What seems like a decade ago, but in actuality, was only almost a year,  we began dreaming up our backyard plans. If you can recall what I shared with you here, one of our favorite things about our new home was the backyard space. Plenty of room to run, play, and relax. When we purchased the home in February of 2020, the area was FILLED with overgrown weeds and was in serious need of some TLC.

With everything going on with COVID and significant issues with the seller (who unfortunately put us months without a home), we had plenty of time to collaborate on our vision for the space. We didn’t want it to become too overgrown, so we’d come on the weekends, mow the grass, pull weeds, and maintain the backyard. It’s been a labor of love and to see our plans finally falling into place is a huge reward.

If you follow along on Instagram, you’ll know we’re working with Yardzen to make the yard come to life. These plans have been done for quite some time (as in nearly a year!) But with everything that went on with our move-in delay were just now starting to make real progress. Yardzen was fantastic to work with and put our ideas into action. They could take our inspiration from photos and favorite locations and put them into a working plan. 

I’m going to go into more detail in a separate post once the yard is completed. SO if you have specific questions about Yardzen or the service we opted for, please leave me a comment below.

I’m usually a fan of designing plans, but some are just better left to the professionals. There is NO WAY I would have been able to create a cohesive plan as Yardzen did. One thing we did decide early on was doing the work ourselves. We wanted to gain experience and learn what we could to maintain the yard as time goes on. Luckily, my parents, especially my dad, have a vast amount of experience in garden maintenance. I’ve tried to shadow and work alongside him as the yard has continued to progress, and I feel more comfortable making these changes as we go along.

Our Backyard - The Before Photos

We started with a severe lack of symmetry and a ton of overgrowth. The yard wasn’t a nightmare, but it needed some attention. Our neighbor popped over the fence yesterday and said the original owners NEVER worked in the yard. So, you can imagine how many years of neglect it had seen. Lucky for us, the soil is fantastic! It seems to nurture the few plants we’ve planted, and we have high hopes that with the little soil amending, it will go a long way!

Another difficulty we had to tackle was how uneven the yard was. It's BIG, so we’ve had to make our way around the yard, leveling as we go. There were significant dips which was a massive no-no for proper drainage. We have since gone through and leveled things out, so the grading is correct and added and moved sprinkler heads to spray directionally away from the house and towards where we will lay our sod.

California Casual Backyard - Our TO-DO List

• Pre-Emergent Prep for Sod

• Lay Sod

• Prep Walkways for Gold Fines (Fine-tune bender boards, weed-barrier)

• Add Pavers

• Layer Gold Fine Layers, compress, seal

• Add Drip-lines to planter beds

• Plant

~end of phase 1~

• Remove overgrowth from the yard.

• Remove dying trees and grind stumps.

• Break down the old shed and clear out materials.

• Mark Out Plans

• Remove weeds 

• Level / Grade accordingly 

• Move and additional sprinklers

• Add Blender Boards

• Lay Top Soil

California Casual Backyard Inspiration

A Modern Mediterranean-style yard with plenty of spaces for play and relaxation. 

Mediterranean Plant List

• Platinum Beauty Lomandra

• Red Bunny Tailes

• White and Pink Muhly Grass

• Swan Hill Olive Tree

• Spanish Lavender

• French Lavender

• Lavender Cotton

• English Lavender

• Maiden Grass

• Leafy Reedgrass

• Breeze Dwarf Mat Rush

• Creeping Jumiper

Having the space that we do it was important for us to implement designated areas for different purposes. Having these areas allowed us to pick and choose what we wanted from the get-go. We both knew that keeping plenty of lawn was important for our dog and Evie to play. Surrounding these grass areas would be key to establishing a flow to the backyard. 

• Fire-pit / Lounge Area

• Potting Station / Raised Garden Beds

• Eating / BBQ  ~ on the deck

• Evie’s Play Area ~ More on this to come...

We pulled our inspiration from areas that felt like places you’d want to relax in. Cool-toned plants and grasses only add to the vibe and feel more organic and not perfectly placed. We’ll use a combination of materials, including DG, Gold Fines, mulch, and garden crush. Our plant lineup is a combination of Lavender, ornamental grasses, and assorted shrubs. We also plan to keep annual florals in pots around the yard to bring in white and purple shades. Keeping these seasonal flowers in pots will make them much easier to remove after their stop flowering for the season. 

Inspiration Photo Credits: Beach Pretty | The Haven List | The Happy Housie | The Gardenista |