You are not going to believe the before pictures of our yard! We have been told, that at some point, master gardeners lived here. I think it is obvious by our great soil! Thanks to our neighborhood historian, we actually know every family that has ever lived in our house, but that’s for another post. Our house is also in a movie (for like 3 seconds), but that’s also for another post. Anyway, the previous owner really neglected the house for many, many years.
Then, I got it cleaned up a bit. I mainly focused on the front yard in 2020. Then last year in 2021, I did a little more in the front but mainly focused on the back yard. We got a huge patio poured, I planted a LOT of plants, got a sprinkler system installed, got lighting installed, built a paver patio and I built a gas fire pit. We had professionals run the gas line and attach the gas burner. Whew, that was a lot of work! Look at what it looked like last year!
THEN, after all that, I FINALLY found a landscape architect that I loved! I loved how our back yard was looking but I wanted help figuring out how to finish it off and what trees to add. I actually interviewed many landscape architects prior to working on the back yard but I didn’t really feel like anyone understood my style until I found Fleur Detroit. I first scheduled a consultation and I fell in love with their ideas. I went ahead and purchased a landscape concept plan, pictured below, it was $1,500. Some areas are vague (for example it said dwarf russian sage but not the exact variety), but the plan is exactly what I needed, a very clear direction and overall plan to work towards. They used as much of my current layout (and plants) as possible to save on costs.
The only thing that I did not do was move the fire pit. The company that ran the gas line said the current location is as far as we should go if we want a large flame for the gas burner. Now, while we could have moved it and done a natural wood burning fire pit, that really does not fit our lifestyle. Also, I REALLY didn’t want to tear out what I worked so hard on! The suggestions for not moving it included putting something structural there like a statue OR a row of limelights. Really happy with how it turned out!
I had so many questions about furniture and metal edging. The patio set is RH but I linked several others I really like here. Sooooo excited for the metal edging to patina and I got matching planters. They are made of a special type of steel that gives you a beautiful weathered patina over time. For corners you can bend it or use corner brackets. i wanted to try bending and I think it turned out great!
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What’s left to do in the back yard? Glad you asked! We still need a pergola, tiered fountain, gate and gravel path to the front yard (on the side by the dining table), boxwoods / terracotta garden (just outside the dining room windows) and some planters. It won’t be 100% complete this year but it feels 90% done!! We’ve always talked about a sport court but who knows if we’ll ever do that. If so, we’ll figure it out when that time comes. Thanks for following along! I’d love for you to leave a comment!
Do you have a plant list of what you used?