Saturday, November 28, 2009
Planting Time!
So my courtyard renovation is (finally) moving right along. I've got in the floor. I've got the infrastructure situated. Now I need some plants. Below is a photo of the area in question:
I've got several issues to deal with. The first is visible in the photo. The structure seen behind block wall is the roof of my neighbor's garage. I don't think I need to block it out completely, but it would be nice to tone down its prominence. The second issue is the fence on the left borders the front yard and is visible from the street so whatever I plant that pokes above the fence has to look good from the other side as well.
Right now I've got two ideas:
- Papyrus planted all the way around. The area stays fairly wet and I think papyrus would look great against both surfaces (dark brown fence and silver block wall). In my location I think it would get around 7 feet tall -- 1 foot higher than the fence / wall.
- Build a sculptural trellis (think a grid with square voids intentional left out and plants orange trumpet vines. These will grow as high as I'd like and completely fill in. They'd also add a splash of orange color.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Progress Photos
I was able to get in all the gravel so I thought I'd take some shots. Amazingly, this effect costs under $3/sq ft in materials.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Updates
More work on the courtyard. Don't have much commentary, but ask questions if you've got 'em:
Sunday, November 01, 2009
Paving Stones Go In
I'm finally making some tangible progress. Here's the before:
And here's where we are now. I've still got some pavers to place and get the gravel in. Surprisingly, placing them goes a lot faster than I thought.
I couldn't wait so I decided to add some gravel to get an idea of the finished product. I'm really happy how it's turning out.
