
I worked out back on Tuesday for seven hours straight. (I got a babysitter to come in the morning for four hours, then Claire took a two hour nap, and then she helped me for an hour.) Then I spent a couple more hours out there yesterday.
My most recent frenzy for backyard improvement is because Joe and Lorraine replaced the bit of fence between their backyard and our driveway. It's so fresh and pretty and new that it made me want to work on the side and back, which I've largely neglected this season. (We've got sunflower seeds and cosmos planted in front of the fence, so hopefully we'll get some of those in a few weeks.)
First of all, I painted the wall out back. I've planted Blushing Bride hydrangeas to replace the old sombreuil climbing roses I finally pulled down because they just didn't get enough sun in the backyard to do well. The hydrangeas will eventually get four or even five feet tall, and obscure most of the wall, but that will take a couple years. In the meantime, I was tired of looking at the gray cinderblocks!
The gallon of paint the kids used up on Monday didn't cover the entire wall, and as they painted I realized I'd need to go two shades darker . . . it was too light and institutional-looking. (But they had so much fun painting. They were hilarious.)
When I finished I was afraid it was still a bit too light, but it's grown on me and now I like it. It's actually a sage color called Shy Blossom. This is off a Glidden paint strip I go way back with. :)
My last bedroom and my current bedroom are painted Morning Blend, and my old craft room in Virginia had a gingham wall that was Pastel Sage and Shy Blossom. They're all greens off this same paint strip. Our family room in Virginia and our dining room here were also each Pastel Sage for about 24 hours each. (They both ultimately ended up yellow!)
The first gallon we stuck on the wall Monday was supposedly Pastel Sage, but I really think the guy gave me Morning Blend. (I may have mumbled my order.) Anyway, now it's Shy Blossom, and it's done, and yay. It looks sage-i-er (less minty) in real life.

Then I ripped out the roses in front of this other wall and did a bunch of weeding and pruning and put down mulch.

I still need to plant hydrangeas over here in front of the other wall and paint it, but I can't do much until the peach tree stops peaching and we can either prune it or cut it down, because I can't get back there to do the wall. And I need to cut back the vine crawling over from the other side of the wall. So for now, mulch it is. I got the color-enhanced mulch that won't turn gray. (I didn't want to use cocoa mulch back here because of the dog.)
So I'm kind of back to where I was two (or was it three?) summers ago, when I ripped everything out. But that's okay. Live and learn. :)
Then I turned my attention to the small yucky scary alcove behind the garage and telephone pole. I've never shown it to you before because it's small, yucky, and scary. :) Claire and I are turning it into a little secret garden.
Here, let me orient you. This is coming into my backyard from the driveway. The detached garage is on the left, and the house is on the right.

See the phone pole ahead? It's hard to design around a phone pole. :)
But I try. I will train the mandevilla vine on the trellis.


The yucky scary alcove behind the garage (to the left of the phone pole) was full of some rickety old shelves, a big bag of leftover pea gravel from a different project, some used paint cans, a bunch of ivy that crawled all over the walls, the cast-iron sink we removed from the kitchen when we remodeled it, and some of my favorite little garden friends, black widows. So I put on my thick gloves, got a spider-smashing shoe and some spider-killing spray (one can never be too prepared), and cleared it all out. Then I painted the wall. Then, feeling too lazy to move the bag of pea gravel, I just decided to use it. First I put down three stepping stones, and then poured the pea gravel around it. The sink wasn't going anywhere, either (it weighs over 200 pounds) so I used it as a planter.
I think we'll paint some little things to decorate the walls this coming week. I think it'll be cute when it's done. I'll have to spray for spiders every week (I know they're hiding back there in the ivy) but it'll be a good little place for Claire to come water her impatiens.

And now when you're sitting in the chairs, the view behind the phone pole isn't so ugly.

I also tidied up the driveway a bit (this is the other side of the gate you came through a minute ago). That's the other red adirondack chair and little side table, which I just sprayed with clear enamel this morning.

And I hung some flowers off the shower's soap dish.
For the record, I should mention that when I woke up Wednesday morning after seven hours the previous day of painting, weeding, mulching, planting, and working up a sweat, I could barely get out of bed. Did you know I'm an old lady? It's true.
:D
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