Although we live in a rental and generally don't want to invest money into something we don't own, we realize how important it is to enjoy where we are at, and make our home comfortable and functional for our family. So, after 2 years of looking at a dumpy looking side yard and stepping on the thousands of small pebbles Gavin kept dropping/throwing/spilling out on the concrete, we decided to do something about it. We now have a beautiful, functional space we all enjoy being in. And, we finally finished a pallet herb garden I've had in the works for a long, long time. :)
Here's a shot of the backyard when we moved in...
There were a lot of empty dirt spots and overgrown weeds. The bushes in the far back were overgrown and lived in a bed of little pebbles that got everywhere and hurt your feet to step on.
After taking out the last of the two dead bushes, we started collecting all the pebbles and clearing the space for some grass. This was quite a job as there were SO MANY PEBBLES! :)
The boys absolutely loved this part...
We cleared out the side storage space and freed it from the annoying pebbles, too.
We got rid of the rocks quicker than we could have anticipated by posting a free ad on craigslist. A man doing a backyard project for his house was all too happy to come and pick them up.
After a week or so of sanding, staining, and netting my pallets, Rudy helped me put them up on the back wall.
The boys have helped with each project along the way. They helped me sand, stain and then plant and water.
The pallet on the left is rockin its stain. The one on the right is a lesson in what not to do (like mixing the stain and applying in poor evening light and not wiping away excess stain), but we live and learn from these mistakes. :)
Rudy really wanted to plant grass seed, so we put some of our back into preparing the ground. Unfortunately the soil has too much clay and really, in this drought and without sprinklers set up, fake grass seemed to be the better option. We also had to consider the water bill that our landlord pays and closely watches.
So, we leveled off the dirt, laid down this weed blocker, added a layer of wet sand and topped it all off with some pavers.
We bought a few extra to do this little space on the other side of the yard. We'll put Rudy's new birthday grill over this way. It's also helpful for people to have more space to move around the table.
We laid the pre-cut grass down and pondered what to do about the 2 perimeter side areas.
While we thought and then gathered supplies for our next project, I filled in all of the flower beds with various succulents, vines, and flowers. These flowering plants were planted back in the beginning of January and they haven't stopped blooming! Such a find from the dollar store! The next layer of flower-looking succulents is from our neighbors' yards. My dear Tina came over to help me plant one day after a rain. She brought bucket after bucket of these gorgeous plants.
My favorite succulent in this section is this rose-looking one...
Below you can see our climbing vine attached to the post. I don't know that we'll be here long enough to see it, but the idea is to cover both patio coverings on either side of our yard with this flowering vine. In the meantime, we added some bamboo on top to give us some shade.
All along the wall, I planted some climbing vines. In the last few weeks they've really taken off and I hope to see even more green in the near future!
We came up with an idea to build a bench that would be functional for more sitting room and give the side area a more camp-like feel when we eat, entertain, or use our fire pit. We added some hinges on the top of the lid for the added bonus of incredible storage!
Again, the boys were there every step of the way. Kyle got to help Rudy make the cuts on the wood.
And here you have it - a functional space that is so nicely shaded by our neighbor's orange tree! We added wood chips for the other rectangular space under the pallet to give it a finished feel.
How fun is this?!
Rudy's bench is incredible.
I love Ru's attention to detail and skill with wood.
The boys immediately brought out their books and enjoyed reading outside in the cool shade. This space has become the place to be throughout the day and has already been helpful during play dates when littles are playing in the sand box and parents want to hang out nearby.
When we turn on our hanging lights this place really feels cozy. Here are a few shots of the overall look...
