When my wife and I first bought our home, the first thing we told our Real Estate agent was, we want a home that doesn't have a big backyard. I was fresh out of school, ready to work, no kids, or pets. I had no need for any backyard. Times have changed, I care more, still no kids, but I have a dog. I wish we had a big backyard. Below are just a few photos from the backyard renovation. The task took longer than I thought because it was a lot of trial and error, availability of time, and thinking about what I actually wanted to do. It's not quite the level of Southern Living, but I'm still proud of it.
The above two photos are shots of our backyard when we first got the house. At first my wife and I couldn't figure out why the previous owner would put a random pole (picture 1) in the ground. Could it be a flower pot holder? Bird feeder? And of all places, why is it in the middle of the yard? We were baffled.
The above two photos are transitional times. I managed to take up all the weeds, lay down new topsoil, and tried to plant fescue seed (mistake#1, I wish I planted bermuda in the beginning). For the most part, our yard began looking normal. There was grass, no weeds, and no random pole in the ground.
But something weird happened. When it rained, even a little bit, our yard began to puddle. On occasion, I'd look outside and thought this was the second coming of the Cahaba river. So why is this happening? And how could I fix it? Eventually, my friend gave me the idea to use a french drain to get rid of the excess water. This is probably my favorite part of the backyard. French drains are great because they take excess water and funnel it away from our yard, while at the same time soaking the soil because of the irrigated pipe.
Here is the final result! Finally right? I hope you enjoy.
