Almost finished A LOT of landscaping

[Descartes]

I'm happy with the results, so I thought I'd share.

We have a fair amount of land that backs up to what used to be a forest. As a result, a lot of the land was sloped. We decided to excavate that area and put in a retaining wall with a patio, water feature/creek, tiered vegetable garden and a courtyard on the side of the house along with our existing patio.

So, here are the results with pics from my iPhone. I'll get better pics once it's done.

Pic 1. The dog just started checking it out.

Pic 2. Better lighting.

There's still a lot of planting to do, cleanup, sod, leveling, etc. etc. The areas that look like sand will be covered with sod or flower beds. A solid 3 more days of work, easily, but it's starting to come together.

[edit]

Put down the mulch, new pine straw in areas, planted all the trees, flowers, etc. There's still some more work to do, but it's coming together.

The areas look sparse now, but in a new growing season everything will look more lush. Just takes a little time.

Overall shot. Again, once everything grows you won't be seeing much of the pine mulch.

Closer shot of the steps, pansies and the wall itself. If you look closely, you can see we actually put some plants in the wall itself. Given a little time, it should be a nice look.

That's it for now. I have to refrain from seeing more things to do. I'm going to leave it as is for a while.

[/edit]

 

[BZeto]

That looks really good. What's going in the flat space?

 

[JohnCU]

fuckin nice dude :thumbsup:

 

[Rudee]

I'm not crazy about the rock pathway. I think it would of been better if you used flatter stones which would not move around so much when walked on. The rest looks fine though.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: Rudee
I'm not crazy about the rock pathway. I think it would of been better if you used flatter stones which would not move around so much when walked on. The rest looks fine though.

Which rock pathway? The stuff on the right? That's a "river"/creek/water feature. We haven't converted it into a full water feature as of yet. Right now it just directs water away from the patio.

 

[destrekor]

Damn, that looks like a nice addition to a yard!
:thumbsup:

Is that level rock surface going to be treated like a patio of sorts, with chairs and whatnot?

And that sloped rock surface? Is that going to be the water feature you mentioned? Where else is that going to go?

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: BZeto
That looks really good.

Thanks.

What's going in the flat space?

Haven't decided completely. We're going mainly for comfort rather than trend/cool factor, so I may even throw a hammock out there

For shade, we're either going with a pergola, gazebo or something along those lines. That'll follow after this is all complete.

 

[moshquerade]

I want to see it when the water is added. Looking good so far though.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: destrekor
Damn, that looks like a nice addition to a yard!
:thumbsup:

Is that level rock surface going to be treated like a patio of sorts, with chairs and whatnot?

Yessir. We have an existing patio on the side of the house, so we may just move some of our furniture over there. As I mentioned in my last post, we had tentatively planned on a pergola. We're really not sure yet, but there will be a lot of seating space, lighting, etc. for entertainment.

And that sloped rock surface? Is that going to be the water feature you mentioned? Where else is that going to go?

Yep. Right now it's just a dry creek. It's hard to tell in the picture, but the land slopes heavily on that side. Water tends to run from the top down into the yard, and from there in two different directions out toward the street or into the neighboring yard. This was to keep the water from eroding the wall.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

Well done, it's looking very nice.

 

[compman25]

I generally think plants look better when they're in the ground.

 

[skyking]

Nice, very nice. Did you stack the wall too?

 

[mryellow2]

A hot tub would be so awesome where the flat space is.

 

[andy04]

W

 

[andy04]

O

 

[andy04]

W

 

[imported_Imp]

Love it.

Assuming you didn't "design" the wall: I just hope those rocks hold. The slope is fine, but rain, snow, a surcharge caused by whatever's behind the fence might cause a problem.

 

[GodlessAstronomer]

Looks nice. Little OT, but do iPhone photos always look like that or did you PP them? That horrible glow effect looks awful.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: Imp
Love it.

Assuming you didn't "design" the wall: I just hope those rocks hold. The slope is fine, but rain, snow, a surcharge caused by whatever's behind the fence might cause a problem.

Right. The design was ultimately dictated by the stones we chose at the quarry.

Those stones are 1 to 2 tons each. They're not going anywhere. The smaller stones are mortared. The flagstone patio stones are about 6' each and have polymetric sand in between the joints on a granite sand base.

Atlanta doesn't get much snow, so the rain was the primary reason for the design.

Also, the slope is compressed, so it's not so much a retaining wall as it is simply a wall; it's not retaining anything really. There's a fabric behind to further prevent erosion, weeds, etc.

But yes, if it doesn't hold we're in for some trouble. There's about 12 tons in the wall alone.

 

[FP]

That's funny. I am just starting a big manscaping job... I am guessing it will take a few weeks.

pic1

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: GodlessAstronomer
Looks nice. Little OT, but do iPhone photos always look like that or did you PP them? That horrible glow effect looks awful.

It was just the way the sun hit it. The iPhone doesn't seem to handle high light conditions very well.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: mryellow2
A hot tub would be so awesome where the flat space is.

Yep, we've talked about it. We'd probably just put one on the other patio though as it's closer to the house. Still not sure what we'll do, but it sure was peaceful out there tonight even if it is unfinished.

 

[Squisher]

Very nice. One of these days maybe I'll get around to doing something with my yard.

What are the pointy trees in the pots in the back? They look too feathery to be Alberta Spruces.

 

[Descartes]

Originally posted by: Squisher
Very nice. One of these days maybe I'll get around to doing something with my yard.

What are the pointy trees in the pots in the back? They look too feathery to be Alberta Spruces.

Carolina Sapphire Cypress. They have a nice Blue Spruce like color, grow fast and are fairly hardy. We also have some Crape Myrtle, Magnolia, American Holly and Pines of all kinds. I thought the blue color would break up the more typical colors you see from Leyland Cypress, Green Giants, etc.

 

[rh71]

nothin more comfortable than a nice big, clean, & organized yard.