Transforming Our Side Yard
It’s happening. Our funky old side yard has been dismantled and the fresh new elements are getting installed.
It’s a steep space, and it took some planning, but our contractor and his crew have risen to the task.
Brand new redwood decks are taking the place of two saggy, broken-down concrete landings. One of the two decks is at the main floor just outside our TV room. The other is at the lower level just outside my office. I can see it from my desk as I sit here and write.
Mid-Century Dilapidation
The treacherously uneven concrete stairs have been brought up to code. And, in the planting beds on each side of the stairs, a series of tidy retaining walls have replaced the slapdash brick walls somebody installed sometime in the middle of the 20th century.
The work will be done soon, and when it is, I’ll give you a tour of the new spaces — backyard and side yard, top to bottom.
Almost there!
The backyard is getting redo as well. Read about that at “When a Widow Laughs. Or, a Backyard Work in Progress.” Want to see a really spectacular garden? Go to “Point and Shoot Heaven: Photographing a Flower Garden Just Before Dusk.”
For a tour of the finished stairs and landings, go to “Come Take a Walk.”
Mural was the first thing that came to my mind, too! Of course, checking with the neighbors ….
I have a great friend who’s a muralist – she might be able to give you some tips on how to get started if you are artistic yourself …. Fran Valesco!
What a great tip. But I have decided on creeping fig for that concrete wall, which has bugged me since we moved into this house 43 years ago. I like the plant’s shapely leaves and the compact way it stays close to the walls it grows on. In my yard, this will leave a little space in front of the creeping fig for other plants. Maybe the bearded iris I wrote about so ecstatically back in 2012! Read about that at — https://barbarafalconernewhall.com/2012/05/08/purple-bearded-irises-close-up-and-very-personal/
I found some pictures of Fran Valesco’s work at https://sites.google.com/site/francesvalescoart/portfolio-1 Nice stuff.
Barbara,
Your progress in restoring your side stairway is stunning! I never thought about this walkway in the past, Now it looks like something out of Sunset Magazine. You have done so well with this. Keep up the good work.
Tony
This was more my project than Jon’s. He rarely used the side stairs or the backyard walkway. But I think that’s because both were so uneven and dangerous. I like to think that with the safer steps and a good handrail, that he might have enjoyed paying our yards a visit. Maybe planting some herbs for Jon the Cook would have lured him into that space!
The concrete wall……crazy ideas: A local artist’s soothing mural, espaliered trees agaiinst a sky blue wall, climbing ivy……..
OK. Two votes for a mural! My landscape designer suggest climbing fig or star jasmine. It’s my neighbors’ wall, so I have to watch out not to damage it.
Know any artists? That wall would be perfect for a nice mural or something. Or…maybe Banksy will visit?
What a nice improvement to your side yard. Looks like it was a lot of work. Thinking of you often.
Diane
What a thought! A mural!
Herb garden!!!
Great idea. Especially in a spot right outside the door.