Landscaper's Challenge!

When Wayne and I bought our house almost four years ago, we ripped through almost every room, remodeling it to make it our own. Even spaces like our once frightening basement have been transformed in an effort to make our house a home. And we didn't stop at the interior, Wayne insisted on new siding, roofing, and windows, I mean seriously people we practically recreated the space. BUT... The final frontier lay like a wasteland in the backyard. Here, the only improvement made was a fence the summer we got Lennie, and us filling in a hole from the pool the previous owners stole. Yes, I do mean stole! For over three long years I hated going into my backyard, even after last summer when we had the patio redone in stamped concrete...well that fiasco is a different story, there was nothing of beauty to look at. For some reason my neighbors believe that sheds should look dilapidated and shabby, and when my rear neighbors took out their trees, I knew it was time for action.

Wayne and I hatched a plan, and like usual, Wayne set it in motion. By the end of the week we had a design, plants ordered and help on the way. The challenge was to turn this:


And this:

Into something fabulous. For two days, yards of dirt were spread, Tony and Wayne trenched out beds, and what seemed like a hundred wheelbarrows of mulch were shoveled (Just ask Wayne how his back is.) and some snacks were had:

Sorry...I couldn't resist the cute factor of this photo, so I snuck it in. Look at Z's smile behind his hand and Lennie's look of "Oh man, just drop one!" I digress.

In the end, what we ended up with was:and this:
And finally this:



We weren't the only ones who liked the new space. It seems to have attracted a few new friends like this guy:
Now "GROW TREES GROW!" and cover the shabby sheds behind us. In the meantime when I need something beautiful to admire, I can always look at these little beauties we added to the yard:
Ah... I love when a challenge is complete!