I swooned a little bit when I woke up this morning. Why? Because despite my black thumb, it appears that we've got some things that are actually GROWING! I now have a couple of little red strawberries, and most exciting, we are starting to actually have some grass, even if right now it looks more like moss! Keep in mind, our backyard is still a total disaster...and as much as I want it done fast, I saw how much work the front yard was for J, and the back will be even worse. Have I talked about our backyard before? Here's the situation--we bought a foreclosure, and when we purchased the house, the quarter acre out back was basically a compost pile. The previous owners had tossed cardboard boxes, swimming pools, and more out back. Most of it has decomposed, but it's still a rocky, weedy, mess. Now, we have almost a foot drop off from out back patio to our yard, so we were thinking that we could just bring in new topsoil and dump it over our composty-trashy backyard. PS- Topsoil is expensive. It's like $22 a YARD. And we need a lot of yards.
But now J thinks that we might need to excavate the backyard, THEN bring in topsoil, THEN seed. And we're hesitant to do that since we still have (and will continue to have) more medical expenses than ever now that I'm only single covered by insurance....to remix my allergy shot medicine alone it's several thousand dollars! But still....*whine*....I want a summer back yard!!!
Yay for having something grow! Our front yard did ok when we seeded and added soil. The back half did great, and the front half so so. I'll probably try to seed again, but because it's so hot already we may have to wait until September. I'm hoping it will fill in some.
ReplyDeleteFor the backyard - you don't really need topsoil for all of it. If you need to level it off I'd use something less expensive (like fill dirt) and then lay down a layer of topsoil. I'd also look on Craigslist and see if you could find some free fill dirt. We have some areas that need leveling around our house and that's what we're planning on doing.
Good luck with everything!
You could also maybe add a stair down...I am not really sure what your patio looks like or if this would be less expensive\easier than filling it in with dirt, but it's a thought.
ReplyDeleteAnd just for you info, my parents have a pretty awesome grass spread outside our house. Sometime back in the early 70's my Dad just started mowing over weeds and has just kept at it. Maybe a temporary solution would be smart, especially since I can sense your need to have a backyard and to have it now!
P.S. Yay for the strawberries! :D
Pardon the typos, ... I meant for YOUR info first of all, and also if you needed a temp. solution LIKE WHAT MY DAD DID hehe. I need dinner. :D
ReplyDeleteYeah for growing stuff! I am excited that I have some stuff growing too.
ReplyDelete(I am sorry about the medical bills and everything. There are always things coming up - doesn't it seem like that? Good luck with the back yard.)
Yay for growth! Life prevails, no matter what its caretaker might do.
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