DIY Front Yard Slam

Hubby and I spent all day working in the garden, yesterday and we really feel like we are FINALLY putting a dent in it. It has taken forever and it is has been a long painful road, complete with a shoulder injury, for my husband that required physical therapy, and having to pull the path out and re-do the weed barrier after he recovered, when weeds took over the half-finished pathway. We made sure to do the best we could so hopefully we are not doing this a third time a year or so from now!

Here is the "before" picture for the day...

You can see the hill on the right has the black weed barrier showing. Now check out the "after" shot...

I added another large rock to retain my hill and covered the entire hill with gravel.

Hubby finished painting the front door AND stuccoing the base of the house on the left so he was anxious to lay down weed barrier and pick a ground cover for the garden. So super-proud of him! He is learning so much along the way and is doing such a great job! I'm so happy that we found some harmony in this type of work together. 

Hubby and I used to work together on projects, professionally, and that is really where our amazing friendship came from. I'm so glad we have this, again. I never want it to end! (I don't think I have to worry, with this run down house and endless list of projects to do).

We really like the river rock. It is a nice contrast and texture. Now that plant just needs to grow, already!

Woohoo! Hubby made me a cocktail!

It is 1/2 Martinelli's Blood Orange Sparkling drink and 1/2 Treehugger Brut Champagne. Sooooo delicious and hit the spot! (The toddler was at grandma's and grandpa's for the day) - does it get any better than this?

YES! 

My neighbor treated me to a harmonica concert (see him on the left, below) while hubby was sanding the screen door in the back! The kid has some talent. I definitely enjoyed it while I worked on the meandering path (lower right)

What do you think?

There is still some serious square footage to cover, but we need to pick out some plants, some pavers, dig up some weeds, more stucco and more ground cover needed, too. *sigh*

What's to come with all of that? Well, the plan is to have a small courtyard with comfy seating to encourage our neighbors to come and drink wine with us as the sun goes down :) I think it is going to be lovely... someday.