Thursday, September 30, 2010

When You Let Your Yard go to Hell in a Handbasket


This yard was the product of 5 months of complete neglect. The last time a weed was pulled was April 24th. I know this because I pulled the weeds on a Saturday and then my water broke on the following Monday.

In Sam's defense, I had been putting him to work inside the home with a massive DIY project and since then, he has been training for a marathon. We honestly had gotten to a point with the weeds where we didn't know where to start. We took solace in the fact that ours wasn't the ugliest yard in the neighborhood--there is a xeriscape number down the road...

Enter Carey and crew. In one day (one day people!) five guys moved sprinklers, pulled all the weeds, ripped out a tree, laid down weed mat, moved plants and put down bark. They worked from 8:00 am until 8:00 pm that night. They made tacos for lunch in a microwave they plugged in outside. I kept the diet root beer flowing and they worked like dogs.

I know I have no dignity in posting these before and after photos.

This:


Went to this:



This:


Went to this:


This:


Went to this:


And this:


Went to this:


We also had the front door painted by someone else:


How long do you give it until we are back to the before pictures?

18 comments:

Jill said...

This is what my yard needs only on a smaller scale! How glorious to have your yard transformed in one day like this! I dream of such a thing.

Hopefully with the weed mat under the mulch it should stay looking good for a long time.

This cracked me up, "there is a xeriscape number down the road..." I can appreciate the water-saving measures going on with xeriscape, but it is so unsightly most of the time!

Jill said...

P.S. I love the front door in black!

Elizabeth said...

In my wildest fantasies 5 peeps turn up and transform ugly parts of my and yard in 12 hours!!! This is absolutely the way to do it. It all looks fantastic.
PS how great is the microwaving outside?

Brandi said...

It looks awesome. I need a makeover in the inside of my house like you.

We still need to figure out when we can have dinner or something. Keep up the good work.

Kimmie said...

First...I LOVE THE BLACK DOOR!! Looks great.

Second...the yard look awesome. You must feel some relief.

Denise said...

We went away for Easter break and came back to a freshly weeded lawn. Apparently, our neighbor took it upon her self to spend 27 hours pulling weeds because she "couldn't stand to look at it anymore."

Linda said...

I've seen it in real life. It looks fabulous - the door too!

Jen and her men said...

thank goodness weeds don't grow in the winter :) you've got at least six months to enjoy it! looks awesome.

Ashley said...

It looks great and I love the black door. There is nothing better than crews of people showing up and doing the dirty work. If I were a wealthy woman I'd hire crews of people to do everything for me--yard, cleaning, cooking, hair, make-up . . . or I'd start an orphanage.

alexandra said...

You know, that first photo I didn't think looked so bad. It is probably good I don't have a yard.

There are so many DIY projects that seem so great and then you realize you can get a bunch of people to get it done in one day. And it is worth the $$.

Janet Dillon Robinson said...

Wow! Absolutely fabulous transformation!! :) Your home looks beautiful!

Sheryl said...

With winter comming... you got till spring! I on the other hand did the same thing in the front (the front is mine, the back is Stans, he wants silk plants)...I saw morning glory springing up today! Dang it! It has only been 2 weeks!

Sheryl said...

I hate computers... I don't know why my name changes!

Heather said...

When I had a house, that happened to me, too. I could sort of handle the front yard, but the back yard was beyond my capabilities. So, weeds grew taller than me. I asked my home teachers for help and they laughed...I think they thought I was joking. I wasn't. Your yard looks great!

leandparkermakes3 said...

Um, Brooke, who are these people and how do I get them to come to my house? (I'm serious! I want their number!)

Heidi Jean said...

Would it be illegal or immoral to post a photo of the xeriscape yard? I don't think I've ever seen one, so it would be for educational (and therefore noble)purposes only. Your yard looks great...transformation-TV-worthy.

nic said...

Your yard looks great. Mine needs more help then yours did. I might have to get your guys name and they are more then welcome to make tacos.

Stephanie Eldredge said...

Wow, what a great transformation! Awesome!