Before and After

Today W and I made multiple trips to Lowe's in Mebane and spent about five hours outside working on various projects. I planted the geranium, phlox, Sweet William, honeysuckle, sweet potatoe vine, and some other items that I can't remember the name of. There is also a new plot in the backyard garden where we may see some watermelons in about 2 months! I love my Mantis rototiller!

W worked all day to begin implementation of our plan for an entertainment worthy back patio. You may remember the back of our house and porch looked like this upon move in....

Of course we added the gate about two weeks later for the sake of our puppies. Then came many plants and the herb garden. But we discovered that in the heat of the summer, the tar patio is too hot...and too small. We want some space for a table and chairs for al fresco dining. W has been trying to convince me of the need to rip off the side stairs that now walk down to nearly nothing except the gate between the house and garage. There is no room for the grill and hose holder. I thought the idea sounded good but I was worried about the outcome. I need not have feared. W is extremely handy with a power tool (and he has been thinking this through for about two months.) He put in a railing between the house and post. Then he spent many hours removing the side stairs and finishing the remaining side. Sometime this week we will put in some lattice on the side to keep the puppies and inebriated houseguests out of the under porch area. Here are some photos of the nearly finished results...

Yes, he did this all in about 3 hours and helped me dig a few holes too!

Now we're ready for bids for our brick patio and walkways to the two gate entries - W's summer project...