After some staining to match our fence, we placed the beds in their new home.

One of these days I’ll remove the iron fence that stretches across our front patio (lower left corner) so we can use the flagstone steps I just put in. That way we have a straight path directly to the beds from our front door. See how I planned that? Not bad, eh?! “Oh you want salad for dinner, I’ll be right back.”

We didn’t bother re-staining the older raised beds…I’m kinda wishing we did now that I see the photo above.

*sigh* Inconsistency.

So, this years harvest will consist of:

• arugula
• chives
• 2 kinds of eggplant
• mesclun mix
• mustard greens
• kale
• green beans (seed)

Hopefully our blueberry plants will do their thing. We bought two last year and they slept through most of the growing season. Such laziness will not be tolerated this year.

Actually, this project began last year when I covered the grass in my front yard with construction paper and compost in an attempt to kill it off naturally. Well, it worked…kind of. The grass underneath died, but a bunch of stuff grew on top of the compost over the past 6 months. Rather than dealing with the hassle of renting a truck, digging up the levels of dead sod and taking it to the dump, I paid my go-to guy Buddy Stedman of Big Sky Tree Guy to dig it all up and haul it away. 2 days, and a couple hundred bucks later, I had a clean slate of a front yard.

My next step was to mark the path to get a sense of the path’s dimensions to calculate the amount of base material and flagstone I would need. Before I began to dig I made a couple important decisions about the gravel layers of the path so I knew how deep to dig. I decided on a 2 inch layer of 3/4 minus gravel as the base layer to provide good drainage and a 1 in layer of 1/minus gravel above that for setting the flagstone. With that in mind, I starting digging a 3 inch channel for the gravel layers.

Digging out the path and leveling it took about 12 hours over 2 days.

Once I was happy with the direction and shape of the path I was able to make more accurate materials calculations. Here’s my final materials list for a 36 ft long, 3.5 ft wide path:

• 1 cubic yard of 3/4 minus gravel base for a 130 sq ft.
• 1/2 cubic yard of 1/4 minus gravel for a 130 sq ft.
• 1 ton of charcoal quartzite flagstone.
• 650 lbs of basalt wall rock.

I ordered all the materials, except the basalt wall rock which I picked by hand, and readied myself for yet another weekend of shoveling and lifting.

On the day of installation I prepped the path. First, I marked up a bunch of stakes with three level indications:

• Ground level
• 2 in level of the 3/4 minus
• 1 in level of the 1/4 minus

By placing stakes like these all around the path I can gauge the height of the materials as I rake it out.

Next, I placed landscaping fabric as a weed-blocker and a separation between the dirt and the gravel.

Ah, perfect timing the materials are delivered right on time. Thanks, Oregon Decorative Rock on Columbia Blvd.

So, it’s important to do these next steps in two phases. First, I applied the 3/4 minus base, raked it level and tamped it down with a 10 lb hand tamper. Hey, those marked up stakes sure came in handy.

You’ll notice I decided not to use any kind of edging to hold the gravel apart from the dirt. I felt like edging was just an unnecessary added cost because I was digging the trench for the base into the ground that was already well compacted. If I was building the path above ground level and filling in around the path with loose dirt or some other material, then I’d probably feel differently.

Looks good, right? After laying the 3/4 minus, I went back and applied the 1 in layer of 1/4 minus and lightly tamped it as well.

This portion of the project, including the landscaping fabric, measuring stakes and laying down both kinds of gravel, took about 9 hours working by myself.

Setting the flagstone took FOR. EVER. They are heavy and I was constantly picking up the stones, moving them around, trying new configurations. I would make progress and lay 4 or 5  stones in a row, then have to take a few off because I couldn’t find stones which looked good continuing the design. The trick is making the placement feel random and making the pattern diverse enough so your eye doesn’t detect straight lines between the stones.

It took a total of about 26 hours over a 3 day period to lay the stones and build the rock wall.

