Yard before and more current photos

Comment

Comment by Kristin on December 7, 2009 at 9:48am

Dianne-

I very much appreciate your feedback. In my first few months of ownership I focused on many things that needed to be fixed inside the house so that I could live in it- and although I still have LOTS of work to do inside, I am just now starting to tackle the projects in the yard. The trees in the yard are all very near to the fences. The large tree I do hope to keep as it will provides such great shade, and in the future summer shade to my garden. The palm trees I can do without- they create such a mess with their seed pods and they also make a mess in my neighbors yard as they are right on the fence. Although my yard work is not nearly as intensive as yours, I do not have the knowledge base as this is my first attempt at much of this! It is very nice to be able to receive feedback from those who know what they are doing! :)

p.s. my BF would be happy to hear that I shout his praises for the large amount of work he has done to help me with my house :) I wouldn't have 1/3 of this work done without his tremendous help.

Comment by Dianne Felder on December 6, 2009 at 10:40am

Good heavens, I forgot that you don't have the opportunity to edit your comments and correct spelling on these. I have the wrong glasses on for this and got a chuckle out of the wrong letters I typed. Please overlook those. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. By the way, some Ash trees have the potential for a much larger trunk than even twice the size of that one and surface roots that can damage slabs, footings and fence posts when planted in lawns that only receive surface water.

Comment by Dianne Felder on December 6, 2009 at 10:34am

Wow Kristen, you have quite an arm!!!! I hope your BF pitched in and took his turn at the working end of the sledge hammer. Ha ha ha ha ha. I'll have to post a few back yard pictures to show you where we started, and the 10x24 lean-to that we still have to take down (you'll love the color) and old metal garden shed that has to be dismantled. May I be so bold as to make a suggestion for your consideration? Many home owners fail to take into consideration the future size of the cute trees they plant near their fences, homes, etc., setting them in the ground a foot or two from their hardscape. The two palm trees you have out back are at a size where they could still be a do-it-yourself, or at least a less expensive hired job to remove. My daughter had two of the same type hear her pool that were 3 times as tall and created a real mess in her pool when they bloomed (yes, they bloom to set their fruit) and then the dates were really bad when they started to fall. Her trees affected several pools around her depending on which way the wind blew. They are a junk tree anyway, not giving shade or food (unless you preserve the dates ha ha ha ha) and hers harbored scorpions. The other thing is about the shad tree near by. As a shade tree it only provides early morning shade to you in the summer but lovely afternoon shade for you neighbor and I can't tell how close to the fence it is and what damage it might do in the future. It looks like it might be some kind of Ash with a future trunk size twice what it is now. If that isn't a problem and you love the tree (it seems that the growth ring is well and happy and that it is a pretty tree) then I would suggest you contact a tree expert and see if there isn't some way to stop the rot and fill the cavity to stop further damage. It would be a shame to chop down such a nice tree that seems to offer some screening. Other than that, have at it girl. I wish my landscaping redo was as simple as yours. We did make it out to Ken's and I posted a comment. Enjoy the RAIN.