Monday, April 23, 2012

We bought rocks!

For those of you who are more refined and accustomed to purchasing landscaping rocks this may seem like no big deal.  But for us, (and any of you like me) actually BUYING rocks, especially more white ones is just so dang funny!

I'm sorry, I guess you would understand a little more wouldn't you if you knew that the name of the next town over from ours is literally called "White Rock" and for good reason.  The area I live in has red clay and rock.  My front yard and backyard bedding areas are lined with rocks that I collected from around our yard over the years.  They often pop right up out of the ground.  Seriously!  In fact one of the biggest concerns we had about building our pool last summer was that we would hit rock.  Luckily, we are on a slope and had to build up as well as dig down so that did not become an issue for us.


We are still working on the back of our house after last years pool construction.  While there is still so much to do yet, and so little time, it's finally starting to come together.  

This is the area here that I spent the afternoon spreading rocks over.  

This is the first thing you pass by when entering our pool area from the side.  

It's also the area where the pump to the pool resides.  We have been working on ways to camouflage the pump by the steps.  It's not the prettiest thing to look at you know, but very conveniently located and necessary to have where it is to provide the best operations of pool maintenance.

After shuffling around a few of my pots and my old fountain I think it's starting to look pretty good.  Please ignore the half stained steps.  I am still poking along on the deck and railing staining.

Part of my progress has been slowed by poor weather on my only days off.  I can't believe the cooler temps we are having right now.  Just look at my poor flowers, that's from the cooler temps!

I am so glad my sweet little fountain is hanging in there.  It will eventually have to be replaced as it is starting to show some signs of wear but for now it fits the space just fine.  Not to mention I have so many other things I want to purchase for landscaping yet and a new fountain is not high on the list.


Originally I wanted to buy river rocks but after finding out they were $1.00 more per bag and contained less per bag we decided to just go with the marble rocks.  It will only be a matter of time before the clay adds more color to them and they will soon look like river rocks.  I even got quite a giggle out of seeing the brand name on this bag.  Who knew Vigoro sold rocks too?  LOL!

We've got a few bags left but the Mr. wants to take up my stepping stones by the pump so they will be used as soon as he redoes that.

Look at my poor Knockout rose, or Encore rose for those of you who do not know they are one and the same.  

Between this crazy weather and it being so top heavy it's started to droop like crazy.

I still have so many little odds and ends to finish up outside here it's unreal.  I am so used to getting things done.  Learning to be patient is hard.  These are some flowers that I purchased before Easter that still have yet to make it into pots.  I bought a good bit and many of them did already but these were the last and needed new pots.  I've finally got the pots last week but again with the rain and time I haven't been able to get them planted.  Maybe this week.

I didn't want to show you this area yet because I'm still tweaking it, but since I've been hinting as this for weeks I thought I'd show you my progress so far.  As you can see the lattice is up and stained by the bedding area.  I want to paint my potting bench off white so it doesn't blend in with the deck so much but cannot catch a break on good timing with that project either.  Oh well!

But here's my old swing!  I was able to finally get a fresh coat of paint on it.  It took four cans!  I had to go back to buy two more as I thought it would only take two.  Ooops! I still need to find some seat cushions that are the right size and am just using these I bough last year temporarily.  Hey, don't laugh, it works...for now.  Okay, you can laugh.  LOL!

Well, before I go I thought I'd show you the master of camouflage.  Just look at this lizard!  Have you ever seen one turn almost completely black.  I mean, he was one disappearing lizard!
  
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Have a great day everyone!





8 comments:

  1. There's always so much to do outside Mary. Your backyard is coming along nicely. The news warned that there is going to be a frost tonight. I'm not looking forward to that because I will have to cover up all my tender plants and veggies already growing quite well. April 15 is our last frost date...wth?

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  2. Your yard is looking fabulous and the pool is wonderful. Love it all. Hugs, Marty

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  3. Mary-It looks SOOO nice. You did a great job on everything out there. The little latticed area is just perfect for disguising the pool equipment. Seeing yours makes me really miss having a pool.

    We have rocks all around us and I "get it" about having to buy them. I am going to get a load delivered for our front area when I finally get it cleaned out. xo Diana

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  4. You couldn't have WARNED me there was going to be a lizard in here? ACK! I have an unnatural phobia of them. I think they are the worst kind of cross between a snake and a frog or something.

    But now that I have my heartbeat down, I'll tell you how wonderful it all looks. Your grass is so green! Ours is still brownish because I'm too cheap to water, but we are having rains so...

    I love what you did to camouflage the pump, and I think that swing is wonderful, cushions and all. If it works, it works!

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  5. Hi Mary! Oh, my goodness, your back yard and pool area is so pretty! I love your little white rocks you're using - so nice. Your fountain is so sweet too. We lived in New Mexico for 10 years when our kids were little and it got so hot and dry there that lots of folks had rocks for their yards. We had a side yard filled with rock. The kids would hate it when we told them to go and sweep the rocks.
    be a sweetie,
    Shelia;)

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  6. The white rock looks perfect in your yard Mary. That little garden area with the lattice fence is darling too!~

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  7. Geez, Louise...that's a lot of work!!!!!!!! I used to be able to do all that outdoor stuff, but my body has since betrayed me! It's really looking great, and I love what you have done to mask the pool pump. I know how important it is to make that thing go away visually, especially since that's the 1st thing people see as they enter the gate! My parent struggled with it for awhile before finally getting it camouflaged to their liking. The rocks really lighten up the area and look fantastic...despite their maker's name! :-) That's funny! I had to take a 2nd look to make sure it wasn't the other!!! I hope the weather warms up for you soon! We're expected to top 90 today, but back to daytime highs in the 50s over the weekend. Weird!

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  8. Mary, Your pool and home are lovely! We have had so much rain my roses don't look good either. xo, Sherry

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