We (specifically Reed) worked very hard to get our lawn put together before the cool weather sets in. Fortunately, the warm weather has stuck around for a long time this year. We borrowed a rototiller from a friend and Reed spent a weekend and got the whole yard done with the help of a few young men in our ward. We are really lucky to have some great young men who like to come and help and lots of great friends who come help when we ask.
One of the hardest parts was getting the dirt smoothed out and leveled. We had a large trench in the middle of the yard from where we remove the sidewalk, and it took a while to get that filled in just right. I marked out where I wanted berms on the side and Reed put the black edging in. I went to the garden center and bought two trees, an pear and plum, both non-flowering. They are supposed to grow quickly and become good shade trees, so hopefully we will have a little more shade next year!
After the trees were in, we got some friends to come over and help us put in the sod. With all the help, it only took us a couple of hours. The grass looks fantastic and it immediately transformed our yard. It went from barren wasteland to a usable space! Now we have gravel next to house with some paving stones for a walkway, but I don't have pictures of that yet.
We still have work to do next spring, but we can actually go in the backyard to play now. Next year we plan on working on getting shrubs and flowers planted around the fence and get a garden planted in the back corner. We also want to make a cobblestone patio and possibly a pergola. We really need more shade in the yard, and we would really enjoy a picnic table in a shady spot. But we have very pleased with what we got done this year. I am so happy to be able to let Patrick go out and play in the yard now. He enjoys it so much!
