First Big DIY

I'm going to start off by saying that I started writing this post a long time ago when we finished this project. We still haven't really been able to fully enjoy this area because the rest of the yard is still mostly dirt and weeds and honestly just really ugly to look at. BUT! It IS done!

:):):):)

If you own a house then you know the projects are never ending. I didn't really like the backyard or the front yard when we moved in, but now I REALLY don't like them. Our dog, a greyhound, has completely torn up our backyard. Being mostly weeds and barely any grass, she has run the yard down to the dirt for the most part. There was also this big shed right in the WRONG spot. It was such an eye sore where it originally sat in the yard and we wanted to move it to the other corner ASAP. Well, we finally did that just a few weeks ago and we've been in this house going on two years, I believe. So, under the shed was a giant piece of rotting wood surrounded by ugly little pavers. Under that was a big dirt patch. Perfect, it went the the rest of the dirt patches that our dog made.

What do we do with the dirt?

We knew right off the bat we would like to make this space a nice patio of some sort. After a few debates and constant changing of our minds (mostly mine) we finally decided on pea gravel. I thought it would add a really neat touch, depth, and texture to our backyard. I did a bunch of research of making pea gravel patios and read that it was one of the easiest (and cheaper) DIY projects to do. We were excited to get started!!

Did you know that it's almost impossible to get things like that done with an infant??? I think we started this project two months ago? And all of the research says that this project should take a weekend.

Yeah right. Like I said...two months ago. We bought a tamper and a garden spade and got our asses to work. We were out in the backyard digging out all the extra dirt and making the edges of the area we were using every chance we had. Since it took so long, we had to redo the edges quite a few times from the rain and the dog running all over it. Today, we finally finished!! Well...for the most part. Neither the front or backyards are that level so we used pretty much all the extra dirt to spread out in the yards and level it out a little more. I think it helped! It's still not perfect, but it was nice having a plan for all that dirt because it was A LOT!

Over, this past weekend we were able to finish digging, put down some weed barrier, and the 4x4 edges!

At the very beginning we had measured the area to be 10ft by about 6ft. So, we got 10ft 4x4 and 8ft 4x4 just to made sure we had enough. Jared was able to measure the short sides exactly so that they would fit in-between the 10ft beams.

He cut them perfectly! Once we got the 4x4 border down, he drilled them together to make the frame a little more stable, then we started the fun part! We originally bought 8 bags of pea gravel. We knew we would need more, but we weren't sure until we spread out those bags. After I did that and tampered down the first layer of gravel, Jared went out and bought 11 more bags! I spread out and tampered 7 of them, then did the final 4.

It's perfect!!! We LOVE it!

This picture is after the first 8 bags.

We know it's a small space, but it'll be perfect for the blue chairs that are on our patio with a little table and some cute plants. Then, we plan on getting a sectional for the other patio. We filled dirt back in around the outside edge and we plan on getting more weed and feed to spread around it to help the grass start growing back.

We're so excited for the cooler months so we can enjoy this area and not die in the sun. Doing this project just about killed me! Why we decided to do this in June...in Florida?...IDK.

BUT IT LOOKS SO GOOD.

I've been thinking about a possible herb/veggie garden to go along the fence line around the back and right sides of the patio. With today's inflation, I thought it'd be a good idea.

As you can see, this picture was taken recently quite some time after we had finished the area. We had a new fence installed after the two hurricanes we had at the end of last year and they also removed that tree in the corner. We are now thinking of replacing the chairs and we're definitely going to be getting a new fire pit. I have the happiest little succulent in that white planter pot and plan to add more!

Hopefully after a few more bags of weed and feed get spread around we still have a nicer area to really enjoy this space we worked so hard to get!