You’ll notice there’s just dirt between the flagstones. It’s actually a mixture of compost, dirt I had left over from digging the path and 1/4 minus gravel. Also, I made sure to keep the space between the stones between 2-3 inches. I decided early on in the process that I wanted Scotch Moss and Creeping Thyme to grow between the stones. Scotch Moss for the areas of the path which receives more shade than sun and Creeping Thyme for the parts of the path which receives more sun than shade.

There I am, tired and broken, just trying to get those damn plants in the ground before I pass out from 3 straight weekends of working on this thing.

Not bad though, don’t you think?

Check out what the yard looked like when we first moved in.

The photo above was taken our first year in the house. Big difference! Honestly, I have had other hair styles…

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention. Sometimes flagstones don’t set perfectly in 1/4 minus gravel and they wobble, or they settle a little lower than the stones around them. No problem, just get a bag of paver sand at your local garden supply place, pry up the stone in question and even out the area underneath with the sand. Replace the stone and give it a wack with a rubber mallet and you’re done.

Well, that’s it. Epic path #1 done and done. There’s lots more to do, check back soon for more progress now that the rain is subsiding…kind of.

Well, our backyard has been a work in progress for about 2 years. But this Summer was time to get serious and make some real progress. After having power brought out to the garage by an electrician to set the stage for lighting etc., we decided to build a fence to enclose the backyard. We knew the fence would be an imposing design element and we felt building it first would give us a better sense of the space we have to work within, rather than trying to imagine a 6 foot tall fence when designing the garden and patio.

Let’s get into it

First, I roughed out the fence with string to try out placement and measure dimensions to calculate materials costs.

We knew we wanted to match the design of the fence we had built a couple years ago, so it was a matter of how to interpret that design to support greater privacy with the least amount of bench saw cuts. I used OmniGraffle to layout the fence to scale, which really helps with getting a good idea how much wood to buy.

Then we put up the posts and the horizontal pieces. This allows us to make final measurements for trimming the vertical slats. I can design these things to scale in the computer to 1/32 fidelity all day long, but I’m finding once I start anything I have to just keep measuring and go with the flow and revise as I go. Otherwise, you’ll go insane. Trust me on this one.

After measuring the distance between the posts and the heights of each span, It was time to cut the vertical slats.

We decided to space each slat 1/4″ apart which would make it very difficult to stain between the slats once they’re up. So, we stained the edges first.

Once dry, we stacked them up next to their respective span.

I built a spacer out of 1/4″ thick molding. A spacer is a must-have in situations like this. I made a “T” at the top so it sits on the top of the horizontal rail and butts up against the vertical I previously installed. Pre-drill the holes, twist the screws into the pre-drilled holes by hand so they’re ready to drive in with the drill and check level as you go. That’s pretty much the easiest part of this whole thing.

After all the vertical slats were up, we applied a coat of stain. Next, it was time for the double gate. Each gate door is a 2″x4″ bevel cut box frame. I found these great 90 degree angle braces at Harbor Freight Tools, which really helped when screwing together the bevels.

Rather than use a crossbar to support the weight of the frame, we used a turn buckle-based wire support. The hardware was silver so we spray painted it to match our black gate hinges.

We re-enforced the frame with “L” brackets and installed the wire support system and they’re ready to hang. My friend Kevin came by to help out.

It took 5 weekends, but now we’re at a place where we can envision all the possibilities of our backyard.

Now, it’s a blank canvas.

And it looks great from the street, too.

The plan is to stair-step the height down and continue the fence along the street side of the house. Before starting this fence project I can remember saying, “Oh, it’s not going to be that tall. We don’t want it to feel like a fortress.” Yeah, right. We want a fortress.

With the new fence separating the front yard from the sidewalk and the full sun, we decided to move all food production to the front yard. We don’t plan to plant directly in the ground (except for maybe a raspberry bush), our goal is to build a series of raised beds with pathways meandering throughout. We want a manicured look, an intentional and designed urban farm.

