1. Grass. I know, it's a water-hungry beast of a plant that is not particularly well suited for drought prone peninsula summers ... but it's also gorgeous and the perfect place for itty bitty babies to play on. We dug up the littered wood chips and heavy plastic liner underneath and put down sod in 2 small areas: a 9'x10' area to the right of the patio and another small area under the window. It's been 2 weeks and seems to be taking root well enough. Lush lawn in little areas: a nice balance. $34 for sod
2. Patio & Deck. Our first weekend here, I spilled a bucket of bright blue indoor paint on the concrete patio. I flipped for a second and then decided to paint the whole thing. I used the hose to water down the paint a little and it resulted in a nice, washed out, Greek-isle style blue that I really like and hope the owner doesn't get too upset about. The deck was solid but raw and covered in splinters that like to get in baby hands and knees. Luke decided to sand & seal it and it looks FANTASTIC -- definitely the biggest improvement.
3. Weber grill! Free off of Craigslist (just one wheel missing!) with BBQ utensil set and ice chest. Previous owner is a Macarthur grad -- holla SAtown!
4. Plants.
3.5 of the 7 large potted plants abandoned by the previous tenant have come back to life after being completely pruned down, watered, and fertilized for a month. There are 3 rosebuds right now! Yay.
2. Patio & Deck. Our first weekend here, I spilled a bucket of bright blue indoor paint on the concrete patio. I flipped for a second and then decided to paint the whole thing. I used the hose to water down the paint a little and it resulted in a nice, washed out, Greek-isle style blue that I really like and hope the owner doesn't get too upset about. The deck was solid but raw and covered in splinters that like to get in baby hands and knees. Luke decided to sand & seal it and it looks FANTASTIC -- definitely the biggest improvement.
3. Weber grill! Free off of Craigslist (just one wheel missing!) with BBQ utensil set and ice chest. Previous owner is a Macarthur grad -- holla SAtown!
4. Plants.
3.5 of the 7 large potted plants abandoned by the previous tenant have come back to life after being completely pruned down, watered, and fertilized for a month. There are 3 rosebuds right now! Yay.
Those pretty agapatha plants were also free from craigslist. Agapanthus means love flower in Greek.
5. Laundry lines. Oooooh beautiful little things, I love you. You save me $4/week in dryer quarters, you are green and energy saving, you give me an excuse to get outside and move around, and you make my clothes last longer. (Dryer lint is YOUR CLOTHES. I don't know how I missed that for so many years.) I have enough line space for 1-2 loads. Clothesline posts are pretty pricey, so here's what we did: we screwed in one big, sturdy metal ring very high, looped cotton clothesline through, and made hooks (bent nails work just fine) for the lines against the other fence. I unhook them when I take down the clothes so the lines are only up 1 day a week and don't bother the neighbors. Ellen made me a cleverly designed little clothespin bag. $5 for lines, ring, and clothespins, but have already saved more than that in dryer fees, so $0
6. Furniture. The table (sanded & spray painted silver, $4) was $5 on craigslist and that cute little California Growers bin for garden tools was a freebie garage sale leftover.
Our pretty backyard for $70. Plus, we saved items from landfill fate.
Next Projects:
- Compost pile behind the agapanthus (the county gives free How-To classes)
- Simple veggie kitchen herb gardens
- Native climbing vines along fence
- Possibly widening the walkway with free bricks off craigslist
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