“Flashback Friday”

I thought this would be a fun way to share my previous “joys” once every week. Do you want to know how I came up with Friday as the day? It is silly but it is the only day that I could rhyme a word with a day of the week. 🙂 So … Flashback Fridays it is!

My passion for changing things and being a DIY kind of person does not limit me to just one thing. I love to landscape and being outside in the yard on a gorgeous summer day. Which brings me to a fun project that I did for a very loved family member. There was space right out their front door that was not being utilized, as you can see in the picture below. I think I came up with a solution to help them enjoy it.

Before

It seems that the builder, or someone they hired, just randomly planted plants in no particular order. It drove me nuts every time I came to visit! After I was given free reign this is what I did …

I moved the existing bushes to the back by the house to make a border for a patio that I wanted to put in.

After digging down and taking out dirt (saving it for other areas that I was going to landscape on this property and would eventually need) I laid processed gravel, and used the rented compactor to really pack it down. *** Just so you know, I had help, because my packer started taking me on a walk as my muscles grew weaker with trying to reign it in. A huge thanks to Mr. Man.

Following it up with sand, leveled with a board, to make a great base to lay brick down. I want you to note these bricks were acquired off of Craigs list for an amazing deal. (Some one had an existing patio that they wanted removed 🙂 Score “one” for said family member!!!!

Laid down the bricks and … ah man! Ran out of bricks for the 2 paths that I was going to make. Hmmmm, so now what? Call me “MacGyver“. I went out and bought 5 bricks that were different yet complemented it. The picture below is the finished product. After adding flowers, grass, and mulch. Oh, I also filled Polymeric sand into the cracks to keep the bricks together and the weeds out!