The Big Weekend

So this weekend we took on the ambitious project of relandscaping our backyard. When I say 'relandscape' this is a slight misnomer as we never had any landscaping! We have always been daunted by the prospect of planting these large planters but when Nicole and Toby said they would be willing to come over and help we needed to jump on the offer of help.
The work really began Thursday. With the help of a borrowed rotortill I tilled soil that has not been turned over in at least 8 years. The ground although soaked the night prior was hard as concrete and my body absorbed quite a beating from the till bouncing off the soil.


By Friday afternoon I had the kids helping prepare the playgound for it's overhaul. We had tilled the soil under the playground with the goal of relocating about 5 wheelbarrow loads to the side yard as there were some gaps in the fence line. The kids enjoyed working hard in the dirt and by the time April got off work we had already laid down 100 feet of weed barrier under the playground. When I April got off work we were pretty pumped for the weekend and went to the Depot to buy all the supplies we would need (what a joke, we were back to HomeDepot or Lowes 4 more times this weekend). Here is what we purchased this weekend to complete the project:


18 x Roses Bushes
12 x Lavender Plants
12 x ?? Small Purple Ground Cover (can't remember the name)
2 x Large Fountain Grass Plants
44 x 2 cubic feet bags of bark for covering the playground floor
25 x 2 cubit feet bags of mulch for planter beds
5 x bags of soil amendment for roses
10 x bags of soil amendment for general planting
2 x bags of potting soil
900 sqft of weed guard
14 bubblers for sprinkler heads
1 new shovel
2 pairs of gardening gloves
25 x 1 GPH Drippers
50ft of 1/4" drip line hose
100 ft of 1/8" drip line
Red Hot Blue Glue
4 x 3' rebar
2 x gardening trowels
Dripline pressure valve (really important)
30 feet of PVC
Countless numbers of random PVC joints


So with an early bed time on Friday night for the big day we woke at 6AM (thanks Belle!) and got to work. First on the project list was burrowing a tunnel under the walkway to pull over a dedeicated line for the purpose of watering the rose bushes. This is a grand pain in the ass project but in an hour we were in business.

Next up was finishing laying the weed barrier under the playground and putting the bark in place. Bark under the swingset will help greatly reduce the water we pour onto the swingset which is eating up the wood too quickly and it has always been difficult getting grass to grow under the swings.

While working on putting in the drip line Belle had a great time helping dig in the mud!
















The kids had a lesson on how to put in a sprinkler system which hopefully will sever them well for years to come. I still am a firm believer in sand papering the joints (even if Toby says it is not necessary).

Then a long day of turning soil, fixing sprinklers, adding amendment, planting, laying mulch and borders... I can't believe we finished in one day and I really can't beleive how sore I am.

For more photos visit http://www.freewebs.com/omahareimers/apps/photos/