to this strip of mess.

These 2 photos only depict HALF of our back yard. And as you can see, it’s a mess. One day we’ll be able to afford a gardener 🙂 Until that day arrives, Kevin and I will have to maintain this ourselves.

Since it’s still a work in progress, I won’t post AFTER pictures just yet. Instead, here’s a sneak peak at what we’ve added so far. The big unveiling will come next month, after the other plants have had a LITTLE time to grow in size.

Our own pot of mint! Daddy Chan planted this in April and it’s grown quite a bit since. Now we have herbs for yummy Vietnamese food, right in our back yard! I’ve gone back and forth for weeks, contemplating whether or not I have enough commitment to maintain an urban vegetable garden. For some reason, I really want home grown tomatoes. We’ll see on that one.

And there you have it… the latest news on our latest project 🙂 Kevin and I are also working on other stuff, so keep an eye out for more blogs!

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Our little house, improved!

Kevin’s parents came to visit for a few days this week and that always means two things:

– Yummy food and
– Home improvements

The home improvements part is especially awesome because Kevin and I go through spurts of productiveness when it comes to working on our home… For the past few months, we’ve been in “OFF” mode and have avoided doing anything beyond basic maintenance.

First thing’s first… out with the old Craigslist-bought changing station/baby dresser and in with the new (Ikea), thanks to the insistence of mama Chan that her grand baby will not be subjected to used furniture haha. Kevin and his dad spent most of today assembling the massive piece of furniture and now it’s tucked snugly in our walk-in closet. What a handsome piece 🙂 We’ll eventually buy the smaller matching dresser for our room for a complete set.

This was also a good weekend for our neglected flower garden in the front yard, as Mama Chan insisted on adding some color to our otherwise bland array of white flowers. I was hesitant at first but am so glad to have given in. The punch of red and pink roses really brighten the garden up and somehow complete our yard! I found myself outside several times this weekend, just admiring our flowers. Many of the plants we put in last year are finally filling out. Can’t wait for more blooms to show 🙂 We also solved our annoying hose problem by purchasing a stake garden hose holder at Home Depot. What an eye pleaser! I always use to complain our front yard never got watered enough because I didn’t want to deal with the tangled mess. No more excuses now 🙂 Drought will be no match for our front yard this summer!

Thanks for all your many gifts, mama and papa Chan! Our little house isn’t the ugliest on the block anymore! 🙂

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