The "Before" Photos

Our backyard project is officially beginning!  Two and a half years ago, Darrin and I bought the house that I grew up in.  My parents had sold it about eight years before that, but when it came back on the market, in a little town in which Darrin and I had tried unsuccessfully to purchase a house during the boom years, we snapped it up right away.  Due to some neglect and vandalism during vacancy, we had to clean up the interior before moving in.  New carpet, paint, plumbing fixtures, doors, light fixtures, tile, and exterior paint later, our house was perfect.  But the yards still needed some work.

When my parents left the house the landscaping was gorgeous.  Full grown trees, beautiful planters, a lovely pool.  But ten years later when it became vacant, the water was turned off and the landscape started to die.  Before escrow closed, Darrin and I would go out there almost every day to manually water the trees - trying to save as many as possible.  But a total of 14 had to be removed when we finally got the keys.  So sad.  In addition, the pool was a lovely shade of pond green, and actually had fish living in it.

So over a year ago, D and I hired a landscape designer to put together a master plan for us.  Last summer, Darrin planted our front yard planters, because the hardscape and lawn were okay to leave in.  And this summer. . . well, we have our massive backyard project to look forward to.  Darrin is tackling the demo on his own (it's nice to be married to a heavy equipment operator), and once that is done, it's a pool remodel and brand new hardscape.  We're in the process of narrowing down contractors but are very close to locking one in.

I had to hurry and get these "before" photos, as Darrin was itching to rip everything out.  I can't wait to share the "after" photos, hopefully in the not-too-distant future!