We've got a home improvement project underway. My wife and I live on a 5,500 square foot lot in Venice. Tiny house, big backyard. I've earmarked $10,000 dollars ... and we are quickly checking off items we can't do (pools, indoor/outdoor, convert garage to a swinging bachelor pad, etc.) and soon we will understand what we can do. Here's where all those worlds will collide.
I keep pushing for a pool ... but all we can afford is an above-ground bathtub. Love this one.
1 - The plans from our landscape designer. COST FOR SCHEMATIC DESIGN: $1,000.00
2 - We're going to keep this middle structure ... even with some wood damage it has managed to hold up to the Venice winds. But, we're replacing the floor w/decomposed granite.
3 - We're going to add tall(er) plants along the fence to give us needed privacy.
4 - Grass is dead, and the digging has begun. COST TO APPLY 'ROUND UP' HERBICIDE TO TURF (2X) & STRIP, REMOVE PLANTINGS: $2,491.00
5 - The land cleared, markers set. Let the building, planting, seeding begin. BTW - I had to fight to keep that 4-year-old palm tree/plant. Reminds me of Venice.
6 - Bulbs saved.
7 - Succulents saved.
8 - Unexpected discovery: There was/is an in-ground jacuzzi in our backyard. We are keeping it, covering it up and will revisit it in our golden years. COST TO COVER UP JACUZZI AND LEAVE EXISTING PLUMBING UNDERGROUND: $0.
9 - I love what they did with our existing Birds of Paradise. They split it into three, moved them to the front yard, and created a nice wall that blocks out Lincoln Blvd. For the front yard, we are keeping the existing sprinkler system. Just needs to be fixed. COST TO FIX IRRIGATION IS $98.50/LABOR PLUS 30% MARK UP OVER COST OF MATERIALS.
10 - Now into day three of laying down the irrigation. COST TO INSTALL 15' MAIN LINE, 11 LAWN POP UP HEADS, 7 BUBBLER HEADS FOR BOXED SPECIMENS, NETAFIRM DRIP LINE FOR ALL CONTAINERS, 5 VALVES, 1 PRESSURE VACCUM BREAKER, AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION VALVES & I HOSE BIB: $2,632.00
11 - We have a great relationship with one neighbor. We have a strained relationship with another neighbor. Great neighbor, we [a year ago] replaced our fence. Strained neighbor, we [today] added an additional fence. COST OF ADDITIONAL FENCE WITH TREATMENT: $810.00
12 - Our "privacy" plants have arrived. We are lining the fence with Podocarpus hedges.
13 - Two-plus full workdays to plant the stuff. It is getting exciting. COST TO INSTALL 1-15 AVOCADO, 4-15 CITRUS, 32-15 PODOCARPUS, 5-5 LEUCADENDRON S.S SALVIA, 11-1 LAVANDUA, 11-1 IRIS, 3-1 MATILIJA: $6,323.00
14 - Bring on the grass ... Dan, our landscaper, said to me as I was leaving, "Nothing like grass." COST TO INSTALL MARATHON SOD IN THE FRONT YARD: $1,687.00
15 - The decomposed granite is being laid out. It looks like it will take three days. Lots of watering it and then packing it down. Also, makes me realize how much we need to now do to the garage.
16 - Learned a new term: Parkway is the area between the sidewalk and the road. We opted out of fixing the sprinklers and adding grass. We went with plants that thrive on their own.
17 - The fire pit is working. COST TO SPLIT THE EXISTING GAS LINE AND CREATE OUR OWN FIRE PIT: $712 IN LABOR AND PARTS.
18 - My old friend is happy. The backyard grass is down. COST TO ADD MARATHON SOD IS INCLUDED IN STEP 16.
19 - Furniture is sparse, but we managed to pull together a legit fire pit area. We split the existing gasline from the BBQ grill and then ran it under the fire bowl. We bought the bowl from Asian Ceramics and trekked all the way out to Glendora, CA to pick it up. Or my wife did in 103 degree heat. Bless her.
20 - Patience. That's what I call this section of the yard. It's our mini orchard, which has already delivered a couple of Meyer lemons. In the coming months, we will be harvesting blood oranges, limes, mandarins, and [not pictured] grapes.
21 - Separate Spark Board to come for the deck. Decided to build the deck after we started construction on the yard. Notice the Marathon Sod grass. One issue: We have a male dog and when he pees it almost immediately kills a patch of grass. tip we are trying out: Tablespoon of apple cider vinegar in his water bowl. Will report back.
22 - I'm looking forward to seeing the color added from the plants. Big lesson for me and obvious to everyone else: It takes time for the colors to show. But when they do, you can match them with a pot.
23 - Next to the pit area, we refined our dining space. Kept the existing structure & Venice sign (courtesy of my artistic brother-in-law). Reinforced the beams, added a restaurant-worthy heater (courtesy of my mom), and invested in a 9-ft concrete-top table. Thanksgiving here we come. Side note: Decomposed granite is really working. Easy on the feet, simple to clean with a broom. Wife says, next step is to add color.
24 - Interesting find during the process: The tree out front is a Dracena, which is in the succulent family. Everyone with landscaping knowledge has been blown away by it. And here we were thinking of removing it because we believe it is shifting the foundation.
25 - Welcome to our veggie trail.
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