The first step is to smother the grass in order to have a blank canvas for the landscaping. In all the tutorials I’ve read, the easiest way to do it is lay down a thick layer of newspaper, cover it with compost and maybe mulch, keep it wet and leave it for 3 – 6 months. The newspaper decomposes and the grass is deprived of air and light. The only trouble with that plan is the newspaper, we don’t subscribe to any newspapers and I don’t know anyone that does. We could go around to all the free newspaper and ‘zine stands and take them all but that’s silly. So we bought the huge rolls of construction paper from Lowe’s, it thicker so you don’t have to have so many layers and it’s only $8 a roll. Even IKEA has rolls of paper you can use. It’s important that the paper isn’t coated, treated or waxed, for instance butcher paper wouldn’t really be the best choice.

Here’s the before shot:

We rolled out the construction paper 4 layers thick, wet it down, then spread a mixture of compost and pine mulch we’ve been amassing from our pine tree. Here’s the after shot:

Bye bye grass.

Using a stick, I tried to reach all the edges of the hole and it was only about 3 ft x 4 ft. Well, I say “only.” It’s still a big hole, 2 ft down. We decided we may as well fill it so I started digging to make the opening bigger so I can fill it up.

It’s getting bigger.

Here’s me standing in it. Even after some dirt fell in, it’s still deep.

Now that I’ve filled in the hole and the trench, I’m just soaking it with water and tamping it with a hand tamper so the dirt settles. Once I’m confident it’s done, we’ll lay our paver patio. Probably next year.

First up: borrow a friend’s truck and head out to Boring Bark and Landscape Materials in Boring Oregon. They’ve got a great selection of landscaping rocks of all kinds and a variety of bulk mulch. We had our eyes on some Montana Ledgestone.

It’s a self serve situation out there and you weigh the rocks on an old school scale.

We got the ledgestone home and started stacking.

With the wall built and the planting dirt prepped with compost, it’s time to get some plants.

We also transplanted a bunch of grasses from the side of the house.

Turned out pretty nice.

We made a little planting on the inside of the fence.

And Diana put together a container garden. All the logs you see come from the huge Catalpas we cut down.

Ok, it’s a front yard. Phase one is done. Our long term goal is to smother the grass, build some more raised beds and turn the front yard into a farm.

Old photo of our fence in the back we’re trying to match.

Also, there was plenty of lovely cedar left over from that project that we used for this new fence, so materials cost was low. But the tools costs…well, let’s just say we had to pick up a few tools of the trade.

First things first, get the posts ready. I cut up pressure treated 4″ x 4″ x 8′ into 4′ tall posts and dug the posts holes. It’s risky to cut your posts before putting them in the ground, but we were planning on trimming off the top tips of the posts with a reciprocating saw to make the top of the fence level.

Then we mixed concrete in a wheelbarrow and set the posts. That’s the first time either of us had ever mixed concrete like that.

It was easier than we thought, but we did make the mixture a bit too wet for a few posts. This caused little hairline cracks in the bases. Luckily you can buy a bottle of concrete crack filler to fix that.

Next, we cut the top and bottom horizontal rails. One of the spans we tested out the stain to see if we wanted one or two coats. This is one coat, we decided to do one more.

After the stain test, we focused on the vertical slats. It was a weekend of ripping 50 1″ x 6″ x 6′ cedar planks into 4 different widths, measuring, cutting to size, sanding, pre-drilling, and putting up boards.

It was a lot of work. Lot’s of sawdust. It felt good to start putting up those slats and our old buddy Kevin stopped by to check out the progress.

Here’s a little tip: Build yourself a little spacer to hook on the top of the fence and hang in between the slats as your putting them up. As long as the first one is plumb, the rest will be perfect.

Ok, times that by 80 and you’ve got a 35′ fence.

We decided to stain all the horizontal rails before we put up all the slats because it would be easier than trying to maneuver the brush between the slats. Next up, finishing the stain and planting the dirt area in front of the fence.

