Black Yard

It's starting to look a little like our old backyard. The Mister and I stood staring at our newly stained black fence last weekend and we could not help but be reminded of the direction our first patio had taken several years ago. At that time, we had a mush mash of patio furniture, made up of different styles, colors and conditions, but had found that when we unified all the elements in a single color - then black, it sort of all came together like we had purchased the pieces specifically with that design in mind. 

Fast forward to our new yard- more spacious, with beds we are now free to landscape as we wish and a  sparkling blue pool down the center. Though worlds away from what we had, the addition of our new black fence still had us reminiscing. 

Perhaps its also because we have charcoal furniture and accessories earmarked for our in-progress patio this summer. Regardless, we certainly have a specific aesthetic and have embraced it in our new home as well.  

There are certainly plenty of people who share our love of black in the yard.

Black is a dramatic compliment to chartreuse, emerald amber and icy blue colored foliage. We are using all of these shades against our 'slate' colored fence.

Black patio chairs with charcoal gray cushions will create a moodier feel around the turquoise waters of our pool by summer as well. Like the picture above though, we'll offset all that darkness with warm wood in the outdoor bar, table tops and a patio sectional we are looking to build ourselves.

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Modern Wood Tiered Planter Boxes

You and I have some catching up to do. I have so much to share and I promise that this week its going to happen. Lots of progress on the ol' homestead in recent weeks and I've been working hard to keep up with my camera.  Today, I want to share progress on the tiered planter beds I mentioned in an earlier post. I had a feeling they would come together rather quickly and they sure did. 

Here's how we took a nondescript side yard and gave it some architectural interest in just one week.

I mentioned that we had to contend with the natural grade of our yard. Because it sloped upward toward the back fence, rather than plant with the grade, we installed tiered planter boxes that would allow us to keep plantings uniform and level. 

Dad helped us stake it all out the first weekend and then came back on weekend #2 and worked his behind off to frame it up. Nothing fancy here. We used pressure treated boards and metal stakes from Home Depot.

The morning after the boxes were installed, I took a brush and some stain to the boxes to help them blend in with the background fencing.  We're still working out some details on the top tier (mainly still trying to vacate some dirt we piled up temporarily there. Once we can dispose of all the dirt, the final portions of the fence and planter will be finished off and planted. 

The Furcraea Mediopicta we are highlighting in each bed will grow to 5' tall and 6' wide within a year or two, making for a dramatic backdrop in this area of the yard, soon to be outfitted with a fire bowl and seating.

Activity

With what has quite possibly seemed like the longest week ever finally wrapping up, I wanted to check in to bring you a few updates and wish you a happy weekend.

I didn't intend to take a little blogging hiatus this week, but Dylan's passing has been a tough one to choke back and I just didn't have it in me to blog about pretty this week.

Instead, I did what I rarely if ever do- gave myself space and exactly what my mind and body needed, when it needed it. That's not to say I've been balled up on the couch for the entirety of the week. Quite the contrary. Off hours were spent listening to my favorite music, eating well, staining our outdoor fence and walking local nurseries just before they closed their gates each evening. I've acquired quite the collection of plants, now all lined up on the patio and ready to go into the ground this weekend. Finally- a yard with actual plants!

I'll be snapping away all weekend on Instagram. Be sure you are following Holtwood Hipster to see the yard finally come together.

Here's wishing you a happy weekend.

Landscape Plans // Part 2

On Wednesday, I shared the landscape plans for our front yard. Today, I thought I'd give you a little peek at what we are working on out back. 

I'm pretty excited about this design plan because if all goes well, we will end up with a fireside seating area just to the west of our pool deck by summertime. We began excavating the area right after we moved into the house, thinning the waist high geraniums and thorny shrubs that grew beneath the worlds biggest ficus tree- like ever. Progress continued on into this past Fall with tree and stump removal, which then lead to recent weeks when we finally scaled down 5 inches of dirt in this area. Bringing the foundation down allowed us to work from a space aligned with our pool deck and eliminate water run-off hassles we have dealt with since moving in.

That obstacle aside, we're still working with some specific challenges that call for creative design- particularly because the yard slopes upward to the north and that grade was not formally tiered off it is in other areas backyard. The plan is to repurpose bit of the excavated dirt and create stepped planters along the fence, which will bring plantings level, while compensating for the grade. We'll use pressure treated wood planks to encase tall, golden hued Phormium, chosen because it will play off the dark slate fence and become a sharp backdrop for the rest of the space.

We're replanting a couple of sculptural trees on each end and will lay in some decomposed granite against a wash of grass brought right up to the pool deck for interest and color. Of course, here is also where we will place a large cement fire bowl surrounded by comfy seating. Pie in the sky will be an overstuffed sectional- either purchased or made (volunteers?)

Here's what I'm imagining:

But we still have a lot of work ahead of us. This is what it looks like in it's present state - partially prepped, but lots of dirt still to move out of there. The area looks teeny tiny from this angle, but there is another 3-4 ft beyond the dirt mound that we will be working with.

I threw a "free dirt" listing up on Craigslist and surprisingly, we've had a few takers. Who knew fill dirt was such a hot commodity?

Weather permitting this weekend, maybe we'll have an opportunity to make a little headway on this project. Two months and counting...