We finally have a fence! We have been working on plans for the back yard since we moved into our house in August 2011 and we now have some progress. We still have a lot of work to do out there, but it feels good to get something solid done. Some days living in a house full of projects seems overwhelming – Especially when Chris and I have pretty full lives and a learning curve for each project that comes our way…Here are some before and after photos so far:

*The Back Yard Before We Moved In (I was too chicken to walk back there)

*And Now

*View From Above, (With Metal Awning)

Chris did a lot of research and decided on Northern White Cedar for the fence. A1 Fence is not in our area, but they have a good description of cedar use for fences here. Our contractor ended up getting our wood from Minnesota. We like the non-chemical and low-maintenance aspects of the cedar. It smells lovely and weathers well without painting – and withstood the hurricane winds quite nicely. Chris also devised a crazy contraption to sift the debris out of the soil. (A post on that will come). We hadn’t realized how much trash was out there when we moved in – What the heck were people doing out there?

*Some Debris From the Back

When all of the trash is out of the soil we plan to lay out sod in the spring and eventually Chris will build a play house for the girls using the scraps of fence and bricks from a previous project. The girls and I planted bulbs and bushes right before the storm hit last week. The plants seem to have weathered it quite well and we cannot wait to see green back there come spring! We ordered from Spring Hill Nurseries and White Flower Farms and all of our plants came at the right planting times per our zone requirements. We are gardening virgins here, but we are dreaming of these blooms next year: Hyacinth, Tulip, Iris, Lilac, Peony, Helleborus, Narcissus, Fritillaria, and Lilies. Hooray for future plans!