Fence Me In

I have lived here 11 years and always dreamed of a real wood fence along the property line between me and a very close neighbor.  2016 is my year to make this dream come true!

My friend and mentor helped me build this cedar fence.  What an involved process it was with leveling, digging deep holes, mixing concrete and buying supplies.

This section of fence is the perfect privacy screen, sight and sound barrier for folks who love their space.  6 feet tall and over 30 feet long, it will last a good long time.

From any section of the yard I can sit and admire my plants and wildlife - in privacy!

My next phase for this section is to add more plants.

In the back we installed a 10 foot section that now allows me a cozy little spot to hang out in peace.
Plus it creates a much needed wind break!

Stay tuned for more improvements!

The Great Wall

My house addition is built right up against an embankment - in a hillside.  When they first brought in the old mobile they cut out the hillside for a level spot.  The next owner then dug it out some more and added the 25 x 9 foot addition.  So basically I look out my living room window at the ground, which isn't such a bad thing as there is a lot of wildlife activity out there!  It's kind of like having your own terrarium.

A couple years after I bought the place I decided to figure out a way to utilize the small space between the mobile and hill - which is probably about 12 feet wide.  

That went very well, creating a lovely private space with a small deck.  This was of course after I cleaned out the area, leveled the ground, painted the house and built the deck.

 Later I installed a bamboo fence along that embankment just to the addition.

I've had such good luck with plants back there with the afternoon sun exposure, or shade at the base of the hill - not to mention that the deer can't get in here.  So I decided to remove the bamboo and see how much I could utilize that wall of dirt.  

I started by moving out three of the landscape timbers about two feet away from the wall, and filled it in with dirt.  I'll need to add some nice topsoil by Fall as I plan to transplant my hosta's there next to the fern.

I broke up the bamboo screen and it now lines the wall behind the planter, and further down it hides another unsightly area where stump roots are sticking out.

Now looking the other direction.  You can see a small rock planter on the left, that's where the purple star flower will go (currently in the small pot).  It's very sun sensitive and does well in the shade.

The pot of hosta's will spread well in the planter next year.  I am also considering planting the clematis in there if I can figure out a clever trellis for it.

So the projects continue!  Next week it's the new fenced garden.

Bamboo Privacy Screen

This is a simple and easy project with instant results.  Can't beat that in the DIY world!  

I wanted to create a semi private area in my front yard near the Japanese maple tree. Someplace I could sit and enjoy my yard - alone - and out of view.  Let me note here that I really only have one neighbor, but I am also in full view of the local trail that heads up into the woods.

This is an 8 foot long bamboo screen from Home Depot, 4 feet high.  I built a frame with reclaimed wood from my project wood pile.  Treated 4x4's, a 2x6 and an untreated 2x4.  Let me give a shout out to a friend of mine who donated the 8 foot treated 2x6!!

 This is also portable!!  I built it that way so I could move it around the yard if I wanted to.  The screen is wired to the stand so it too can be removed or replaced as needed.

This little area is also getting a make over.  I am adding gravel here since the grass never grew there anyway.

Stay tuned for next week as I finally get the project photos up from the front Zen Garden up!!

More Before and Afters

Another fun project I did about two years ago was to create an outdoor privacy space. 
Now, for the most part my place is pretty private, but when the weather warms, the local summer homes and camp lots fill up and get noisy.  I wanted a place to retreat to. 
I decided to clean up a spot behind the house, but it was going to need a lot of work!  

Holy cow!  Yes, so it needed to be cleared out, cleaned up, leveled and painted.  I had a small, easy to build platform deck in mind.  I worked on it as time permitted, eventually finished it, and was able to enjoy it that summer!  

Another iced tea for me please....