Back yard

[darkemeralds]

After today, the only thing lacking for me to be able to go from my kitchen through a clean, tidy, non-leaking mudroom into a well-groomed and attractive outdoor living room in the back yard is the door itself.



Up to last week, I had this:


and this:


And now I've got this:


and this:


and this!

(let me tell you, setting up that fountain is a bitch. It weighs about 200 pounds.



A neighborhood landscape company did a lot of the heavy lifting, and there's still some planting to go (jasmine is proposed as a vining cover for the lattice, and I could probably still spend a small fortune in brightly colored annuals and make the space into a parade float) but mostly, it's done, and as soon as I have my damn door I'll be able to proceed directly from coffee-pot to outdoor table on the few weekend mornings I've got left before autumn sets in.

Comments

[donutsweeper]

Wow, what a beautiful place you've got there!

[darkemeralds]

Thank you! I've missed having it available, and have hated glimpsing the garbage-y jungle it became over the last couple of years. I'm sitting out in it right now, pretending that it's a hot summer night, rather than the spookily autumnal-feeling evening that we're actually having.

[donutsweeper]

I am jealous of your lovely weather and lovely space

[darkemeralds]

We're definitely having a green tomato summer here, which I prefer over heat any day, but it IS a bit weird-feeling to be considering the down comforter in August.

[bluemeridian]

Woot! Reclaimed!

[darkemeralds]

Precisely! That's just the word for it. I'm delighted. And determined not to let it go wild again.

[(Anonymous)]

From Leaf: This whole Project Empty is just excellent. (And inspiring! -- as it has been from the beginning.)
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[darkemeralds]

Oh, hello! I'm guessing you won't see this, but in case you do: thanks for stopping by.

[ruric]

Wow that's a lot of progress!

[darkemeralds]

Yeah, it took a few weeks and involved paying other people, but hell. I've paid my DIY dues over the years and am now happy to sit on the sidelines till the heavy lifting is done, and follow with the relatively easy stuff like paint and flowers.

[kis]

Ooh, that's lovely. What a difference a bit of trellis makes!

[darkemeralds]

It's made all the difference in disguising that glaring white garage wall. By next summer, I expect to have it pretty well covered with jasmine. But at least for your visit (assuming it warms up enough to sit outdoors again!), we'll be able to sit out there without sunglasses.

[writerscramp]

LOVE IT! Looks terrific and I'm so excited for you that your cozy little outdoor retreat is back in order. Just outside your sweet little kitchen, and here's this little oasis. Just lovely.

[darkemeralds]

I'm about ready to go nuts for lack of a door between the two, but Ed assures me that it's coming the day after tomorrow. Yay!

[lyr]

Oooh, how pretty! All that work has really made such a charming outdoor space.

I have similar trellises, upon which I grow a combination of assorted color morning glories and moonflowers. I love that something is blooming at any hour of the day or night.

[darkemeralds]

Morning glories! Great idea. I LOVE those dark, glowing, electric-blue ones.

Do you have any trouble controlling them? I worry about them taking over.

[lyr]

I do have to wind them back onto the trellises when they try to escape, which tends to happen about once a month in the spring. It's not too much work, really.

[darkemeralds]

Good to know. I'm looking forward to giving them a try next spring. Thanks for the suggestion. It's a great one.