As we’re wrapping up the second week of 2021, I feel like digging a small hole, crawling in and crying for my mommy, whom I haven’t seen for over a year now… But the ground is frozen solid so no digging is happening any time soon. Maybe screaming and crying, yes. No digging. Anyway, ahem… I hope you had a nice couple of weeks into the new year. I thought I’d share with you where we’re at in terms of home and garden proclivities.
Not much has changed on the inside, but there’s a whole lot of progress on the outside. We started late November when I got myself a handy-dandy cordless chainsaw and we’ve done so much progress since. Our backyard was an overgrown mess, an inherited jungle from previous owners. Untouched for the better part of a decade.
I liked it at first but then we realized how messy it looked from the other side and that it was filled with fallen branches and rotten tree trunks. The 20-foot wide thicket at the back was also blocking a gorgeous view of the neighboring farm. So, as we started working on a plan for the landscape, we knew the wild shrubs had to go.
I took these pictures this morning, to show you our progress to date… We’re done on the right side, and are halfway through on the back end of the garden. The big monster is the left side which I am actually ashamed to share with you, that’s how tangled and overgrown it is.
So far we’ve put into the project a good 40-50 hours, spread over the course of two months. Every chance we get we’re outside and have gotten pretty productive with our tools. Plus, it’s good exercise to be out there. The colder, the better. The shrubs are crispy and the ground less muddy. My record for working so far has been at 15F, a couple of days before Christmas.
Anyway, I feel we’re about 1/3 through. The bigger problem will be getting rid of all of the branches in time for spring. We thought about getting a bonfire permit but we have so much wood that the fire chief won’t allow it. So we need to think of another way. Any ideas? 🙂
The plan is to eventually have all the shrubs removed, the roots dug up and the land fenced in with some pretty horse farm fence panels (decorative for the most part) which perhaps I’ll paint white. Then I’ll plant some roses, or arborvitae, or holly. Below are a few images that are guiding my design. But I know it will be a good while until we get there…
As for the inside, we’ve been moving in growth spurts. After a very productive week in December, our contractor/magician has disappeared again, leaving expensive tools behind. I’m amused by it all at this point. My husband and I once heard what we thought was a joke at the time, but turned out to be painfully true for us. That for a successful renovation you need three things: a good contractor, a good psychiatrist, and prayer beads. We’re down to the beads. 🙂
Wishing you a nice weekend!
My advise is to wait for spring to be over before you dig anything up. We had a mess like that in our back yard, cut everything back, and the next spring discovered some beautiful forsythia and privet bushes sprouting back, and daylilies and daffodils that hadn’t been blooming because they were too crowded and shaded. even plain green bushes can be beautiful if kept trimmed. You figure, someone planted them for a reason….
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Thank you, Patricia! Yes, we will wait until late spring/ early summer to have them dug up. The problem with these bushes is that they are all wild, some of them filled with thorns. Nobody cared to plan anything there for more than a decade and nature is trying to take over 🙂 xo, Eva
Rent a chipper and turn it into chips.
I agree. If you rent a chipper you can use it for mulch.
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Thanks, Diane! Great idea! xo, Eva
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Thanks, Regina! That’s a great idea!! xo, Eva
Have you considered working with a Landscape Architect to address a design? A naturalized setting in the long run will require less maintenance. Are deer a problem? You have a beautiful property and might want to consider ways to install deer fencing that is then camouflaged by shrubs. Please keep posting your progress.
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Hi, Cathy! Thanks so much for commenting! I think you’re right about having a masterplan for the yard. In fact, we talked to a landscape designer last spring and he’d suggested to wait until all of our outdoor spaces are in place (we plan to create a deck off of the family room) so right now the plan is to clear it all up and have it ready by the time we’ll meet him again (late spring). Thanks for taking an interest in our project!! xo, Eva
Love seeing your progress updates, Eva. I think I would echo what a previous commenter said – you might want to wait just a bit to see what emerges in the spring in that section of the yard. There might be some lovely flowering shrubs that were just overgrown and struggled to get air and light. Whatever you do, though, will be lovely. And you are SO fortunate to have a beautiful natural field behind you. That’s a dream setting! You have the luxury of letting whatever you plant grow slowly since you don’t need to shield your yard from an eyesore.
