Another installment in my VERY sllllooooow going tour of our home. Outside!!!

Welcome to the jungle, we got trash & weeds…well we HAD weeds.

Here’s some side by side before & afters of our landscaping…

Looking out the sliding doors in the kitchen.  The fence is about 5 ft tall….yes there was a giant weed very close to the top…taller than the kids!!

The biggest desert jungle of them all.  The south side of the house was over grown hiding the 2 AC units & cement debris from the house construction.  The landscapers put down this small, fine rock/sand type mixture. They watered it down & then came the next day with a vibrating machine to tamp it down.  It gives the concept of cement but with a rough/rocky textured top. We plan to have the kids store their toys & ride on cars back here.  Matt also hopes to build a small structure to keep some of his yard implements.

Rattlesnake alley (also known as the north side of the house) too had lots of weeds & is where we keep our trash & recycling containers.  Don’t wanna keep your trash in the garage in 120 degree heat!! GAG!  They again used the same rock material as on the south side  making a pad to park the trash containers as well as a path out the gate connecting to the drive way making it MUCH easier to get the trash & recycling out each week!!

Around the pool was nothing but rock, weeds & 2 dead palms.  The landscapers planted about 12 plants, 2 Mediterranean palms & reworked our rock & smaller boulders for a more pleasing landscape. 

 

A few of the palms they put in…

Which can grow to about 15 feet & eventually look like this:

This one was actually already in.  They trimmed it & it has doubled in branches since it’s been getting water!! Of course you can also see that some of the weeds are already coming back…they love the water too!!

 

The yard itself was…well…not a yard, but a crunchy weed path.  You know these weeds are hearty when they grow with NO water!!  The landscapers removed the weeds, worked the ground a bit & then fertilized.  They also redid some of the irrigation & sprinkler lines that were needing repaired.  Matt added seed, additional fertile soil & lots of water with in 2 weeks we’ve seen lots of change!!

 

The front was already well planted.  The workers trimmed the original plants, added a few new ones, trimmed trees & placed some new boulders.  A little harder to see in the pictures b/c of the sun & shadows..

 

 

In the picture above you can see a section of the path that connects to the driveway.  Below is the rest of it that path the tree was hiding.    

I’m so excited for all the bushes to start blooming.  The most unique is this red one we planted one by the pool & one by the front door.

                  

Despite being in the desert there’s lots of color…it just comes from bushes rather than grass! :) The one in the middle remains green but is bright green and almost looks fake!!

  

We have several of this first one in the front and now in the back.  It blooms a red almost feather like blooms in the spring.  Then we have rosemary.  It’s very fragrant.

Another one that remains green  & doesn’t bloom, but is a very bright green with a coarse look to it.  The last is almost a gray/green bush that blooms a very light purple.

 

I love this bright yellow in our AZ landscape…but we’ll never forget the blue & red of KS!! :)

  

We love the results!!  These lil critters love it too!! They have been frequent visitors in the AM sunning themselves on the wall and drinking the water from the morning sprinkler system run off.

Time for a swim party & BBQ…on Matt’s new grill he somehow worked into this transformation. :)

Isaac I’m afraid will be very sad that the landscapers are gone.  For what ever reason he LOVED the guy & always wanted the guy to hold him.  He cried when he left & was always trying to give him kisses!!! Silly boy.