Plus, we don’t know how to pour concrete, much less pour it according to city codes, so we’d have to rely on outside help anyway. Weighing the options, we decided to call T & T Concrete to get a quote. T & T did our retaining wall a year or so ago. We definitely recommend them (971-235-6371). Ala, the owner, came by last Thursday morning, said “Ok, I can start today.” I said, “Ok.”

We came home from work and the forms were built.

We came home Friday night and the sidewalk was done.

Now, that’s fast and reliable. It says that on their trucks, fast and reliable.

Saturday morning was all about cleaning out the excess concrete from the dirt and prepping the parking strip for our trees.

As you would expect, there are many online resources regarding the best ways to plant trees. We liked this step-by-step tutorial, and this video:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Sunday was all about planting the trees. Ooooh look, here’s one now.

Trees are deceptively heavy. Once we figured out where we wanted them, we dug the holes and cut away the containers. You don’t have to cut away the containers, but it sure makes it easy to slide the trees into place.

Oh boy, look at those circling roots. It happens to trees grown in containers.

I took a hand rake and vigorously loosened the dirt and roots and spread them out so they don’t end up girdling the tree. That’s the official term, girdling. It’s a funny word. Next I gently scraped away the soil around the base of the trunk until it started to flare out towards the roots and trimmed any secondary roots that were growing wonky, crossing over the root flare etc. There was a whole segment on This Old House about how important it was to do that.

If you are planning on planting a tree in your life, watch this video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Mulch Volcanoes are bad, mmmmkay. To make sure I plant at the right level, not too deep, I laid a piece of wood across the parking strip to make sure the root flare occurred right at the dirt level.

We read many planting guides and some say to stake and tie up the tree to stabilize it and others say don’t do it. We decided to stake it, at least until the late Fall. Better to be safe than sorry.

And there you have it. This is a huge deal for us. It marks the end of an almost 6 month process. We asked our next-door neighbor’s super cute little girl to name the trees and she came up with great ones. The tree on the left, closest to the camera is Alexander and the trere of the right, farthest from the camera, is Flora.

Celebrate good times, c’mon.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Here are some of the more memorable things people have actually said.

“Hey, that looks like a lotta work!”

It’s a classic and they can say it because it’s true. It is indeed a lot of work.

“Are you digging to China?”

No. No, I’m not.

“Oh man, I used to do that. Back breaking work, man.”

Thank you, sir. I appreciate the empathy.

“I guess you don’t have to exercise today.”

We live a block away from a gym, people pass by on their way there wearing ill-fitting spandex and carrying yoga mats. They’re jealous of my body.

“Are you digging a mass grave?”

That’s offensive, ma’am. Please leave.

“YOU ARE BULLSHIT! (pointing at me) YOU ARE BULLSHIT! (pointing at Diana) YOUR YARD IS BULLSHIT! (pushing over our wheelbarrow)“

Yup, somebody actually said that to us. Granted, she was high or drunk or something and I had just called the cops because she punched another woman in the face after stopping to help her when she spilled her baby out of her stroller. She lost her balance trying to get the damn thing on the curb. Yeah, that happened. It actually happened. On Monday. For the record, our yard is not bullshit.

Ok, you’re right. I sound like a grouch. I’m mostly kidding around anyway. Mostly.

There have actually been some really heartwarming moments too. People who have lived in the area for years, sharing stories of the trees we cut down from when they were younger. Neighbors stopping by to share words of encouragement and helpful advice. They wave and smile as they drive by. The experience has really helped me to feel a part of the neighborhood and more specifically our block, like paying my dues with callouses as currency. I’ve been out there a couple evenings a week and almost every weekend for almost two months. I’m finally starting to feel at home. 3 years since buying the house, I’m starting to feel at home.

Well, two years running Terro brand liquid traps are the best. The ants eat it, take the poison back to the group and spread it around. These are the interior packs and they have an outdoor version too, which I used last year. Just place them in the path of the ants and the deed is done.

Kinda sad and gross.