done...now I can relax

My day started at 7:00am when a triple axle big rig showed up at my house (1 hour early, by the way) to deliver a massive load of shredded cedar bark/mulch. I planted the remaining 14 plants, now 30 total. My buddy Bill came over and engineered a cool water energy dissipator so all of the tile drain water from my backyard now filters through a subsurface gravel area rather than pouring over the top of my bark and putting muddy water on the sidewalk. The whole area was covered in bark and my yardage calculations came out exactly as hoped--I had enough leftover bark to fill every planter box in my front and backyards.

It doesn't look like much now--the plants are are horribly small but most of them grow to around 1-2 feet in height and 2-3 feet in diameter. I finished today right as the rain started, a perfect ending to a long, tiring project. Best of all, no more mowing that ridiculous slope!



I still have some work to do around the utility box in the foreground. Contrary to any photos you may have seen in the past, the grass that used to be in this location really didn't look very good--there was lots of clover, crabgrass and spotted spurge. If things go to plan then I will likely apply for this program again next year to convert the remainder of the sideyard grass to native vegetation.