Not Quite a Teardown...: It's a jungle out there

Sunday, August 10, 2014

It's a jungle out there

We're still here, lack of recent blog posts notwithstanding! We've unpacked and settled in and are hard at work on developing construction plans. We're tentatively planning to add another level and might put an addition on the back as well but we have to see how the plans, and the budget, look before we make a final decision on scope of the project. In the meantime, we've been tackling the backyard. The prior owners clearly loved gardening and the yard is chock-full of hostas, azeleas, holly bushes, along with plenty of other flowers and shrubs I can't even identify. We'll keep a good deal of the existing landscaping and move some of the plants around but we also want to add in more grass and reclaim some usable space. So, it was back to our old friend Craigslist and we were happy to find plenty of people willing to come over and dig up many of the plants and take them to new homes. We were less happy, however, to discover just how thoroughly the ivy and other weeds had dominated the back quarter of the lot. We knew it was very overgrown but wading in and starting to clear out the area was still daunting! We bought a new toy to help out - a brush cutter attachment - and it's been indispensable in cutting through the thick undergrowth. But, a good deal still has to be done by hand, plus our chain saw has been getting a workout cutting down some of the larger scrub trees. We're making progress now, though, and will keep on with work. We need to beat back that ivy, move some shrubs and plants around, and eventually we'll put in sod and probably some garden beds too. We'll reclaim this yard yet!