back yard

By now, I was supposed to have posted about the successful completion of my stained glass construction projects. Maybe because I was coming off that year-long second floor renovation I needed time to recharge before throwing myself into another marathon. Instead, I got obssessed with maintenance, humdrum projects and pontificating on the Old House Web forums.

First up: the garden, or more specifically my nine hybrid tomato plants. I've had diminishing returns from my 'maters the past couple of years. Last year, half the plants died shortly after flowering. So I decided to consult with the masters: the greybeard Italian gardeners in the neighborhood. They said that my soil was probably DOA and that nothing I could add to it now would fix that tomato bed. Just mix in some manure and let it steep for a year or two. So I put the tomatoes in planters this year.

Within two weeks I knew this was the way to go. With the rich, bagged topsoil the plants took off.

I'm not saying anything that battle-experienced home renovators don't know. Sometimes, the simplest little task can consume gobs of time and a bucket of money before you realize you made a tragic mistake. Not always, of course. That's how you get suckered into doing it over and over again.

It started as a simple idea: I wanted to have music in my back yard. I could have bought a boombox a/k/a ghetto blaster for a hundred bucks and kept it under the deck. Problem solved and, when all is said and done, that actually would have been a more flexible solution than the mission I set for myself. Even if I wanted XM Radio (which I did) they make XM blasters too. The bonus would have been that I could have had XM in my car as well.

Instead, I wanted the speakers fed by the big, honkin' Denon home theatre system in the living room. Why? I don't freakin' know. Probably because it was there.

The back yard wasn't too bad in comparison to the house but it had problems. The poplars in back were infested by a several termite colonies, which had attacked the house. The cement path to nowhere made no sense to me. The Madonna shrine was unfortunately not my taste either and the lilacs were diseased with some kind of leaf rust. Finally, the chain link fence was rusted and falling down in back. So I had all the excuses I need for a Sawzall slash and burn.
Click on any picture to expand it
The original back yard.

Work in progress. The fence was stick-built from CCA stock, with each picket glued and nailed. It wound up costing less than half the price of a pre-fab Illinois fence of similar construction (materials cost was about $750) and less than a quarter the price of an installed fence. Actually, it was easier to install than a pre-fab because we hit major obstructions while attempting to dig 8-foot standard post holes. So each of the panels is a slightly different length. With help from my next-door neighbor, Betsy, and Todd Schultz, we got this far in five days. Once we got the rhythm and process down, Todd and I were able to knock off a panel every ten minutes, with a twenty-minute rehydration break between. The post holes were dug to between 24-36" and filled with 100-150 pounds of concrete and gravel. The fence turned out well enough that Betsy asked me to build the same fence quid pro quo for her work on my garden. So construction continues…		Betsy's fence is finished. The post caps are installed and a gate was built between Betsy's and my yards (in the shadows under the pine tree). I installed low-voltage lighting on the fence posts, as did she: a nice Hollywood touch. I ripped up the lawn with a roto-tiller, tossed in six bags of peat moss and planted grass seed. This is just a temporary measure to anchor the mud until Betsy figures out my future garden for me. Since I planted grass so late in the season I don’t expect a House and Garden contender here.
This was shot in late November while the backyard is in winter shadow. You can't see that I actually have something of a lawn now, as well as a small garden, thanks to Betsy (who went nuts on it this year... I really need an updated shot). The fence was sealed with a semi-transparent stain.		May 9, 2004. I did the lawn, roses and iron/brick work but Karen and Betsy are mostly responsible for everything else. There's a pretty well-stocked herb garden on the left and veggies on the right.
August 20, 2004. The morning glories have taken over. Next year, I'm going to lose them (which isn't going to be easy) and plant roses and cucumbers on that fence. As a matter of fact, I think I'm going to dump most of the flowers and plant veggies instead. A garden should pay for its own keep.		Summer '05: my daily tomato and basil harvest. Two seconds after this picture was snapped, Jack made gazpacho out of Betsy's display.
March '06: I had enough heartache trying to keep the grass healthy, especially with two active puppies. So I had it bricked in! This job, like all the masonry work here, was done exceptionally well by Jim Lally of Galway Bay Contracting (upper left) and Jamie, another expert mason. Jim laid it like a mud floor, with a 4" concrete bed over crushed gravel. It meant having to excavate over 10 cubic yards of dirt. Jim is an artist and has always gone above/beyond with his jobs here so I have no problems giving him some free advertising in appreciation: call 917-523-1113.		Summer '06: So long as Auggie has a ball, he's satisfied.