I am gonna AW this here too

[Deleted]

I just posted this in the H&G May challenge, but wanted to be an even bigger AW and post it here too.  We did a ton of work this spring and the backyard is pretty much done.  We will be turning the back porches into real rooms (heating and cooling and insulation) but we are going to enjoy this for awhile before we take on another big project.  

He "befores" are what we did last year.  The real before was grass and a chain link fence.

before:


after:


Hopscotch before:


Hopscotch after with veggie garden and more thyme:


Splash pad before:


Splash pad and veggie garden after. We had to add rocks for drainage and so we didn't cut the turf with the mower. We also did a rainbow garden around the splash pad.




Containers:








New pillows for the chairs:



Birdhouses, we have more to paint to fill in:



DH also added rope lighting under the fence cap, which glows at night.

[fuckyourcouch]

gorgeous! i really like all the color. and i love your fence.

[WOT?*]

Wow that looks amazing. I love your back fence. I might take a few cues from this (like the hopscotch where we are planning stepping stones. What a great idea for the girls! And I love that you have a splash pad.) Your back yard looks like a fun playland.

[Deleted]

The fence was actually really easy to do, relative to diy fences, and less expensive than vertical slats. If anyone wants info on it, let me know. I even did the CAD drawings for permitting.

[LLL]

Great job. I love the fence and birdhouses!

[LauraMoser]

I love your fence! I will have to show DH to see if he would like something similar when we put our fence up (hopefully next year). Your yard looks great!

[ginandjucie24]

Looks great! I love love the bird houses , what a great idea!

[Deleted]

I love EVERYTHING about this backyard!

[LauraMoser]

Jun 5, 2013 12:26:01 GMT -5 rehabaddict said:

The fence was actually really easy to do, relative to diy fences, and less expensive than vertical slats. If anyone wants info on it, let me know. I even did the CAD drawings for permitting.

Can you PM me the info pretty please?! Thanks! And about how much did it cost, like by 6 foot (or whatever length) sections?

[polka]

Great job!

[pursemeatballs]

Your yard is seriously amazing! (star)

[julez]

Beautiful! I love the birdhouses especially.

[Deleted]

I would love to come play in your backyard.

Love all the bright colors, especially the birdhouses.

I also really love the flowers in the trunk.

[amberlyrose]

I love all the color!! It seems so cheerful!

[Deleted]

Jun 5, 2013 12:55:17 GMT -5 @beachgal said:

I would love to come play in your backyard.

Love all the bright colors, especially the birdhouses.

I also really love the flowers in the trunk.

We should have an ML Splash pad party!

Thank you, the trunk is actually an old tool box of my dad's (who just passed away).  He owned his own construction company so it is special to me.  I love having things back there that remind me of him.  I just planted moon flowers and cannot wait for them to come up, he loved moon flowers. 

[Deleted]

Jun 5, 2013 12:25:27 GMT -5 kevin arnold said:

I love your fence! This is awesome! Can I come over and play on the splash pad?

Sure, do I need to get plastic wine glasses?  Rumor has it you can get pretty wild