Backyard update!!!

Well, you might have remembered from a few weeks ago when my backyard looked like the dumping grounds for the rest of the community below…

It was sad, barren, dry and lonely. Nothing but beige and brown and the hints of green weed accents that nobody wants to ever see. It was like this for the last 2 1/2 years before we finally got around to putting something together. Like I mentioned in my previous post for my backyard – I just didn’t have the time nor the idea to start anything and I hate to start something without a vision.

Shortly after, we made huge progress. The pergola was up, I still had about 200 lbs or more of rocks, weeds, and other debris that needed to go as you can see…

Well, fast forward to a few weeks and it’s finally complete! Yard work is a no joke – it looks easy – I mean, dig 4 holes, put the posts in, drill some other boards together and voila! Negative… It is back breaking, it is sweat-inducing and it is tiresome, but it’s all worth it in the end.

Here is the finished product… Well like 99%. The last 1% is waiting for the grass seams to grow in and for it to root properly into the ground and turn green!

Laying the 1650 sq ft of grass was no easy feat either. The task itself is simple, but doing the work is brutal. Getting the grass, hauling it off the truck, bringing it 70 ft to the backyard, then rolling it out. Repeat.

I want to spend a few minutes just giving a huge thanks to Punit for spending his weekends and every ounce of physical strength he had in helping me put the pergola together, and laying the grass. There was no way in hell I could have finished any of this without the help of Punit. From using a two-man auger for the first time, to carrying roll after roll of sod to the back while he was sick – he never once complained and we kept chugging along. Thanks to Gopesh for lending another helping hand and for helping to carry a total of over 6000 lbs of sod in his truck to the house and for working like it’s also your damn yard. Thanks to JC for coming and completing all the small details and helping us get the little things that seem like they don’t matter – but actually play a big part in the big picture…

Anyway, I just want to share a few pics of how it all looks… It’s almost time to reap the benefits once the grass settles in!

The awesome pergola – we also decided to put up a hammock on one side for more relaxation space…

A shot of pergola set up. I’m thinking of one more swinging hammock… but this will do for now.

One of our favourite additions were these solar LED mini lanterns. You’d be surprised how difficult it is to source these the way I wanted them. I literally only wanted white lantern balls made of weatherproof nylon, a solar panel, and LED bulbs – is that too much to ask?! I guess so because after searching every corner of the internet, the one place that had it was IKEA surprisingly. The bulbs themselves were literally almost sold out at the store and the lanterns were back ordered so we waited about 3 weeks for them. After about a month – we got them up and they look awesome.

One last shot of the yard. We added stepping stones from the house to the pergola with some LED solar lights to illuminate the path. Near the back, we have a mini 7 gallon pink spire tree that eventually grows to an awesome looking cherry blossom tree with some red and silver shrubs in the other corner.

All in all – lots of sweat went into this and it all came together with the help of friends and family. FINALLY!!!