External Remodeling

After we bought the house, we replaced only a few things: the roof, a front door, some windows, a new oven, and remodeled the Entry Hall. I have also been through the entire house and re-painted all walls and trim. But that is really all we have done. I am in the process of parging the basement walls, and I painted the concrete floor in the basement last autumn. But raising the kids, busy schedules, and etc have kept us from really doing what we’d like to do with the place all at once.

So, in the meantime, I gardened.

As with the house, the large yard was left untended for a long period of time. It has been a constant battle to reclaim and domesticate the flora and fauna here. Everything we try to do has seemed like such a struggle, from the wild deer that chew up all my shrubs to the neighbor’s grandkids playing “lumberjack” with my new young spruce trees to the massive run-off flooding we have here. It has been a huge fight just to cultivate the land.

Below are few pictures of some things we have done.

Early on, we built a fence to hedge in the front yard. Apparently, our property was a favorite place for snowmobilers and motorcyclers to rip up the lawn by driving in circles around the trees.

Here is our youngest, working on his PHD (post-hole digger).

This is my vegetable garden. I am very proud of it. The deer and rabbits love it, too.

Last July’s big flood wiped out half of my vegetables. I am glad I got a shot of them before they were swept away.

Gardens are beautiful. I never thought I’d be a gardening “nut,” but there is something so satisfying about sowing a plant and watching it grow to become something beautiful and beneficial. Below is a picture of my sunflowers that grew to be 10 feet tall.

I have planted flowers beds (mostly low-care perennials) in small areas around the yard. Because new beds require so much weeding at first, they are still in the process of looking good. I built this arbor and my husband and I secured it to the ground. I also laid a stone pathway with the numerous rocks I have around the yard. Eventually I will redo the walkway with Quikrete’s concrete mold.

Gardening has been a terrific, if exhausting, outlet for me. For the kids, too.

One has so many backyard garden options these days. There are backyard playsets that can turn your back yard into an excellent play area for the children. Getting a pergola can turn it into an admirable piece of architecture. One can also get decks if his nature is more adventure loving. There are a lot of garden variety designs out there, a different one for everyone.