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Hi, Linda! Thank you so much for stopping by and for your advice! At this point we’ll have to wait until mid summer to have all the roots dug up because our backyard gets really soggy in the spring. No heavy landscaping equipment can make it out of there 🙂 But I am curious to see what will pop out this spring! xo, Eva
Thinking maybe not paint the fence white but leave it to weather to a natural gray to extend the view?
Distant white fences sometimes can visibly block an expansive view….just thing out loud……………
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Thank you, Chris! I haven’t thought of that… I do like the natural gray of weathered wooden fences and the idea of painting 40+ panels is overwhelming to say the least. Thanks for giving me a good reason not to paint! xo, Eva
Your inspiration pictures of the horse farm fences are lovely. I enjoy reading about this progress. I’m sorry to see that your inside has stalled out. We just got our big interior projects finished the last week of December (it has taken a few projects for our to find a contractor we LOVED). Sadly during the shower project we found out that our master water shut off valve was corroded and would need to be replaced — and with that the water line out to the street. And hey, since we’re doing that, might as well tackle the sewer line too, right? Definitely a large expense we weren’t counting on but I justify it knowing that by investing in this now, we should never have to tackle it again in our lifetime.
Wishing you and yours the best with all of your projects this year!
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Hi, Lauren! So sorry to hear you had such an unexpected expense come up in your renovation projects!! It can be discouraging but if money spent now will save you from trouble later on, then you can look at it as an investment in your peace of mind. Oh, the joys of homeownership…
Good luck with your projects in 2021!!
xo, Eva
I would consider vinyl or the Trex equivalent of fencing. I know it isn’t for purists but painting wood fencing and iron railings has become the bane of my existence.
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Thank you for the advice, Ollie! You are absolutely right, painting fence panels is the opposite of fun… We did it in the front and it was tough. We do love wood but perhaps vinyl is the answer for us. xo, Eva
Great progress. We also had a neglected yard when we bought our house and we are still working on it, 4 years later. It’s a lot of work so I am commiserating with you. Our town lets all residents dump yard waste for free at the transfer station. Maybe your town has the same? What I would not recommend is renting a chipper. For how much you have it is a lot of work. Just hire someone to come chip it. Their machines are bigger and they will be done with it so quickly. Learn from our mistakes, haha.
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Thanks so much for the advice, Christina!! It is a ton of wood and we’re only halfway through… Initially my husband and I hoped we could handle the disposal ourselves but now, as the piles grow, we’re thinking of hiring someone to haul it away (or chip it, as you have suggested).
Thank you and good luck with your yard!
xo, Eva
Most of the tree contractors are hungry for work right now. I would get bids for a company to come out, gather, chip and haul off for you before it gets warm and they don’t need business. I agree with the commenter who suggested getting a big plan from a landscape designer. It will pay for itself eventually. Congrats on getting so much done!
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Thank you for the advice, Lisa!! We have an idea of a plan and we’re seeing a landscape designer this spring to finalize the details. We got separate quotes from companies to chop down the backyard shrubs (we’re not cutting any trees) and haul the debris away but they were really high and we have still many pending projects inside that we’d rather invest that money in (like a new kitchen, new bathrooms, etc). So we decided to break up the project in bits and do the cutting part ourselves. We’re crazy…
xo, Eva
I will now start taking care of my upfront. Thank you for encouraging me!
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Glad to hear that!! Good luck, I’m sure it’s going to look great!
xo, Eva
Be careful on exposing that field. While it may be farmland now, it can become a housing development in a heartbeat. In which case, you’d wish you had all the brush.
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Thanks so much for the warning, Gina! You make an excellent point! We’ve thought of that but the fields are part of protected land that will never be developed, one of the reasons why we bought the house… xo, Eva